Material Favourites for easy access in SOLIDWORKS

Adding materials to all of your SOLIDWORKS parts is important.  Not only is this useful for reference in Bill of Materials or Title Blocks, but you must have the proper density values applied to the model for accurate mass properties. Learn how using a SOLIDWORKS Material Favourite will save you time when assigning a material to your part.

If no material is assigned to a part file, a default density value is applied.  This value is defined under Tools > Options > System Options > Document Properties > Material Properties within a given file.  The default SOLIDWORKS templates have a density of 1000 kg/m^3 (0.036 lb/in^3).

SOLIDWORKS Default Density Value with No Material Assigned

To ensure your model mass will be correct, verify that the material assigned has the proper density value.  The volume of the solid body geometry in the part is multiplied by the density value of the material.  A custom material may need to be defined if the density differs than those of the default SOLIDWORKS material database.

The SOLIDWORKS 2020 material search field is a new enhancement that makes finding a required material easier.  Though more often than not you’ll use only a select few.  This is where Material Favourites can save some time.

Right-clicking on Material from the FeatureManager Design Tree provides a menu with a list of common materials.  The list can be modified and set with your own personal favourites by selecting Manage Favourites.

SOLIDWORKS Manage Favourites

The Material dialog opens and the Favourites tab is selected.  Choose a material from the left panel and click Add.  Or select a material from the list of favourites and Remove.

SOLIDWORKS Favourite Materials

If you want to go one step further, you could create multiple part templates each with its own material.  Then the new part already has the defined material.

SOLIDWORKS Part Template with Material Defined