Materials in NX Render
Overview
Where
materials are stored in NX Render material definition and the NX interface types and their characteristics components
Internal Material Material
Colour Pattern Reflectance Bump Transparency Texture
spaces
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Sources of materials in UG
Materials Library - Default Archive (lwpda.lwa) External LWA Archives www.lightworks-user.com
Moldtech & Roehlen UNS Metals RAL
System Materials (a subset of the materials library) User Created materials
Use of 3rd Party texture libraries Adapt existing materials User defined Palette files (*.pax)
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Workflow of materials in UG
3rd Party Textures System Materials User defined Materials
Materials in Part
LWA Archives
Materials Library
User defined Materials
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Predefined Materials in NX Render
Metals - accurate representation Plastics Edit to get specific reflection effects Glass accurate representation Finish Always needs editing Pattern - Always needs editing
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Materials and Textures
Internal material definition
Colour
Reflectance
Transparency
Displacement
Material
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Materials and Textures
Colour is always required for a material. Defined in 2 ways:
material colour RGB Pattern Image based or procedural shader
Pattern overrides Material colour
Colour
View > Visualization > Material Editor
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Materials and Textures
A reflectance is always required Defines how light is reflected from the material Range of reflectance models provided
Reflectance
View > Visualization > Material Editor
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Materials and Textures
Bumps are optional (can be none) Appearance is dependant on the lighting Visibility is affected by reflectance type
Displacement
View > Visualization > Materials/Textures
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Materials and Textures
Translucency on the general tab Simple transparency Factors in backlight Transparency tab Transparency overrides translucency Image and procedural transparency effects
Transparency
View > Visualization > Materials/Textures
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Material Types Procedural vs Bitmap
Procedural Based on Algorithm No tiling problems Very controllable Resolution independent
Bitmap Based on Image
User definable Realistic
Effects limited to range of algorithms
Tiling problems for large areas Resolution dependant Time overhead preparing bitmap
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Material types Solid and Wrapped
Solid
Material components without wrapped in the title Calculated in 3D space No texture space required
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Wrapped
Material components with wrapped in the title Calculated in 2D texture space Require a texture space
Material Component - Categorization
Material Components Bumps/Pattern/Transparency
Procedural
Bitmap
Wrapped
Solid
Wrapped
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Pattern
Pattern contains a wide range of procedural material components
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Pattern
Procedural Patterns are parameterised and easy to change Some are more realistic than others Can be used to create other effects than those indicated by the name
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Pattern Wrapped Image
Wrapped image can be used for accurate representation of specific materials Create image yourself or use 3rd party texture libraries Wrapped images can only be positioned and scaled up or down
Image files need to be be tiff format with no compression
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Reflectance
Constant Independent of lighting Like ambient light of 1 Use for light sources/background images Matte materials with no specular reflectance Diffuse controls material brightness when illuminated Ambient controls material brightness in shadow Plastic Specular highlight Diffuse and ambient as for matte Specular controls highlight intensity Roughness controls highlight size
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Roughness
Specular
Plastic
Reflectance - Raytraced
Mirror
Raytrace reflections Appearance dependent on
surroundings Mirror default can be too high for some uses Ambient and diffuse often too low Useful for adding specular reflections to any surface
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Reflectance - Raytraced
Conductor
Accurate representation of metals Dont edit Refraction and absorption parameters Mirror can be changed to represent level of finish Can be used to represent anodized materials and metal finishes e.g.: Use aluminium or steel predefined shader Set mirror to 0 Set colour to black
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Reflectance - Raytraced
Dielectric Accurate representation of transparent materials Raytrace reflection and refraction Ambient, diffuse, Specular and roughness work as for plastic Dont use Translucency option with Dielectric or Glass
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Bumps
Optional can be None Dependent on lighting Procedural noise-based patterns - Rough, Casting
Create specific finishes such as spark erosion Add slight imperfections to surfaces Break up raytrace reflections
Procedural regular patterns
treadplate, dimple
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Bumps
Image Bump map
Use to emboss logos Add to colour image maps Use tiff files without LZW compression
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Bumps
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Bumps
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Transparency
Transparency textures are optional i.e. can be none Represent complex geometry using simple geometry
Eroded, Wrapped Grid Wrapped stencil uses greyscale to set alpha
Stencil lettering and logos onto surfaces
Note that improved render mode and below do not render transparency
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Texture Spaces
Available texture spaces Auto Axis Aligns to axis planes Spherical Longitude is half length of latitude Cylindrical To repeat around axis scale < 1 Scale along axis is num repeats Arbitrary Plane Use for non axis-aligned planes Accurate positioning UV Use for complex surfaces
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