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Guided exercise

Materials and process intent: author, bind, and let evidence go stale

Create or import a material card, bind it to plies, add a process card, read usage and counts, then regenerate stale evidence.

Time about 30 minLevel IntermediateExample Four-ply laminate with a cutout

This page prints cleanly to sit beside the workspace.

Prerequisites

  • A CAD laminate open with at least one region and one ply. Exercise 1 or 2 produces one.
  • A desktop browser with mouse input.

Starting example

Label
Four-ply laminate with a cutout
Open from
CAD laminate workspace → Tools → Templates → Four-ply laminate with a cutout.
Basis
Synthetic starter

Start from the four-ply starter if you do not already have a CAD laminate open. Its material record is a synthetic design assumption, so you can edit it or author a second one and compare. A real supplier card can be brought in through Import JSON or Import CSV instead.

Open workspace All tutorials

  1. Author or import a material card

    Press Materials. Select the existing material and read Name, Form, Nominal ply thickness (mm), Thickness basis, Process state, optional Areal mass (g/m²) and Width (mm), and Provenance. Or press New material and author a second one. To bring in a card, use Download JSON / Download CSV to see the shape, then Import JSON or Import CSV and press Apply.

    Controls this step usesMaterialsNew materialNameFormNominal ply thickness (mm)Thickness basisProcess stateAreal mass (g/m²)Width (mm)ProvenanceCreate materialApply changesDownload JSONDownload CSVImport JSONImport CSVApplyCancel

    Expected: The material list shows the record, its form, and which plies reference it. An import preview shows NEW, SAME and CONFLICT counts before anything changes; a conflicting import is refused unless you choose Replace conflicting cards.

    Note: A material record is authored design intent, not an approved material basis. It carries no process limit and this build computes no mass from it.

    Report this step ↗

  2. Bind the material to your plies

    Press Ply stack, press Edit on a ply, set Material reference (and Material name if authoring a new record) and press Apply changes. Repeat for each ply that should use it.

    Controls this step usesPly stackEditMaterial referenceMaterial nameApply changesRevert

    Expected: Each edited ply names the material, and the material panel’s referenced-by list updates.

    Note: A material name is fixed while any ply references it; the editor explains why rather than silently renaming.

    Report this step ↗

  3. Edit declared thickness and orientation

    Still under Edit, set Thickness (mm), then Orientation kind, Zero reference, the matching Plane or Rosette, Angle (°) and Surface side. Press Apply changes.

    Controls this step usesThickness (mm)Orientation kindZero referencePlaneRosetteAngle (°)Surface sideApply changesRevert

    Expected: The ply list and Declared ply-intent update to the new declared values, and Undo can step the change back.

    Note: Orientation is declared intent against the named reference. It is not a solved fibre direction and nothing drapes it.

    Report this step ↗

  4. Add a process card and bind it

    Press Process. Press New process card, fill Name, Process family (AFP, ATL, FILAMENT_WINDING or HAND_LAYUP), optional Machine reference (optional) and Applies to material, then add any Limitations with Add limitation. Press Apply card. Back in Ply stack, choose the card under Process card for <ply>.

    Controls this step usesProcessProcess cardsNew process cardNameProcess familyAFPATLFILAMENT_WINDINGHAND_LAYUPMachine reference (optional)Applies to materialAll materialsLimitationsAdd limitationApply cardProcess card forNo process card assigned

    Expected: The card is listed, and the chosen ply shows the process card instead of No process card assigned.

    Note: Process-limit values are declarations. An empty value means unresolved, and a cited value needs source evidence. This build computes no steering, gap, overlap or fibre-placement result from them.

    Report this step ↗

  5. Read material use, mass and orientation counts

    Choose Deliver → Export → Summary…. Expand Additional analysis · overlapping coverage and material mass basis to inspect the material mass basis.

    Controls this step usesExportSummary…Nominal material usageDeclared orientation referencesLocal declared thicknessOrientation references

    Expected: Nominal material usage reports grams where every distinct ply resolves, or states UNRESOLVED — no usage is claimed with the number of unresolved plies. Orientation references reports scalar, stored-only and unresolved counts.

    Note: Usage is a nominal subtotal from declared inputs; a partial subtotal is labelled as partial. It is not a cured part weight.

    Report this step ↗

  6. Deliberately make the evidence stale

    Leave the summary open note “Current”, then edit any ply (or a material field) and open Summary… again.

    Controls this step usesSTALECurrent — this summary describes the design on screen.

    Expected: The sheet now reads STALE — followed by why it is stale, and still shows the revision it was generated from.

    Note: A stale sheet that looked current is exactly the failure this state exists to prevent. Do not quote a stale number.

    Report this step ↗

  7. Regenerate and confirm Current

    Press Regenerate in Summary… (or in Plybook…), then read the state again.

    Controls this step usesRegenerateCurrent — this summary describes the design on screen.Plybook…Laminate plybook

    Expected: The sheet rebuilds from the design on screen and returns to Current.

    Note: Regenerate reads the design as it is now; it does not edit it.

    Report this step ↗

← Back to the guide

Completion checklist

  • A material record resolves and is referenced by the plies you chose.
  • At least one ply has edited declared thickness and/or orientation, applied.
  • A process card exists and is bound to at least one ply, or you have deliberately left it unbound and can say why.
  • Summary… reports nominal material usage and orientation counts, with UNRESOLVED labelled where it applies.
  • You have seen a sheet go STALE after an edit and return to Current after Regenerate.

Download a feedback report for this exercise ↗. The report stays local until you choose to share it.

Reset and recovery

  • Undo and Redo reverse material, ply and process edits.
  • Revert in an editor discards the open draft without applying it.
  • Delete a material, rosette or process card only when nothing references it; the refusal names what does.
  • Delete a ply and Undo brings it back; its material record is kept either way.

Why this matters

Materials, thicknesses, orientations and process cards are the numbers a downstream team reads. Learning to see them as declared inputs — and to treat a generated sheet as describing one revision rather than the design on screen — is what keeps a handoff honest.

What this exercise does not claim

  • No drape, fibre path, course or machine program is computed or implied.
  • No strength, stiffness, mass, producibility or qualification result is claimed; material usage is a nominal subtotal.
  • Process limits are declarations, not solved placement results.

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