Match properties in part or assembly files

[Anonymous]

Maybe I'm missing it, but I did a search for "Match Properties" in this forum and most of what came up involved hatches, sketching, drawings, etc. I dont see any posts that reference parts or assemblies and the "matchprop" command.

This is what I mean; I just made a plate of 3/16" stainless steel to be used as a walking surface in a dairy plant. The outside edges are broke up 90 degrees to incorporate the necessary kickplate. There is technically no diamond tread plate in the sheet metal environment, so I just ctr-LMB all the surfaces that I want to have the diamond plate appearance and modify the properties to diamond plate. It can get a bit tedious to make sure I clicked on all the appropriate surfaces day-in and day-out. This is where a "matchprop" command would be useful. Select the source surface appearance, then select all the subsequent surfaces you would like to exhibit that appearance. Take that a bit further into assemblies. We often help each other with projects and one person uses "expanded metal 01" and the next guy uses a different expanded metal appearance. It would be nice to "matchprop" them to appear the same too. Just sayin...

-Mike

[danmachen]

Hi Mike,

There is an "appearance override" feature in an assembly view, where you can override the appearance of all the parts within an assembly, for example with colour. You should see a multi-coloured colour picker tool, that allows you to do some copying and pasting of colours around your assembly. This should help with your problem perhaps.

However, the HUGE limitation of this as you point out is that it does not allow you to select individual surfaces!

This needs improving in my opinion, you're right.

Dan

[Anonymous]

Hey Dan,

I have run across the color override quite often in the past. Sometimes we'd get models from customers that just can't let go of the AutoCAD layers/colors when they transitioned onto IV/SW. They make each component in an assembly a solid color using the very tool you mentioned. I can always see that little asterisk up there tipping me off to the overrides. That capability is very handy indeed but it is like going after a fly with a missile. 

The thing is, as you probably know, tread plate only has treads on one side. The other side is a smooth mill/pickled finish. Being able to apply the bitmap to one side of my sheets makes sure the plasma/waterjet/laser guys know which side is up and it aids the fab crew too. It's the same scenario when I run jobs with expanded metal. That one goes deeper. I apply the bitmap to both sides of the sheet for a more accurate appearance but lo, the weight of the project doesn't reflect the expanded metal. Or perforated plate/sheet. Or fiberglass grating. Or metal grating. Or punched stair treads/ladder rungs. 

Thanks for the input!

-Mike

[inv.ideareview]

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[steve.schollmeier]

Long time listener, 1st time caller . . .

1)  How does one match properties in a part or assembly?  (I can do it with dims. in a drawing).  I am making a frame assembly from 2" square tube and I would like to have the complete frame be the same color.

2)  Where do I look to find the official color of a current part?  I did not see it in iProperties.

The included screen dump should help illustrate my dilemma.

Thanks for your answers!