Material Levels in Toolbox

Figure 1: Library Specification Groups.

Figure 2: Project Specification Groups.

Materials in Toolbox can be controlled through one of two interfaces, each of which is attached to one of two levels of control: library materials, and project materials, which would be accessed via the Toolbox Setup tab, under either Library Specification Groups (left) or Project Specification Groups (right).

Project specification group refers to the materials, cut parts, and hardware that are specific to the currently opened project, whereas the library specification groups option contains and manages the materials, cut parts, and hardware present in the entirety of one’s Library, and as such, would apply across all projects and future projects. When a material is controlled on a library level, if one desires to alter or edit the material, it must be done by accessing the Library Specification Groups. The reverse is true for materials controlled on a project level, requiring one to open the Project Specification Groups. 

Material Spec Groups & Libraries

Figure 3: Library Specification Groups interface.

1. Pointers: Microvellum’s customizable material sorting system that allows users to set materials in their project or library as the standard, default material for specific parts of a product. These pointers can then be applied to product parts without requiring a great amount of sorting through the inventory, across multiple products. To apply a material as a pointer, one needs only to select the material within the material folders and files window, click the pointer they want to apply the material to, and click the arrow in-between the two windows.  (For further information, please consult the Material Pointers Overview article.)
2. The Sheet Stock Library: Contains the list of materials that come in sheet form, with a defined length, width, and thickness to it. This is the representation of the average material most shops will be working with on CNC machines.
   
3. The Solid Stock Library: Contains the list that come in solid form, such as lumber or moldings. The materials in this category operate under assumptions of being “raw” or largely unprocessed. 
4. The Buyout Library: Contains the list of materials designated as "buyout" materials. "Buyout" is the term used by Microvellum to refer to material that is intended to be used in a product or project but will specifically be purchased or manufactured from outside of one’s own business and is therefore not subject to estimations of labor costs or time constructing. 
5. The Edge Band Library: Contains the list of materials created to be placed on the edge of a part or countertop. Examples of this sort of material would be real hardwood lumber, strips of plastic laminate, rolls of PVC tape, etc. 
6. The Hardware Library: Contains the list of hardware that is present in the library or in the project. Hardware is the metallic or otherwise constructed, branded parts of a product, such as hinges, fasteners, elbow catches, locks, pullouts, and drawer slides. 
   
7. Material Folders and Files: The window in which one can interact with and organize the materials in one's library or project into folders, edit them, and designate the type of material.
   
8. Material Search and Description: The field for searching in which one can enter the name of and find the materials contained within either their library or project specification groups. The basic information of the material is also displayed, such as the name, thickness, code, graining, or name in the database. (This information is entered into the Material Setup Fields in the Material Edit interface, see below). 
   

Figure 4: Material color code.

The Material Submenu

Figure 5: The material submenu.

1. Add New Category – Allows you to create a new category or subcategory.
2. Rename Selected Category – Allows you to rename a category.
3. Delete Selected Category – Allows you to delete a category. 
4. Move Selection to Another Category – Allows you to move materials to another category.
5. Copy Selection to Another Category – Allows you to copy materials to another (or the same) category.
6. Edit Selected Material – Allows you to edit the properties of a material.
7. Add Material – Allows you to add a new material to the selected category.
8. Add Formula Material – Allows you to add a new formula-driven material (for advanced users only).
9. Delete Selected Materials – Allows you to delete materials.
10. Edit Multiple Materials – Opens another interface which allows you to change several different fields of information.
11. View Correspondence for Selected Material – Allow you to view/add correspondence records for a material.
    
12. Inventory – Allows you to set up and manage inventoried materials (used with ERP solutions).
    
13. Vendors – Allows you to set up vendors for specific materials (used with ERP solutions).
14. Mark Selection as Cloneable – Allows you to setup materials that will be copied from the Foundation Library template and converted to project-level materials.
15. Associate Selected Material with Selected Pointer – Allows you to assign a material to a pointer in the left section of the interface.
16. Find and Replace Description Inside this Category – Allows you to perform a find and replace within a category.
17. Hardware Machine Tokens – Allows you to access the associative machine tokens for hardware.
    

Editing Materials

Figure 6: The material editing interface.

1. Material Setup – Allows you to set up the material.
   
1. The Description field allows for the changing of the name of the material (no special characters allowed).
   
2. The Thickness is the unit by which the named material will receive its distinguishing measurement (must be a number above 0).
   
3. The Code field is used inputting any codes necessary for inventory of the material (such as SKU), as well as for overriding routing and border tools. It can also be used for part numbers or other data – more common when setting up buyout or hardware materials.
   
4. The Comments field is available for any additional needs tracking the material, or else inserting comments that one may wish to see in a report, for example.
   
5. Markup, waste factor, and labor value are all estimation fields to be used when utilizing Toolbox for project estimations. (For more information, please consult the How to Use the Toolbox Project Costing Tools article).  
2. Grain Setup – Allows you to set the grain direction for the material.
   
3. Face 6 Handling – Allows you to set an option on how to handle face 6 machining. (Most 2-sided materials can be set up as Always Flip. 1-sided materials can be set up as Always Ask or Never Flip – prior testing is recommended.)
4. Sheet Setup – Allows you to enter sheet sizes, material margins, and optimization priorities. (The default quantity is 2000. If all sheets have an optimization priority of 1, the system will optimize to get the best yield using all the available sheets. Numbers greater than one will optimize as materials are needed.)
5. Extended Data – Allows you to set up extended data to be used in reporting.
6. Hatching – Allows you to select the type of hatching to be used when drawing sections.
7. Region – Allows you to select your region.
8. OK – Allows you to save changes and exit.
9. Cancel – Allows you to cancel the operation.
   

Figure 7: Additional fields for solid stock/edgebanding/buyout materials.

1. Handling Code - The material level handling code utilized by material management systems. This is not the sheet level handling code, which is used in sheet stocks and is placed on a sheet-by-sheet basis. (For further information, please consult the Material Handling Codes article.)
   
2. Part Size Adjustment - The amount of adjustment desired for the specific material in the context of other measurements and unit value adjustments. It can be used to add additional size or compensate for a net part size if thickness is reduced through other processing parameters. This gives you more control over the premill amount specific to the material, allowing you to adjust the premill based on the edge thickness, instead of a static premill. (For further information, please consult the Edgeband Premill Settings and Part Size Adjustment article. The content applies across multiple materials, not just edgebanding.)
3. Estimate Price - The price intended or estimated to be paid for the material in question. 
   
4. Unit Type - The unit by which the price of the material is measured (such as "Each" being the estimated price for each individual unit, "Sq. Ft." being the price per square foot of material, so on.)

Renaming Materials Without Editing

Figure 8: Find and Replace name, demonstrated.

Formula Driven Materials

Figure 9: Formula driven material interface.

Formula driven materials are materials that can have every attribute generated by a formula, from the name of the material, thickness, sheet size, code, color, and so on, allowing it to automatically update in response to changes with other materials, product prompts, the project wizard, global variables, etc. All libraries are capable of containing formula driven materials, but only the Foundation Library contains formula driven materials by default. Formula materials can be created in any of the various material libraries within Toolbox but cannot be converted from non-formula driven materials. When creating or editing formula driven materials in Toolbox, the material creation UI will display in 2 new fields that are essential to the function of this specific material type. 

1. Material Alias Name - The material alias name is a static value name that can be assigned to formula driven materials to better assist in locating the material within one's database or material file. Most often, the material alias name is the generic material name, similar to that of a pointer name, which precedes the material name in the database and the material file in parentheses. When the material is located, the alias is the portion of the material's name placed in parentheses. 
   
2. Formula - The actual formula that generates all attributes of the material, except the alias. 

Assigning Materials in Part Properties

Changing the product using this method may cause issues with the product in question. The recommended method is to change materials in product prompts or using the materials UI. 

Figure 12: The material menu within the Part Properties interface.

 

Figure 13: Materials in the Part Properties menu.