What is the SOLIDWORKS Materials Web Portal?

If the stock materials library is lacking in a material you may need, and you lack the information to create a custom material for a study you’d like to conduct in SOLIDWORKS Simulation, the solution lies in the SOLIDWORKS Materials Web Portal.

How can I access the SOLIDWORKS Materials Web Portal?

There are some requirements in order to access this database, and the availability of certain materials is limited based on your license type. In order to use the database, you must have a license of SOLIDWORKS Simulation and be on an active subscription. This does not include users of the Simulation capabilities available in SOLIDWORKS Premium. It is also worth noting that users of Simulation Standard will only have access to materials with properties for linear static and fatigue studies – Simulation Professional and Premium have access to the full set within the materials library.

Where do I access it?

First, ensure the simulation add-in is turned on in your SOLIDWORKS settings. Then when you navigate to the materials dialogue box, you should see the link to the SOLIDWORKS Materials Web Portal in the bottom left corner. Clicking on this will require you to accept terms and, once those terms are accepted, you will be directed to the portal in your web browser.

How do I add materials from it?

You can narrow the options for the materials available by selecting the type of study you would like to include and what type of material you are interested in using. After you select a class and subclass, and database, locate materials that fulfill that criteria and select a material model that is appropriate for your application.

Once you select a material and the various options available for it in the portal, hit download. Ensure that the file is then either added manually to the library by selecting “Add..”, the folder it is downloaded to is listed in your known file locations for material databases (System Options -> File Locations -> Material Databases), or the file is moved to whatever location is currently listed there.