About Core and Covering Materials

A core material is the constitutive material of an object.

You can use core materials in the following contexts:

Context	Description
Simulation	The Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio specified as part of the material's linear elastic domain are used to compute simulations.
Assembly Design	The density specified as part of the material's attributes is used to calculate mass.
Rendering	If there is no covering material on top of the core material, the attributes specified as part of the core material's appearance domain are used to display the material.
Drafting	The attributes specified as part of the material's drafting domain are used to represent cross-sectional views with the appropriate hatching patterns.
Composite	The attributes specified as part of the material's composite domain are used in designing composite parts.

Important: You can apply only a single core material to an object.

A covering material is a thin coat of material on the exterior surfaces of an object.

You can use covering materials in the rendering context. It allows you to display the parameters on a covering material.

For rendering purposes, a covering material takes precedence over a core material.

Important: You can apply up to three covering materials to an object.

You can combine a core material and a covering material within a single object.

The image below shows an object made of bronze and coated with red paint.

1	Core material: bronze
2	Covering material: red paint