In the past, many people have asked me if you could optimize a part by using material as a variable. Well, in SolidWorks 2013, you can. With SolidWorks Simulation 2013, you can use the material of a part or body component in a Design Study using the new Design Study Materials parameter. This functionality allows you to evaluate a wide range of design choices or optimize a current design by defining a parameter that sets bodies to use different materials as a design study variable.To define a material as a variable in a Design study:
- Create a Design study.
- Click Insert > Design Study > Parameters or click the Design study tab and under Variables, select Add Parameter.
- In the Parameters dialog box, under Name, type a name for the parameter.
- Under Category, select Material.
- Under References, select the bodies for which the material is set as a variable in a design study. Rows highlighted in green contain bodies assigned to the material parameter.
- Click Apply and OK. An asterisk appears under Linked to show that the selected bodies are linked to the material parameter.
- Switch to the Table View tab to define the design scenarios.
- For each scenario, click the Select Material cell on the material parameter row.
- Select a material from the SolidWorks or custom materials library and click Apply. The selected material is applied to the bodies linked to the material parameter.
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