11 Replies Latest reply on Feb 21, 2017 6:00 PM by Ron Bates

how to layer materials

Thomas Loeff Feb 20, 2017 1:22 PM

I understand that layering materials can be quite effective. I'm not sure how this is done. For instance, if you wanted a high gloss finish on a wood material, would you actually create geometry in solidworks as a separate surface on top of the wood and apply for instance, a clear coat material to that? Or can you actually build up layers of materials on a single surface? I tried to do that, but one material just over-rode the other.

Thanks,

Re: how to layer materials

John Stoltzfus Feb 20, 2017 1:40 PM (in response to Thomas Loeff)

Not sure why you would want to layer materials but - yes you can.. You need to edit the material appearance and change the transparency, for a true picture the transparency needs to be less the further down you go..
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- Re: how to layer materials
  
  Thomas Loeff Feb 20, 2017 2:34 PM (in response to John Stoltzfus)
  
  I was discussing a visualize project I was working on with my reseller's tech support and was told that layering would produce a much better appearance; my wood finish was dull and lack luster.
  
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  - Re: how to layer materials
    
    John Stoltzfus Feb 20, 2017 2:43 PM (in response to Thomas Loeff)
    
    I don't layer may materials or appearances - it's in the appearance settings and mapping
    
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    - Re: how to layer materials
      
      Christian Chu Feb 21, 2017 12:14 PM (in response to John Stoltzfus)
      
      Now a day, I can't tell if an image from a 3D model or from a taken picture of a real object any more
      
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Re: how to layer materials

Brian Hillner Feb 20, 2017 3:54 PM (in response to Thomas Loeff)

Hi Thomas,

You can stack up to 4 Appearances on top of each other using the 'Multi-Layer' Appearance Type. This is especially helpful when wanting to put a layer of clearcoat over your existing appearance (wood, pain, carbon fiber, etc).
Create a new Appearance and select 'Multi-Layer' from the dropdown. You can then click the little '+' to add appearances. Just make sure to add them from bottom up, meaning add the base material first, then add the top one.

Go to the 'Automotive' category of the Appearances on the Cloud Library. Drag that into your scene and then you can see how it's done.
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- Re: how to layer materials
  
  Thomas Loeff Feb 21, 2017 12:09 PM (in response to Brian Hillner)
  
  I inserted to primitives cubes into visualize. Applied a wood material to (on the left), and a multilayered material with wood and glass (on the right). There is little difference between the two. How did John get the shiny, clear coat on his wood as shown in the chain previously?
  
  TL
  
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  - Re: how to layer materials
    
    John Stoltzfus Feb 21, 2017 12:11 PM (in response to Thomas Loeff)
    
    I keep my wood polished
    
    I use SW appearances rather then Visualize
    
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    - Re: how to layer materials
      
      Thomas Loeff Feb 21, 2017 1:33 PM (in response to John Stoltzfus)
      
      SW appearances seem to be much better. However, I've tried making new appearances using SW appearance settings as a guide and I'm not getting awesome results (like the clear coat on your pine)
      
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      - Re: how to layer materials
        
        John Stoltzfus Feb 21, 2017 1:48 PM (in response to Thomas Loeff)
        
        You need to mess with the appearance settings - adjust your Mapping, Lighting (if needed) Surface refection etc.. If you're working with wood assemblies - for a realistic look do each individual pc rather then areas like Visualize does..
        
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  - Re: how to layer materials
    
    Brian Hillner Feb 21, 2017 2:31 PM (in response to Thomas Loeff)
    
    Hi Thomas,
    Your shiny clearcoat on the wood very well may be there, but it might be tough to see the reflections because:
    The box is very flat and is difficult to show reflections. Try doing your tests on a sphere or the "Appearance Model.svpj" that comes with Visualize.
    The selected HDR is too plain and won't reflect anything into your model. Try using a variety of HDRs in the Libraries Tab.
    
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Re: how to layer materials

Ron Bates Feb 21, 2017 6:00 PM (in response to Thomas Loeff)

I don't think the answer to the original question lies in requiring or needing to use the multi-layer appearance type. In fact I wouldn't do that at all. Although, yes you can do that... But I suspect it's overkill in this case.

You can add plenty of gloss (high gloss or semi-gloss) as a reflection and roughness on many material types. If you really felt that "clearcoat" control was the answer, then you just need to switch the material type to Paint, and keep the diffuse/color texture in place...

The 3 rightmost are the default walnut appearance that ship with Visualize. They apply as "plastic" material type, with the texture set to the walnut. Just adjust the roughness values to achieve more or less "gloss"...
The leftmost is Paint with the same texture as others...clearcoat and clearcoat rougness values added set to suit a "semi gloss" look.
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