Set Material

The Set Material tool sets the material of objects. You can give the objects one material or a list of materials.

The material of an object is shown in read-only properties such as Name (material), Layer set name (material) and Layer thickness (material), so you cannot change it by editing the property values. The tool writes the material into the IFC material information of the objects and the properties follow.

An object that already has a material loses it, whatever it was. For example, when a wall with a layer set gets a single material, it no longer has a layer set name or a layer thickness. Objects outside the Target keep their materials, even if they had the same material as the objects in the Target.

After the run, the tool reports how many objects got the material and how many of them had a material that was replaced.

There are also other ways to change materials:

• To change the name of a material and keep everything else, for example the layers and their thicknesses, use the Rename Material tool.
• To remove the material of objects, use the Delete Materials tool.

This tool only changes the material information defined by the IFC material system. If the model has property set properties that contain information related to materials, they are not changed.

Replacing material information can have unwanted side effects. For walls the position of the wall can be dependent on the material layers, and replacing the material layers can shift the geometry of the wall. In some cases specific material information is also mandatory according to the IFC schema (enforced through Where rules). Some applications may complain about this.

Settings

Target

Defines the objects whose material is set. You can select, for example, the objects of an object class or a group. You can read more about selections in the Configuration Editor guide. The default value is all objects, so check this setting before you run the tool: with the default value, the tool replaces the material of all objects with the new material.

If the selection does not find any objects, the tool reports a warning and does not change the model.

An object can also have a material through its type object. This material is shown in the Name (type material) property. The tool does not change it unless the Target includes the type object, and the default value does not include type objects.

Material Type

Defines whether the objects get one material or several. The default value is Single Material.

Single Material

The objects get one material, which you define in the Material Name setting.

Material List

The objects get several materials, which you define in the Material List setting. The materials have no thicknesses or other structure. In an IFC2x3 model the tool creates a material list (IfcMaterialList), and in IFC4 and later models a constituent set (IfcMaterialConstituentSet).

Material Name

Defines the name of the material. This setting is available when the Material Type is Single Material, and it is mandatory then. Spaces before and after the name are ignored.

If the model already has a material with exactly this name, including upper and lower case letters, the objects get that material. Otherwise, the tool creates a new material.

Material List

Defines the materials of the objects. This setting is available when the Material Type is Material List, and it is mandatory then.

Each item in the list is either a material name or a part name and a material name separated by a colon, for example, Concrete or Glazing:Glass. Spaces before and after the names are ignored, and empty items are skipped. If an item has a part name but no material name, the tool reports an error and does not change the model.

The Name (material) property of the objects shows the items separated by a hyphen. For example, the items Lining:Aluminium and Glazing:Glass are shown as Lining:Aluminium-Glazing:Glass.

Part names are available in IFC4 and later models. In an IFC2x3 model an item with a part name makes the tool report an error and leave the model unchanged. The first colon always separates the part name from the material name, so a material name in the list cannot contain a colon. If you need a colon in the name of a material, use Single Material.

Release Notes

This tool was added in Simplebim 12.0 SR1