Adding Materials

This task shows you how to define or reroute the materials used in your design.

See More about Materials and Laminates for more information.
Available in Composites Engineering Design (CPE), Composites Design for Manufacturing (CPM) and Composites Braiding (CPB).
Open an empty CATPart in either Composites Design or Grid Composites Design.

Adding Materials

  1. Click Composites Parameters  in the Parameters toolbar.
    The Composites Parameters opens at the Materials tab.

  2. Click Add Material. The Materials dialog box is displayed:

    Click ... and use the File Selection box to select a catalog of materials
    (e.g. CompositesCatalog.CATMaterial in the Samples directory).
    The Materials dialog box is updated with the materials contained in this catalog.
    A list allows you to filter the materials by family.
    By default it is set to All Families.

  3. Select the materials (at least one) you want to use (press Ctrl for multi-selection) and click OK.
    We have selected U174_T800.
    You can repeat this step with another material catalog to select more materials.

  4. The Composites Parameters dialog box is updated.

    All columns, as well as the dialog box, are resizable.
    Those columns list the material properties needed to update the CATPart:

    Material ID stands for Material ID
    Material name stands for the Material name
    Material type stands for Material type
    (Uni-directional, Bi-Directional, Non-Structural)
    Cur... stands for Cured thickness (mm)
    Unc... stands for Uncured thickness (mm)
    Fabr... stands for Fabric width (mm)
    War... stands for Warn angle (deg)
    Limi... stands for Limit angle (deg)
    kg_.. stands for (kg_m2), i.e. Weight per surface unit.
    Mat...  stands for Material density (kg_m3)
The parameters listed above are read from the material.
If those parameters are not visible, it indicates that the material link is broken.
 

  1. Select one material.
    • Use the Up and Down arrows to change its order in the table
      (and in commands defining zones and plies).
    • Click Reroute Material Link.
    • Click Remove Material to remove it from the list.

  2. The name of materials can be very long.
    They are displayed in the Material Name field, that cannot be edited.
    You can give the material a shorter name in the Material ID field.

Rerouting a Material Link

  1. Still in the Materials tab, select a material in the list.
    If its link to the catalog is broken, the properties information of that material are not displayed.
    Click Reroute Material Link.

  2. Material catalog displays the name and path of the catalog currently in use.
    Click ... to select another catalog.

  3. New catalog material lists the materials available in the current catalog.
    Correspondences are searched between the current material and those of the new catalog.
    • This search is based on the names of the materials.
    • If a correspondence is found, the corresponding material is proposed under New material to be used.
      Otherwise, this column is left blank.
    • If the correspondence found is not correct, or no correspondence is found,
      select a material from the New catalog material list.

  4. Click OK to validate the new link, and revert to the Composites Parameters dialog box.