ParaCrux01 / EXPORT
One file, in its own folder.
The Materials tab writes ParaCrux Materials.sldmat to a ParaCrux folder in ProgramData, next to SOLIDWORKS' own.
Features · Materials
Every value has a source. Every seat gets the same one.
1,010 engineering materials, kept by us, versioned, and the same on every machine. Search for a grade and every value names the document, the page, and whether it is a minimum, a typical value or a constant. Then send the library to SOLIDWORKS in one click.
The Materials tab is in the desktop app today. This page says what is checked and what is still to come.
42CrMo4
- 42CrMo4 +QT
- 42CrMo4+QT+C
- 42CrMo4+QT+SH
42CrMo4 +QT1.7225 · ISO 683-2:2018
- Density7,850 kg/m³typicalLucefin Group · p.2
- Elastic modulus210 GPatypicalOvako · PDF p.7
- Yield strength, Rp0.2900 MPaminimumLucefin Group · p.1
- Tensile strength1,100–1,300 MPamin–maxLucefin Group · p.1
- Elongation10 %minimumLucefin Group · p.1
- Thermal expansion11.1 µm/(m·K)typicalDeutsche Edelstahlwerke GmbH · p.1
- Poisson's ratio0.3typicalOvako · PDF p.7
Minimum yield by thickness, mm
- 1,010 materials in 12 families
- 8,459 property values, each cited
- 652 source documents
- 239 temperature tables
You probably know the material file we mean.
Someone built it years ago from a website. It's slightly different on every machine. Nobody can say where the yield strength came from, and the last upgrade quietly replaced it. We built the library so that file stops mattering.
A datasheet you can check.
Structural steel this time: S355J2 as it sits in the library. Follow any value to the page it came from.
S355J2 · 1.0577 · EN 10025-2● cited
| Property | Value | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Density | 7,850 kg/m³ | nominal | ArcelorMittal, Sections and Merchant Bars 2023p.182, material coefficients |
| Elastic modulus | 210 GPa | nominal | ArcelorMittal, Sections and Merchant Bars 2023p.182, material coefficients |
| Yield strength | 355 MPa | minimum | British Steel, Declaration of Performance S355J2p.1, by nominal thickness |
| Tensile strength | 470 MPa | minimum | British Steel, Declaration of Performance S355J2p.1, min/max |
| Thermal expansion | 12 µm/(m·K) | nominal | ArcelorMittal, Sections and Merchant Bars 2023p.182, material coefficients |
Minimum yield strength by nominal thickness
- ≤ 16 mm355
- 16–40 mm345
- 40–63 mm335
- 63–80 mm325
- 80–100 mm315
- 100–150 mm295
- Each value says what it is. A specification minimum, a manufacturer's typical value, or a physical constant. "Derived" means one thing only: shear modulus from E and Poisson's ratio.
- Strength follows thickness. The headline is the thinnest band and the others are listed. Tempers and product forms with different minimums are separate materials.
- Unstated means unstated. If a source doesn't give the test temperature or stress ratio, the library records that. It doesn't fill the gap.
- Clean sources only. Nothing from MatWeb, SOLIDWORKS' own database, Total Materia, Granta or Matmatch. The audit rejects them.
- Twelve families. Structural, engineering, stainless and tool steels, cast iron, aluminium, copper, magnesium, nickel, titanium and zinc alloys, and engineering plastics. 239 temperature tables sit behind them, including EN 1993-1-2 fire reduction factors.
Into SOLIDWORKS, without touching its own files.
One button in the desktop app. SOLIDWORKS then treats the library like any other material database.
02 / REGISTER
Added through SOLIDWORKS' API.
The app adds that folder to SOLIDWORKS' material databases. It only appends, so your existing folders keep their order.
03 / ASSIGN
Pick it like any material.
ParaCrux materials appear in Edit Material under their standard designations. Mass properties use the library's density.
It never edits solidworks materials.sldmat or your Custom Materials.sldmat. A material's name is fixed once published, because SOLIDWORKS finds materials by name. A later release can't break a part that uses one.
What we checked in SOLIDWORKS 2026
29 September 2026, SOLIDWORKS 2026 (34.4.1), 100 mm test cubes, density read back from mass ÷ volume.
| Check | Result |
|---|---|
| Assign S235JR from ParaCrux Materials | 7,850 kg/m³, as the library states |
| Update the library while SOLIDWORKS is open | New assignments use the updated values at once, with no restart |
| Restart SOLIDWORKS after an update | Updated values and newly added materials load |
| Reopen a part assigned before the update | Keeps the values it was saved with until you re-apply the material |
The last row is deliberate. SOLIDWORKS keeps material values inside the part, so a library update never silently changes a part you've already released. Re-apply the material when you want the new values.
Hardware preview · development
See the part you configured.
Change the dimensions and inspect the same vector drawing used by My hardware in the desktop app. No CAD session is needed.
Custom grade · Uncoated
- Shank diameter
- 7 mm
- Under-head length
- 28 mm
- Head height
- 7 mm
- Head diameter
- 12 mm
Threads, socket recesses, chamfers and radii are not modelled. Inch labels are rounded; model inputs remain in millimetres. Grade and finish identify the item; they do not change this outline.
Download this SVGThe desktop implementation can save a personal selection and prepare STEP or native ParaCrux files. This website preview does not save your inputs or synchronise a library. SolidWorks parts and mate references remain in development.
What ships today, and what's in the lab.
We would rather under-claim. If it isn't in the first column, you can't use it yet.
Available In the desktop app today
- The Materials tab: search 1,010 cited materials and filter by family
- Export to SOLIDWORKS in one click, registered through its API
- Versioned library releases, the same on every seat
Lab Not yet for sale
- Flagging parts whose material changed in a library update
- Material swaps on your own parts, driven by the Agent
Missing a grade you use?
Tell us the standard and designation. We add it when we can cite it, and we'll tell you if we can't.