Customize materials in the Generative Design workspace

You can create a new material in the Material Browser dialog. The Fusion Material libraries are read-only, and you cannot add, remove, or edit anything within them. You can only edit material properties in the Favorites library. First you need to create a new material entry in your Favorites library, and then you can add it to any user-defined library.

To create a new material

1. On the Define tab, click Materials > Manage Physical Materials .

   The Material Browser dialog opens.

2. There are three different ways to add a new material to the Favorites library. Choose the method that best fits your situation:

   • Locate an existing material in the Fusion Material Library, or from a user-defined library, to use as a template for your new material. When the cursor is over a library material, a pencil and arrow icon appears at the right end of the line. Click this icon to add the material to the Favorites library and display the properties for editing.
   • In the lower left corner of the Material Browser, click New Material and select Create New Material. A Select Material Browser dialog appears. Then:
     1. Browse to and double-click a material to use as a template for your new material. The physical properties are copied to the Material Browser dialog (which may be underneath the currently displayed dialog). Default description and appearance settings are also predefined.
     2. Close the Select Material Browser dialog by clicking the X in the upper right corner. The new material properties are now fully visible for editing in the Material Browser.
   • Locate an existing material in the Favorites library to use as a template for your new material and click it once. The material is selected, though there is currently no visual indication. Then:
     1. In the lower left corner of the Material Browser dialog, click New Material and select Duplicate Selected Material. Alternatively, right-click the material you want to copy and select Duplicate.
     2. Place your cursor over the new material entry and click Edit to display the properties for editing.

3. The material properties are organized into three separate tabs within the editor:

   • Identity: Choose the type of material (Plastic, Metal, and so on) and enter descriptive and product information about the material within this tab.
   • Appearance: Specify parameters that affect the rendered appearance of the material (color, roughness, highlight parameters, and more) within this tab.
   • Physical: Define the mechanical and basic thermal properties and the material strength within this tab.

4. Click Apply to commit the property changes or additions you have made.

5. To assign a unique name to the material, right-click the material in the Name column (not within the editor) and choose Rename from the context menu. Type the desired name and press Enter.

   Note: The material list is reordered to keep it in alphabetical order. Therefore, the material may move up or down in the list after you rename it.

6. Optionally, to delete a material, right-click the entry in the Name column and choose Delete from the context menu. You can only delete materials from the Favorites or user-defined libraries.

7. Optionally, to add a material to another library, right-click the entry in the Name column, access the Add fly-out menu, and choose the target library. You can only copy materials to the Favorites or user-defined libraries.

To create a new material library

You cannot edit materials or add new ones to Fusion libraries. If you want to add materials, or edit materials, you must do this in custom libraries. You can organize commonly used materials or share sets of materials with others from a personal library.

1. On the Define tab, click Materials > Manage Physical Materials .

   The Material Browser dialog opens.

2. Click Library in the lower left corner of the Material Browser dialog and select Create New Library.

3. In the Create Library dialog, specify a name for the new library in the File name field.

4. Navigate to the folder in which you would like to keep the new material library file.

5. Click Save to create the library.

   The new, empty material library becomes the current library.

To remove a user-defined library from the Material Browser

1. On the Define tab, click Materials > Manage Physical Materials .

   The Material Browser dialog opens.

2. In the material libraries tree, select the material library you want to remove.

3. Click Library in the lower left corner of the Material Browser dialog and select Remove Library.

   Note: Removing the library does not delete the .adsklib file. It only removes it from the Material Browser. Manually delete the library file if you no longer want it. Use the next procedure to reopen the library if you do not delete it.

To copy or reopen an existing user-defined library

Use this procedure to complete either of the following two tasks:

• To copy a custom material library from one computer to another
• To reopen a previously created library that has been removed from the Material Browser.

1. Make sure there is a copy of the library on your computer.

2. On the Define tab, click Materials > Manage Physical Materials .

3. Click Library in the lower left corner of the Material Browser dialog and select Open Existing Library.

4. Browse to the folder where the .adsklib file is located and select it.

5. Click Open.