To Assign a Finish to a Component

Set parameters for the final appearance of the design.

What's New: 2024, 2024.1, 2025

The Finish command makes it easy to specify the appearance of your parts, components and assemblies and also the manufacturing process such as material coating or surface finish.

Access:

• Part: 3D Model, Tools tabs
• Assembly: Assemble, 3D Model, Tools tabs
• Sheet Metal - Folded Model: 3D Model, Tools tabs
• Weldment: Assemble, Tools tabs

All applied finishes are listed in a Finishes folder in the browser. Finish features are displayed in the order in which they were created. Use drag&drop to re-order the finishes in the browser node. The last finish in the browser takes priority and is displayed in the graphics area. Hover over a finish to highlight the areas of the part where the finish is applied to.

Each Finish feature setting has a parameter with corresponding unique name in the "Finish Parameters" category in the Parameters dialog. All Finish parameters can be exported. Exported parameters are displayed in iProperties. Note that change in iProperties doesn't affect the model finish feature parameters.

The Finish feature can be captured in Model State, iPart an iAssembly, when deriving a part or making a part.

In weldments, the Finish features work in a similar way to a regular assembly. They can be created in the top level, but they cannot be created in weld specific feature groups (Preparations, Welds & Machining).

In Express mode, you can delete and re-order finishes in the browser. Currently, you cannot create or edit them in Express mode.

Finish parameters are available in the Edit Rule dialog in iLogic, however access to the browser node for actions such as suppression is not yet available.

Currently, there are following limitations when using finishes in your design:

• The Finish feature appearance can’t be sent to Fusion.
• The Finish feature appearance can’t be exported to 3rd party file formats like STEP, or 3D PDF.

Key Concepts

• The Property Panel workflow is progressive and flows from top to bottom of the panel. Parameters in a section affect the feature and set the context for the following sections in the panel.
• Rename the finish from the property panel by clicking on the name and editing it.
• Preview controls are provided to switch the finish preview on or off.
• The property panel experience is the same whether working in a part or assembly model.

To Assign a Finish to a Component

1. On the Tools tab Material and Appearance panel click Finish .
2. Specify a preset. If there are no presets or the preferred one doesn't exist, continue the process specifying the needed finish parameters. Use the Property Eye Dropper to reuse setting from existing finishes by selecting them in the scene or in the browser. Only finishes from the same component can be selected. Make sure that you have Presets enables in order to see the command.
   Note: Once the finish is applied by clicking OK, a preset named Last Used is created automatically. You can continue to use the preset or save it to a specified name.
   Important: If you want to create a preset, and the option is disabled, then the Finish.xml file is set to Read-only. Navigate to (c:\users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor 20xx\Design Data\XML\en-US\finish.xml. Right-click the preset file and click Properties. On the General tab, in the Attributes section, deselect Read-only.
3. Use the selection filters to specify whether to select solid or surface bodies on the part, or only faces. In the graphics area, select faces or bodies to assign the finish. Select faces one by one, or click and drag to use window select.
4. Optional: Click within the Exclude field, and in the graphics window select faces excluded from the selection.
5. In the property panel, select the Type.
   • Appearance Select an appearance from the Appearance library that you want to apply.
   • Material Coating Specify the material coating to be applied to selected faces.
   • Heat Treatment Specify the heat treatment to be applied to selected faces.
   • Surface Texture Specify the surface texture to be applied to selected faces.
   • Paint Specify the paint to be applied to selected faces.
6. Set the selected type properties.
7. Optional: Click to disable the parameter. When the parameter is disabled, corresponding entries will not be created in the Parameters table. Any existing parameters associated with the disabled field will be removed from both the Parameters table and the iComponent table.
8. In the Advanced Properties, check the Export all Finish Parameters box to set all finish parameters as exported.
9. Click OK to apply the finish.

Edit the Finish name Using the Breadcrumb

When creating or editing a finish feature:

1. Click the breadcrumb text you want to edit to activate the text.
2. Modify the text.
3. Press Enter to commit the change.

To Edit the Assigned Finish

In the Finishes browser node, right-click the finish node, and select Edit Feature. Or, double-click the desired finish node.

To Delete the Assigned Finish

In the Finishes browser node, right-click the finish node, and select Delete.

To Suppress the Assigned Finish

In the Finishes browser node, right-click the finish node, and select Suppress.

Note: Suppression of Finishes can be controlled by Model States.