how to handle materials

A forum to discuss the implementation of a good Materials system in FreeCAD
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bernd
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how to handle materials

Post by bernd »

At the moment we gone have 105 materials in FreeCAD. The could easily extended to more than 1000. In 95 % I need less than 10 materials. There is no need to have over 1000 for me. But in the 5 % I would like to have access to over 1000 materials. The problem is how to handle them?

In FreeCAD FEM we have implemented the export and import of materials, and the use of user defined material folders. This should not be in FEM.

How about the following ...
We gone split the material locations in material library and material app. The folder where the folders are ATM will be the material library (folder name does not need to change). The library could not only contain this folder, it could contain more resources. May be a user defined folder, may be a data base in the Internet ... There could be thousands of materials in all material library folders, even hundreds of duplicates. This dos not matter because, this folder can not be accessed directly from inside FreeCAD Gui if the user would like to choose a material in a workbench. There will be another new folder material app. The user needs to take care which materials he will copy from material library into material app. This folder material app will be accessed from within FreeCAD. We gone make sure in this folder are no duplicates. All the library and user defined folders and material editing will be in the materials library. In material app there are just the copies the user copies over.

How does that sounds ?


yorik wrote: ...
Jee-Bee
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Re: how to handle materials

Post by Jee-Bee »

Maybe not directly related to material locations but more how to handle the used materials...
It would be great if it is possible that every body/ part/ ...(don't know how it is called in arch) have the option to hang a material card on it. When giving a model to anybody still the model have the materials like it is mentioned. There is the possibility to calculate mass from the model and it is more easy for FEM.
damian
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Re: how to handle materials

Post by damian »

:shock:
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PrzemoF
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Re: how to handle materials

Post by PrzemoF »

@bernd, current material handling doesn't work, so anything that gives a promise to work better is a good idea for me.
eivindkvedalen
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Re: how to handle materials

Post by eivindkvedalen »

bernd wrote: Thu May 24, 2018 8:14 pm At the moment we gone have 105 materials in FreeCAD. The could easily extended to more than 1000. In 95 % I need less than 10 materials. There is no need to have over 1000 for me. But in the 5 % I would like to have access to over 1000 materials. The problem is how to handle them?

In FreeCAD FEM we have implemented the export and import of materials, and the use of user defined material folders. This should not be in FEM.

How about the following ...
We gone split the material locations in material library and material app. The folder where the folders are ATM will be the material library (folder name does not need to change). The library could not only contain this folder, it could contain more resources. May be a user defined folder, may be a data base in the Internet ... There could be thousands of materials in all material library folders, even hundreds of duplicates. This dos not matter because, this folder can not be accessed directly from inside FreeCAD Gui if the user would like to choose a material in a workbench. There will be another new folder material app. The user needs to take care which materials he will copy from material library into material app. This folder material app will be accessed from within FreeCAD. We gone make sure in this folder are no duplicates. All the library and user defined folders and material editing will be in the materials library. In material app there are just the copies the user copies over.

How does that sounds ?
Have you seen https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=16714?

It's old, but not dead, and I'd really like to get this into FreeCAD some day...

Eivind
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yorik
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Re: how to handle materials

Post by yorik »

I was going to reply what Eivind said :D

Yes, we really need something better, I already struggle when I need to find the concrete in the big list of materials.. Somehow materials should be grouped by some form of categories. and also at some point they need to be searchable, there will be no way to avoid that
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bernd
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Re: how to handle materials

Post by bernd »

ah yes I remember this old topic. OK I may start with some developmen in the material editor. This is on top off all eivinds development. Than we will have the same material editor in Arch and FEM. We need to have ONE material system not a lot.

@Yorik, how about a new subforum in development named materials or material system, which will collect all about materials? We have rare topics but they are spread around. Ivwould collect them in the new subforum.
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Re: how to handle materials

Post by damian »

Please, if I can help something, could you say me?
Thank you
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yorik
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Re: how to handle materials

Post by yorik »

@bernd good idea, will do that.
@damian check https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic. ... 64#p236464 anything you'd like to work on?
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