Corrupt Inventor Material Library - Inventor 2022.0.1

[steve_lindley]

Hi,

We've got a strange problem with the appearance of some imported STEP files. I found a related topic listed on here, which seems to explain the problem.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-forum/step-import-appearance/td-p/7370276 

The solution to this was to replace the library and Autodesk had attached a link to download it.  That link was from 2018 though. Could someone upload a new link for 2022 please?

Many thanks

[SharkDesign]

What's your actual problem? 

Is it identical to the one in the link?

I.e. every file is coloured wrong?

[steve_lindley]

Our problem certainly seemed identical to start with. We are importing STEP files of ball bearings and they are opening with a steel mesh appearance. I can't figure out where the appearance override is coming from. An appearance for the mesh was saved to our library only yesterday, so I suspected it might have been corrupted then somehow. 

The import doesn't give you the option to select templates for parts or assemblies but I'm certain it's using the Standard.iam and the Standard.ipt. The parts are created with a 'Generic' material and 'Default' appearance from the Inventor Material Library. Once the assembly has loaded, I can open one of the parts separately and clear the appearance override, which puts it back to the expected grey appearance.

I have opened the Standard.ipt template, which comes in with the Generic material and Default appearance and if I create geometry in it, they work as expected. I don't see the mesh. 

To test the template, I changed the material to Mild steel and the appearance to Steel, saved, closed and created new. The material and appearance work as expected, so it now appears it's the import process that's a problem. 

To make identifying the problem even more difficult, we have probably ten STEP files for bearings in the same folder and every one of them shows this same issue when opening. The issue was raised by a colleague. Only an hour before he mentioned it, I opened a STEP file of a hydraulic valve block and had no problems with appearance at all. However, when I try the bearings, I see the mesh too. So I found another STEP file (a cylinder clevis) that was in a completely different folder and opened that. It comes in perfectly. No mesh appearance. 

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

[CGBenner]

@steve_lindley 

What was the source of these bearing files?  It may be something on the export end of things that is causing your issue.

[steve_lindley]

@CGBenner The bearing files are a small collection that we've downloaded over the last few years. Date modified column shows a variation from 2018 up to today. Most of them are from SKF, so I'd say a reputable source.

[SharkDesign]

Are you importing each time or are these inventor files that reference (not converted) the step?

[steve_lindley]

@SharkDesign The STEP files are downloaded or emailed from suppliers, which we open in Inventor, then Save as Inventor files (.iam or .ipt) as appropriate. 

The issue first came up today on one new STEP file, downloaded from a website. But in trying to figure out what was going wrong, we opened older STEP files, which will already have been opened and converted. We don't open the STEP files each time. Generally we open the STEP once and save out as Inventor.

[SharkDesign]

Just trying to establish where the texture is coming from.
If you open the step from scratch.
You get the mesh.
Go to the styles tab and click update.
Make sure the library that has generic is in the drop down.
Does generic show in the list below and say it's out of date?
If you select generic and choose yes, then press ok does it get rid of the
mesh on the model?

If so this suggests that the mesh is in a texture local to the template
being used for the mesh and not a problem with the central library.

[steve_lindley]

@SharkDesign 

When I open the STEP file now, from scratch, before it opens I have two Style conflict messages that tells me the material Generic in the templates; Standard.iam and Standard.ipt don't match the library. So I OK them and carry on. The bearing opens up with a mesh appearance. Starting with the assembly file;

When I go to Update, the options for the library are:

Inventor Material Library

Autodesk Material Library

Autodesk Appearance Library

Favourite Materials

Company Materials Library

Company Appearance Library

Under the Inventor Material and Autodesk Appearance libraries, there are no styles to update. Compared to the Autodesk Material library, the Generic material can be updated. In both the company libraries, a colour we have named "2074F Expanded Flat Mesh" can both be updated.

I chose the Autodesk Material Library. Changed the Generic material to Yes and OK'd it. There was no change to the appearance.

Opening one of the parts in a separate tab (not editing in place), the update style box shows the same results. If I choose yes to update the Generic material from the Autodesk material library, there's no immediate change to the appearance. I can click on the 'Clear' appearance override button, which then changes the appearance to the correct Default grey and is no longer mesh.

If I understand things right, when I update, my Generic material, saved locally in the part file now has the correct Default grey appearance and matches the Autodesk library. So I have then Saved that Generic material style back to the Inventor Material Library. I then opened my Standard.ipt template and updated the Generic material from the Inventor Material Library. Saved and Closed. Tried reopening the STEP file. There are no longer any Style conflict messages, but the bearing still opens with a mesh appearance. There are no styles to update in the Standard.iam as far as I can tell so the problem persists.

[SharkDesign]

Restart inventor. I don't know if that will fix it, but sometimes inventor
caches stuff and keeps the cache even if you don't save it. Restarting
inventor clears it.

[SharkDesign]

If you go to application options > file and look at the default templates location, that is the file being used for your step. You need to open that file on it's own and check what is going on with the generic appearance. Then fix it in there. Check both the part and assembly templates in that folder.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Steve,

It does sound like the material and appearance library was corrupted. To get the libraries shipped with Inventor, you may need to uninstall Inventor (including Autodesk Material and Appearance, Base Res, Low Res, and High Res Libraries). Then reinstall it.

Many thanks!

[steve_lindley]

@SharkDesign Thanks for all your input. After a crash yesterday afternoon, I actually installed the update for 2022.1, and I always restart my machine after an update as a matter of course. Worth pointing out again, that this is a problem not just for me, but my colleagues too. I can replicate it on three desktop PCs so it's not specific to a machine, but it can't be a cache problem.

We have several templates for parts and assemblies, all saved in the same folder and they include the Standard templates. That folder has not changed. It's a folder saved on our network that we all use. The STEP import process clearly uses the Standard templates (which we don't alter and are "out-of-the-box") because the Style conflict messages flag them up. It was in those Standard templates where I was updating styles, etc yesterday to test your suggestions. 

Our Design Data folder is on the network too, so we all share that. I think it's there that the problem lies.

@johnsonshiue Is it possible that I could download a new Design Data folder and replace that on our network, rather than re-install everyone's copy of Inventor? Would you be able to attach a link here for the folder, or send a link to a file share please?

[SharkDesign]

I had another thought. 

Do you all use the same project file?

Inventor can also use that template location sometimes.

The location is under folder options in your project. From what I understand, Inventor will only use 'standard.ipt' for  imported items (or .iam) and if that file doesn't exist (our company renamed all ours) it will use it's own internal files that you have no control over. 

So last chance to fix it would be to check the 'standard.ipt' in your shared template folder and see if it's messed up in there. 

If this one has the mesh on it then you know that it's that causing the issue. If this appearance has been changed it will over rule any other textures with the same name in the library.

Get rid of the mesh, save the template and it should be fine then. 

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Steve,

Unfortunately, there isn't a link to download \Design Data\. You will need to install a fresh copy to get the shipping libraries. We have customers building pristine images of Inventor physically/virtually for comparison purpose.

Many thanks!