Cannot Assign Material to Part Created with Combine

[phlyx]

We have a very complicated gripper tooling jaw and the way we created it was modeling a finger/jaw, adding the part it is picking, then creating a new part with the Combine command.  Then more geometry was created to mate it to the gripper.  Then we created a Derived part from this to make an opposite hand version.  When we are in the Derived part, we can change the material to anything we want.  But when we're editing the original Combined part and we click on the material list there are no materials listed. 

And if we look at the iProperties, the material field is completely grayed out.

How do we assign material to a part created with the Combine command????

[Gabriel_Watson]

What Inventor version is this?
If your derive style selected was to create a surface, you will not be able to add material to it.
If you have solids, you can try right-clicking and picking Properties to adjust the material appearance of solids.
Similar thread: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-forum/inventor-2022-can-t-assign-material-to-part-created-by...

[blandb]

If it is multiple solid bodies you cannot change the material of each solid separately. If you want each solid to be its own respective part, then you would need to make components, and it will generate an assembly with all the solids grounded into position in the assembly. Then from there you can open each part that was made and change its material. Now, any changes in position or solids of the master file will reflect in the assembly.

[phlyx]

Inventor 2022.5.  And we didn't combine two bodies.  We subtracted one body from the other (Combine/Remove).  And if it were surfaces I do not believe we could have been able to derive a solid opposite hand part that we can change the material of.    

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Scott,

I guess this part is a Simplified part or a Shrinkwrap part, right? If it is a substitute part, the ability to change material style will be blocked. Please share the files so that the forum experts can help take a look.

Many thanks!

[Vgrafix57]

Hey @johnsonshiue, sorry for the delay, been really busy.  Attached is a part I cannot assign material to it with Inventor 2022.5

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! This was a substitute part, although the link back to the source assembly was broken. Once a part was designated as a substitute part, the ability to assign a material style is removed. I recalled in older releases 2018 or earlier, such behavior was allowed. But it introduced more confusing behaviors. For such part, you might as well derive it again or export it as STEP and import it back since the features are gone anyway. Then the material style can be assigned.

Many thanks!

[blandb]

I would of probably used the "Copy Object" command to do this. You can take your original assembly, make sure no components are open, and then just edit the top block directly in the assembly. Now use the copy object command to copy in the zerk as a surface. Now use the sculp tool to cut it away. See video for a quick example.

[phlyx]

I found a work around but wanted to suggest that we be allowed to set the material.  What I did was from the combined part I did a simplify and made a new IPT for that IPT and I could assign material to the new IPT.  But not sure why we have to do thru that extra step.  Basically what I did was made an assembly with the two parts, then did a simplify.  Then I did a combine in the simplified part.  Then I had to do a simplified part AGAIN so I could assign material to it.  Wish I got paid by the click.... <jk>