setting default material for frame generator members

[Myles1]

I have created and authored some custom members for frame generation.  Each family has its own Material for the members.  If I simply insert the iPart or place it from the content center the material is fine, and appears in the BOM perfectly.  If I try the "Insert Frame" tool, with my skeleton in place, the material listed when I select the member I want, is whatever material was last used.  This presents a problem, since the material should be determined by the member selected.

I've read plenty of posts here, and I can't seem to find a solution.  Many posts have mentioned this Material Wizard, but when I select "Material Guide" on the family icon in the Content Center Editor, I recieve the following error: "Material Style list is empty or no tavailable. Material Styles are required to proceed."

The material listed in the family table is correct, but when inserting the frame member, by default, it is what ever was used last.  I don't mind that is can be changed, but I would like the default to be waht is liseted in the family table for each member.

Any ideas?

Inventer 2011

[salariua]

I think this is partially correct. It will reset itself if you restart Inventor so while you keep working (same session) it will help you by remembering your last settings which is what you want really. You don't want to change material for each member you generate all the time.

I am saying partially because I think it should persist only until you change assembly not inventor restart. 

What I usually do is change material in BOM with drag drop. I only have the most commonly used material in CC, didn't added more on the family (keep it clean and fast access) and I didn't added more families (material wizard) because it's hard to maintain (linked or not) and I don't like my files replaced when I change material (different families).

[Anonymous]

A bugbear of mine for many a year.

Square tube is steel, why I have to continually tell frame generator that astounds me.

Would love to know a fix to this - if there is one...

Regards.

[blair]

The unfortunate problem, is that using the stock Content Center supplied with Inventor, it that all Materials and most Structural Shapes are supplied. It appears the problem you have is with the default Libraries. They are alphabetical and thus, are sorted alphabetically. You need to copy the designed stock Read-Only libraries to your own Custom Library and make your edits there to remove the Materials you don'd need.

Then add this Library to your Project Folder so it can be used. 

[Anonymous]

Care to elaborate on that some more?

To my knowledge the Content Centre I'm using is custom, or at least heavily modified.

Aust. Standard (AS) Hollow and Round sections predominantly.

Regards.

[blair]

I'm not at my office and Inventor but within the Family Table, you can have different materials for each member (drop-down list). This is why you have to select the type of material.

Unless you delete the different materials from your custom CC you will have this problem.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been playing around with this again now.

When I insert a frame generator part I get the choice of “Generic” or “Steel PB”; my custom material. I would still like it to simply give me “Steel PB” as the only option.

And here’s another; when I insert a piece of RHS into an assembly, from Content Centre, as “Steel PB”, it comes in with appearance “As Material”, which I have set to “Lead”.

When I insert a piece of SHS in, the appearance is “Grey”. When I clear the override it becomes “Lead”. I have no appearance overrides in the Content Centre (that I’m aware of) and have done exactly the same thing as the RHS.

Any ideas as to why it’s doing this?

This stuff can really do one’s head in!

Regards.

[blair]

Depending on who published the CC library you use as to which materials they added to their family tables. Since it sorts alpha-numeric, the Generic will always be first before Steel.

Don't confuse Material and Appearance.

Material has physical properties such as density and mechanical properties for FEA. Appearance has no physical properties and only changes the color of an object.

[Anonymous]

These particular CC families, from memory, are “out of the box” with Inventor, although I’ve made quite a few changes over time.

I’m not confusing Material and Appearance. The Material references an Apperance.

Shall I assume the “Grey” is hanging over from the original colour of the part before it was published?

In the Family Table for both, in the Material column, I still have “Generic”, “Steel, Mild”, and “Steel PB” available in the drop down. Is there a way I can remove the unwanted materials?

Regards.

[blair]

You should be able to delete them from within the Family Table

[Anonymous]

Right click > family table > material column > drop down > steel, mild.

Cannot delete.

Regards.