Creating a New Material Library and Adding Materials
When you first open the Material Browser, an empty User-Defined Library is available for you to start creating your own library of materials (see Figure 9-1). These steps describe how to create a copy of the existing library, rename it, and then add materials to the empty library.
Creating a User-Defined Material Library
1
On the Materials toolbar, click Browse Material .
2
Create the empty material library. There are different ways to do this in the Material Browser window:
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Click the New Material Library button () under the tree.
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Navigate to the material you want to add — copper, for example. Right-click and select Add to New Library.
3
In the New Material Library dialog box, navigate to the folder on the computer where the empty User-Defined Library database is located. The location of the file varies based on your installation. For example, if the installation is on your hard drive:
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The file path on Windows might be similar to C:\Users\Your_Name\.comsol\v53\materials.
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On Linux, the file path is typically ~/.comsol/v53/material.
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On the Mac, it is typically <home folder>/Library/Preferences/COMSOL/v53/material (if missing, click the Finder’s Go menu and hold down the Option key to show the Library folder). You can also search for the filename User_Defined_Library.mph.
4
Right-click the User_Defined_Library.mph and select Copy. Right-click in the window and select Paste.
5
Click the copied filename to rename it. The new name must include underscores (_) between words (for example, My_Metals.mph.)
6
Click the new material library filename and then click Save. The empty database, with a new name, is added to the Material Browser.
7
Click Done .
Adding A Predefined Material to the User-Defined Material Library
Add any predefined material to a Component node in the Model Builder. There are different ways to add the material to the Model Builder as well as to the Material Library.
Using the Material Browser
1
On the Materials toolbar, click Browse Material to open the Material Browser.
2
Right-click the material to add, Copper for example, and select Add to My Metals (or any other material library available).
Figure 9-8: Adding a predefined material to a new user-defined library using the Material Browser (left) and after adding a material to the Model Builder (right).
Using the Add Material Window
1
On the Home or Materials toolbar, click Add Material to open the Add Material window.
2
Locate the material you want to add, Copper for example, and click Add to Component.
3
On the Materials toolbar from the Add to Library menu, select Add to <material library name>. Or in the Model Builder, right-click Copper and chose an option. See Figure 9-8.
Adding a Blank Material to a Material Library
1
On the Materials toolbar, click Blank Material . An empty Material node is added under Materials in the Model Builder.
2
On the Materials toolbar from the Add to Library menu, select Add to <material library name>. Or in the Model Builder, right-click Material and chose an option. See Figure 9-8.
3
Right-click the Material node to Rename Selected material to a more meaningful name.
Removing a User-defined Material from a Material Library
On the Materials toolbar, click Browse Material to open the Material Browser. Locate the material to remove. Right-click the material and select Remove Selected ().