ParaCrux

Available Everyday · 5 min

Put cited materials into SOLIDWORKS

Find a grade in the Materials tab, check where each value comes from, then add the whole library to SOLIDWORKS' Edit Material in one export.

Video in production

Until it is ready, this is the running order. Each step is also written out below, and you can try it in the simulator.

  1. Find a grade

    Home › Materials; type S355, then add EN 10025-2; the count drops from 14 to 5.

  2. Read the evidence

    Select S355J2; Min badge, thickness band, the source line under each value.

  3. When search finds nothing

    Type brass: No matching materials. Type CW614N: three results.

  4. Export

    SOLIDWORKS open; Export to SolidWorks; the status lines; restart SOLIDWORKS.

  5. In SOLIDWORKS

    Edit Material › ParaCrux Materials; apply S355J2; mass updates.

You need

  • The desktop app on Windows. Browsing and exporting use no seat and no AI credit
  • SOLIDWORKS on the same computer, open for the first export

You'll come away with

  • Search 1,010 materials by grade, number, old name or standard
  • Tell a specification minimum from a typical value, and find its source
  • Export the library and find it in Edit Material

Step by step

  1. Open the Materials tab

    In the app, open Home and choose Materials. The count beside the heading shows how many materials match, out of 1,010 in 12 families.

  2. Search for the grade

    Type a grade, material number, old name or standard. Every word you type must appear, so adding the standard narrows the list. The family list narrows it further.

    “S355 to EN 10025-2 only”

  3. Search the way the library names things

    Search matches the words, not their meaning. 316L finds the 1.4404 grades because 316L is listed as another name, but 'brass' finds nothing: search for the grade, such as CuZn39Pb3 or CW614N.

    “brass”

  4. Read where each value comes from

    Select a material. Each value has a basis: Min is a specification minimum, Typ a manufacturer's typical value and Nom a constant. Strengths show the thickness they apply to, and every value names its source and the page or table it came from. Stockist data marks strengths taken from a stockist's datasheet rather than a producer or the standard.

  5. Note the SOLIDWORKS name

    The SolidWorks name is what you will pick in Edit Material. Where a grade comes in several forms, each form has its own name, such as 1.4404 X2CrNiMo17-12-2 plate.

    “316L stainless”

  6. Export to SOLIDWORKS

    Open SOLIDWORKS, then choose Export to SolidWorks under the material's details. The app writes ParaCrux Materials.sldmat to C:\ProgramData\ParaCrux\SolidWorks Materials and adds that folder to SOLIDWORKS' material databases. If SOLIDWORKS is closed the file is still written; open SOLIDWORKS and export again. Adding the folder is needed once per computer and SOLIDWORKS version.

  7. Apply it in SOLIDWORKS

    After the first export, restart SOLIDWORKS. In Edit Material, open ParaCrux Materials, then the group, and apply the material. SOLIDWORKS' own libraries and your Custom Materials are not changed.

Try it here.

This is the real material library, built into the page from the same tables the app ships, searched with the app's own rule. It shows four properties of each material; the app shows them all, with temperature tables. The export is simulated: the status lines are the app's own text, but nothing is written, and the SOLIDWORKS switch stands in for SOLIDWORKS itself.

Home › Materials simulated · real library 1.2.0 · real search rule

Materials

1015 / 1015

MATERIAL

EN AC-21000 KT4

Aluminium alloys · EN 1706:2020 · Permanent mould (gravity die) casting · T4 solution heat treated and naturally aged

Also known as
EN AC-AlCu4MgTi
SolidWorks name
EN AC-21000 KT4
PropertyValueBasis
Density2,790 kg/m³Typ
Raffmetal S.p.A. · p.1 PROPRIETÀ FISICHE table, PESO SPECIFICO 2,79 kg/dm³
Elastic modulus72 GPaTyp
Raffmetal S.p.A. · p.1 PROPRIETÀ FISICHE table, MODULO ELASTICO
Yield strength200 MPaMin
Raffmetal S.p.A. · p.1 PROPRIETÀ MECCANICHE table, row "IN CONCHIGLIA / T4", Rp02 EN 1706:2020
Tensile strength320 MPaMin
Raffmetal S.p.A. · p.1 PROPRIETÀ MECCANICHE table, row "IN CONCHIGLIA / T4", Rm EN 1706:2020

Strengths are specification minimums for the stated thickness unless marked typical. Check the mill or material certificate for design. The app also lists the remaining properties, temperature tables and full source references; this simulator shows four.

SolidWorks

Writes this library to “ParaCrux Materials.sldmat” in C:\ProgramData\ParaCrux\SolidWorks Materials and, with SolidWorks open, adds that folder to its material databases. SolidWorks’ own libraries and your Custom Materials are not changed.

Not exported yet.

Open SolidWorks and export again to add the folder to its material databases (only needed once per computer and SolidWorks version).

Materials, values, citations and search rule: the product's own (library 1.2.0) · Export status lines: the app's own text; nothing is written · Quoted phrases are what you might be looking for, typed as the search shown

What it won't do

  • Strengths are specification minimums for the stated thickness unless marked typical. Check the mill or material certificate for design.
  • A material already applied to a part keeps the values and look it was given. After a library update, apply it again to pick up new values and looks; the app does not yet flag affected parts.
  • SOLIDWORKS' material file has no place for temperature tables or curves, so only room-temperature values go across.
  • The folder can only be added while SOLIDWORKS is running, and a newly added library appears after SOLIDWORKS restarts.
  • Search has no synonyms: a family word such as brass or nylon finds nothing unless it is part of a listed name.

If you see a message

Covers: Materials library export. See the full index