• Fusion

Assign an appearance

Assign an appearance to a component, body, or face using Fusion.


00:03

In Fusion, an appearance is a cosmetic finish that can be smooth or textured,

00:08

colored or not, and with or without specular highlights and reflective characteristics.

00:15

However, it is important to note that the appearance does not affect the physical material

00:20

and is not considered for things like generative design or simulation studies.

00:25

You can use an appearance:

00:27

To produce a rendering that shows a design in its productized state,

00:31

To highlight or distinguish between the components in an assembly,

00:35

Or to differentiate between rough and machined surfaces.

00:39

You can assign appearances to components, bodies, or faces in a design.

00:45

On the Design workspace toolbar, Solid tab, expand the Modify menu and select Appearance.

00:53

You can also press A.

00:55

The Appearance dialog has three groups:

00:59

In the Apply To group, you specify the method used to apply the appearance, by selecting either bodies/components or faces only.

01:07

The In This Design group populates with the appearances of the materials currently in the design.

01:13

The Library group has several tabs to help you organize your appearances.

01:18

On the Fusion Appearances tab, locate the appearance you want to use.

01:22

For example, expand Paint, and select Powder Coat Smooth.

01:28

Some Library appearances are not immediately available, but you can download them on a per-appearance-basis from within the Library.

01:35

Once you find the appearance you want, such as Powder Coat Blue,

01:39

click the Download button on the right and it will be ready to be used in your design shortly.

01:45

You can pre-populate the design by dragging and dropping appearances from the Library into the In This Design group.

01:52

To add an appearance to the Favorites collection, on the Fusion Appearances tab,

01:57

right-click the appearance and select Add to Favorites.

02:01

To add to your online appearance collection, accessible on the My Appearances tab, under In This Design,

02:07

right-click the appearance and select Copy to My Appearances.

02:12

To apply an appearance to your design, drag the selected appearance from the Library and drop it onto a component on the canvas.

02:19

The design immediately updates.

02:22

You can also drag and drop an appearance from the In This Design group for bodies or components.

02:28

As you see here, when applying an appearance to an instance, body, or component, all instances change to the applied appearance.

02:37

You can replace all assignments of one appearance with another from the Appearance dialog.

02:42

Under In This Design, drag and drop the new appearance onto the current or target appearance.

02:48

All components with the target appearance are updated, and the target appearance is unassigned and deleted.

02:55

You can also drag and drop an appearance onto a Browser node and only that body instance receives the new appearance.

03:02

A warning dialog asks if you want to remove appearances applied to bodies.

03:06

You can either remove them, keep them, or cancel the command.

03:12

Click Remove to remove the appearance and replace it with the selected one.

03:17

When applying appearances to one or more faces, it is easiest to do so in a single body design.

03:23

It is good practice to assign the component appearance first, then move on to the individual faces.

03:29

This part has the default steel material applied.

03:33

From the Library group, expand Metal > Steel, then locate and download Steel – Brushed Radial Overlap.

03:42

Once downloaded, drag and drop the material onto the body.

03:47

Next, in the Apply To group, select Faces.

03:52

In the Library, expand Paint > Powder Coat Smooth, then drag and drop Powder Coat (Blue) onto the face inside the center extrusion.

04:02

To assign an appearance to multiple faces on the same body,

04:05

select the faces first, then drag and drop the appearance onto one of those selected faces.

04:11

All faces in the selection set receive the appearance.

Video transcript

00:03

In Fusion, an appearance is a cosmetic finish that can be smooth or textured,

00:08

colored or not, and with or without specular highlights and reflective characteristics.

00:15

However, it is important to note that the appearance does not affect the physical material

00:20

and is not considered for things like generative design or simulation studies.

00:25

You can use an appearance:

00:27

To produce a rendering that shows a design in its productized state,

00:31

To highlight or distinguish between the components in an assembly,

00:35

Or to differentiate between rough and machined surfaces.

00:39

You can assign appearances to components, bodies, or faces in a design.

00:45

On the Design workspace toolbar, Solid tab, expand the Modify menu and select Appearance.

00:53

You can also press A.

00:55

The Appearance dialog has three groups:

00:59

In the Apply To group, you specify the method used to apply the appearance, by selecting either bodies/components or faces only.

01:07

The In This Design group populates with the appearances of the materials currently in the design.

01:13

The Library group has several tabs to help you organize your appearances.

01:18

On the Fusion Appearances tab, locate the appearance you want to use.

01:22

For example, expand Paint, and select Powder Coat Smooth.

01:28

Some Library appearances are not immediately available, but you can download them on a per-appearance-basis from within the Library.

01:35

Once you find the appearance you want, such as Powder Coat Blue,

01:39

click the Download button on the right and it will be ready to be used in your design shortly.

01:45

You can pre-populate the design by dragging and dropping appearances from the Library into the In This Design group.

01:52

To add an appearance to the Favorites collection, on the Fusion Appearances tab,

01:57

right-click the appearance and select Add to Favorites.

02:01

To add to your online appearance collection, accessible on the My Appearances tab, under In This Design,

02:07

right-click the appearance and select Copy to My Appearances.

02:12

To apply an appearance to your design, drag the selected appearance from the Library and drop it onto a component on the canvas.

02:19

The design immediately updates.

02:22

You can also drag and drop an appearance from the In This Design group for bodies or components.

02:28

As you see here, when applying an appearance to an instance, body, or component, all instances change to the applied appearance.

02:37

You can replace all assignments of one appearance with another from the Appearance dialog.

02:42

Under In This Design, drag and drop the new appearance onto the current or target appearance.

02:48

All components with the target appearance are updated, and the target appearance is unassigned and deleted.

02:55

You can also drag and drop an appearance onto a Browser node and only that body instance receives the new appearance.

03:02

A warning dialog asks if you want to remove appearances applied to bodies.

03:06

You can either remove them, keep them, or cancel the command.

03:12

Click Remove to remove the appearance and replace it with the selected one.

03:17

When applying appearances to one or more faces, it is easiest to do so in a single body design.

03:23

It is good practice to assign the component appearance first, then move on to the individual faces.

03:29

This part has the default steel material applied.

03:33

From the Library group, expand Metal > Steel, then locate and download Steel – Brushed Radial Overlap.

03:42

Once downloaded, drag and drop the material onto the body.

03:47

Next, in the Apply To group, select Faces.

03:52

In the Library, expand Paint > Powder Coat Smooth, then drag and drop Powder Coat (Blue) onto the face inside the center extrusion.

04:02

To assign an appearance to multiple faces on the same body,

04:05

select the faces first, then drag and drop the appearance onto one of those selected faces.

04:11

All faces in the selection set receive the appearance.

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