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1-Visitor
January 28, 2013
Question

Assign different color to a family table component

  • January 28, 2013
  • 19 replies
  • 11614 views

I have an assembly with 5 different components and I'm planning to create 7 different instances. 4 of the 5 components will always be painted the same color, but the 5th component needs to be a different color (color-coded for each of the 7 instances). When I assign that component a color in the generic assembly, the same color propogates to each of the 7 assembly instances.

Anybody know how to overcome this problem?

19 replies

Patriot_1776
22-Sapphire II
January 28, 2013

This has been covered. You can create different materials with different appearance (but same mechanical properties), and then assign different materials to different instances. You must load all the different materials first in the generic, and then add the parameter "PTC_MATERIAL_NAME" as a column and swap out the different materials for the different instances.

Dale_Rosema
23-Emerald IV
January 28, 2013

http://communities.ptc.com/message/192964#192964

This is a link to that thread. You may have to cut and paste.

Thanks, Dale

24-Ruby III
February 28, 2013

Bill,

today I read the following information:

1. Select the required colors for the respective material by using menu selection

File > Properties > Change Material > Double click on the required material >

Appearances Tab > Chooser > Select the required Color > OK >#OK.

2. Note that no color is assigned to the generic part the PTC_MATERIAL_NAME

for generic should be UNASSIGNED.

3. Select the parameter PTC_MATERIAL_NAME as the variant for the family table

and then select the required material for each of the instances.

Martin Hanak

1-Visitor
February 28, 2013

Martin,

This is precisely how I set up my family table, but it does not work. When I open a part (whether it's the generic or an instance), it always adopts the most recent color in memory (PTC_MATERIAL_NAME).

Once in a while a regeneration might work, but it's only temporary.

24-Ruby III
February 28, 2013

Bill,

just in case I have some time to test it by myself... What ProE/Creo version do you use ?

Martin Hanak

14-Alexandrite
March 1, 2013

Hi folks,

If you need to add diferent color for your components and do you want to use Family Table, you can create on your Generic model Surfaces Copy feature (as Solid Surface copy = select surface>RMB>Solid Surfaces >> CTRL+C >> CTRL+V -> enter)

Change name in model tree (you can set same name for copy feature as your color).

You can create many of copy geometry features and then set diferent colors for Quilts (created surfaces).

In Family table you can select features (Copy geometry) and set "visibility" for your instance models.

Regards,

Vladimir

24-Ruby III
March 1, 2013

Vladimir,

just one note ...

It seems to me that in the past, ProE mixed the color of solid face with color of quilt surface, when user used this trick. Stripes of both colors were displayed instead of quilt color.

Martin Hanak

14-Alexandrite
March 1, 2013

Hi Martin, it is working correctly - I have tried it with ProE Wildfire 2.0 too

different_colors.JPG

Regards,

Vladimir

3-Newcomer
September 23, 2026

Hello, a few years late to this thread but maybe someone still faces the same problem. We have Creo 12.4. and I managed to assign different colours to instances of family table.

What you need to do first is that you assign a colour to the every material you’re planning to use. Once you got this covered, you go to the generic part and you add all those materials to the model. You should not set some material to master, leave it as it is.

In model tree under the Design Items expand Bodies and here you have to assign a material to body, not to the model itself. (see screenshot below)
 

Here it does not matter which material you decide to select, but it has to be one of those which you added to the model.

After that, you can create a family table. Add columns → choose parameter → and here in the Look In tab you have to select Body (see screenshot below)

Once you select look in to body, you have to click on your body in model tree for a parameter to appear in selection box.

You confirm selection with Insert Selected and then you just add instances to the family table and from the drop down menu select the material you need.

 

To my knowledge this is the only way to display different colours in instances without a bug.

Hope this helps :)