eta/Post allows the user to modify material properties for rendering the part. The Material Property only takes effect when SHADE and MATERIAL COLOR options are both toggled on. The control window is illustrated in Figure 4.6.1.

Figure 4.6.1  Material Property Control Window

l  MATERIAL

Users may select the material from the Material drop down list. The available materials are: aluminum, steel, copper, gold, iron, silver, bronze, and rubber. Users may assign a material to the selected parts by using the PART ATTRIBUTE function.

l  MATERIAL COLOR

The program provides adjustment for AMBIENT, DIFFUSE and SPECULAR color by clicking the color box next to the property type. The program displays a color control window, as shown in Figure 4.6.2

Figure 4.6.2  Light Source Property Control Window

The user may click and drag the marker in the color map window to change the color of the selected material.  The program updates the model with the new material color in the graphic display window in real-time. It also shows the new material color in the color box on the lower left side of the control window. The user can compare the new material color with the original color on the right. The user may also click and drag the slider in the vertical bar to adjust the brightness of the selected material. The RGB values of the material color are shown in the column on the right side of the control window. The user may define the material color by entering the RGB value directly. The user may choose any of the following four scales to show the color values: Byte, RGB, Hex and HSV. When the desirable color is obtained, click OK to accept the color and exit the control window. Otherwise, click CANCEL to reject the color and exit the control window.

l  SHININESS

The user may click and drag the slider to adjust the shininess of the selected material.

l  RESET MATERIAL

Reset the material color to the default setting.