Assigning Materials

You can assign materials from 3DSpace, 3DSearch, or xStudio's content panel to product parts.

This task shows you how to:

Before you begin: If you want to assign a material from the Content panel to a part, make sure it already exists, or insert it upfront, see Inserting Materials.

Assign a Material from the Content Panel

You can assign a material from the content panel to a part.

  1. Select the part you want to assign the material to
    • either in the viewer, by clicking once to select the product, and a second time to select the part
    • or from the content panel's model tab.

    You cannot assign materials to the whole product.

  2. Open the material tab of the content panel.
  3. Drag the material you want to assign from the list to the viewer.
    The material is assigned to the part on the Experience level, which changes its appearance accordingly. For material assignments, a so called "bottom up" rule applies, which means that material changes on superior parts do not overwrite the below ones.
    Tip: If you want to change the appearance of a part only on the scene level use material tweaking instead. This creates a scene Change.
  4. Optional: In the material's properties panel , tweak the assigned material or texture. For more information, see Tweaking Materials.
  5. To remove the material assignment again, see Removing Material Assignments.

Assign a New Material Through the Action Bar

You can assign a covering material to a part at the same time when importing it.

  1. Select the part you want to assign the material to
    • either in the viewer, by clicking once to select the product, and a second time to select the part
    • or from the content panel's model tab.

    You cannot assign materials to the whole product.

  2. From the action bar, select the flyout of inserting content and choose Insert Material .
  3. From 3DSearch select the covering material you want to assign to the part.
  4. Click OK or drag the material through the top bar to the app's widget.
    The material is inserted to the Experience and listed in the content panel's material tab. The material is assigned to the part on the Experience level, which changes its appearance accordingly. For material assignments, a so called "bottom up" rule applies, which means that material changes on superior parts do not overwrite the below ones.
    Tip: If you want to change the appearance of a part only on the scene level use material tweaking instead. This creates a scene Change.
  5. Optional: In the material's properties panel , tweak the assigned material or texture. For more information, see Tweaking Materials.
  6. To remove the material assignment again, see Removing Material Assignments.