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Decal advice

Question asked by Lee Henderson on Nov 3, 2017
Latest reply on Nov 7, 2017 by Lee Henderson

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Hello all, a few small queries I would like help with.

I'm new to decals (in both Solidworks and Visualize) however I'm concentrating on Visualize 2018 at the moment. I'm trying to fit a decal I've created into a recess in a panel. I've allowed a couple of mm tolerance between the recess and the decal size (decal is 2mm smaller all round). I realise I can manipulate the decal with the part selection tool but is there a way of accurately positioning it other than zooming in as close as I possibly can and just "eyeballing it" until it looks right? (which is what I've done in the attached screen grab).

Also I have established from reading on the forum that PNG files are the format of choice for decals. You can see on my attached image that the decal appears to be almost opaque, however the background should be bright white. I have used Adobe Illustrator to create my PNG and have tried various incarnations of PNG, transparent background, white background, anti aliased etc etc however I still get the same outcome? Could anyone suggest a possible solution to this? Or both ideally

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John Stoltzfus Nov 3, 2017 4:35 PM

I have almost always created a part the same size as my decal and added a jpeg file to the surface and then I edit the appearance of the picture to adjust the mapping till it fits the part. Then I would add the part (decal) into an assembly and mate it exactly where it needs to be, that way I can use part custom properties to automatically list the decal in the BOM.

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Lee Henderson @ John Stoltzfus on Nov 6, 2017 5:02 AM

Thanks for the reply John, sounds like I should do a bit extra in Solidworks before opening in Visualize to make my life a little easier then (at least when it comes to placing the decal accurately). Still wondering about the settings for the actual PNG to give me a bright white background..

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Brian Hillner

@ Lee Henderson on Nov 6, 2017 9:34 AM

Hi Lee,

PNG or TIF with transparent background work best for decals. I'm not sure why your transparent PNGs aren't working for you as expected.

Depending on how I want my decals in Visualize to look, I'll add an appearance to them. Did you know this is possible? You can drag/drop any appearances onto any decal. Sometimes to punch up my decals, i'll add a Flat 100% white appearance to it. This will help make your white decal actually white. To make them glow, i'll add an emissive appearance. And to make my decal have clearcoat (reflection), add a 100% white Paint - then adjust the Clearcoat and Roughness to the desired effect.

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Rich Fagioli Nov 6, 2017 9:38 AM

Like John, we also apply decals to correctly sized decal substrate (or part) that was created in SW. Beware of fickle import settings!

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Shad Thomas Nov 6, 2017 1:30 PM

I usually place the decals in solidworks rather than Visualize. I seem to have better luck with placement there. I too have had issues with colors coming in muted. As Brian said, try adding materials to your label after importing into Visualize, as this may help. I typically don't add any sort of label substrate due to my typical application being glass bottles.

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Lee Henderson Nov 6, 2017 3:02 PM

Thanks! Actually I've tried placing my decals onto my part (as John said) and have found it so much easier to position them accurately!

But thanks for all the helpful replies. Although I'm still trying to figure out why the decal background is grey rather than white

Thanks all

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John Stoltzfus @ Lee Henderson on Nov 6, 2017 3:11 PM

Did you check your lighting and ambient lighting?

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Lee Henderson @ John Stoltzfus on Nov 6, 2017 3:18 PM

I will John as soon as you tell me how to and in which (Solidworks or Visualize)

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John Stoltzfus @ Lee Henderson on Nov 6, 2017 3:34 PM

Start with SolidWorks, here

First the lighting and then the Environment/Scene

In Visualize check with Brian Hillner the Visualize SW Expert

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Lee Henderson @ John Stoltzfus on Nov 7, 2017 4:48 AM

By cranking up the ambient light (0.3 to 0.8) the white background to my decals now looks white! (instead of grey). Thanks John that was very helpful. With your (and the communities) help I'm edging towards the result I'm after!

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10 Replies

John Stoltzfus Nov 3, 2017 4:35 PM
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I have almost always created a part the same size as my decal and added a jpeg file to the surface and then I edit the appearance of the picture to adjust the mapping till it fits the part. Then I would add the part (decal) into an assembly and mate it exactly where it needs to be, that way I can use part custom properties to automatically list the decal in the BOM.
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- Lee Henderson @ John Stoltzfus on Nov 6, 2017 5:02 AM
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  Thanks for the reply John, sounds like I should do a bit extra in Solidworks before opening in Visualize to make my life a little easier then (at least when it comes to placing the decal accurately). Still wondering about the settings for the actual PNG to give me a bright white background..
  Like • Show 2 Likes2
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  - Brian Hillner @ Lee Henderson on Nov 6, 2017 9:34 AM
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    Correct Answer
    Hi Lee,
    
    PNG or TIF with transparent background work best for decals. I'm not sure why your transparent PNGs aren't working for you as expected.
    
    Depending on how I want my decals in Visualize to look, I'll add an appearance to them. Did you know this is possible? You can drag/drop any appearances onto any decal. Sometimes to punch up my decals, i'll add a Flat 100% white appearance to it. This will help make your white decal actually white. To make them glow, i'll add an emissive appearance. And to make my decal have clearcoat (reflection), add a 100% white Paint - then adjust the Clearcoat and Roughness to the desired effect.
    Like • Show 5 Likes5
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Rich Fagioli Nov 6, 2017 9:38 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
Like John, we also apply decals to correctly sized decal substrate (or part) that was created in SW. Beware of fickle import settings!
Like • Show 3 Likes3
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Shad Thomas Nov 6, 2017 1:30 PM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
I usually place the decals in solidworks rather than Visualize. I seem to have better luck with placement there. I too have had issues with colors coming in muted. As Brian said, try adding materials to your label after importing into Visualize, as this may help. I typically don't add any sort of label substrate due to my typical application being glass bottles.
Like • Show 3 Likes3
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Lee Henderson Nov 6, 2017 3:02 PM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
Thanks! Actually I've tried placing my decals onto my part (as John said) and have found it so much easier to position them accurately!
But thanks for all the helpful replies. Although I'm still trying to figure out why the decal background is grey rather than white

Thanks all
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- John Stoltzfus @ Lee Henderson on Nov 6, 2017 3:11 PM
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  Did you check your lighting and ambient lighting?
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  - Lee Henderson @ John Stoltzfus on Nov 6, 2017 3:18 PM
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    I will John as soon as you tell me how to and in which (Solidworks or Visualize)
    Like • Show 2 Likes2
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    - John Stoltzfus @ Lee Henderson on Nov 6, 2017 3:34 PM
      Mark Correct
      Correct Answer
      Start with SolidWorks, here
      
      First the lighting and then the Environment/Scene
      
      In Visualize check with Brian Hillner the Visualize SW Expert
      Like • Show 1 Like1
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      - Lee Henderson @ John Stoltzfus on Nov 7, 2017 4:48 AM
        Mark Correct
        Correct Answer
        By cranking up the ambient light (0.3 to 0.8) the white background to my decals now looks white! (instead of grey). Thanks John that was very helpful. With your (and the communities) help I'm edging towards the result I'm after!
        Like • Show 3 Likes3
        Actions

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