All material data is stored in under the Materials menu tree. By default 87 materials are loaded into CDS3.0 as example materials. These materials range in form from fibers, matrices (isotropic) and laminas to laminates, dry fabrics, liquids and gases. The proper assignment of the material type is important when exporting data to an FEA format for subsequent analysis.

Right click functions:

New Material: Creates a new blank material at the end of the database.

Rename: renames the selected material

Change material type: Available types include fibers, matrices (isotropic) and laminas to laminates, dry fabrics, liquids and gases. You can change one or more materials by holding the shift or control key. The menu icon will change to reflect the changed material type.

Duplicate Material: Duplicates the selected material or materials. If the Materials menu tree is right clicked, all materials are duplicated. All duplicated materials will be renamed with a "copy" prefix to identify them as a copy of an existing material and not confuse the user with a material may be already be used in a laminate or analysis

Delete Material(s): Deletes the selected materials

Load: Splits the window into two sections and opens a dialog box. Open a previously saved file and the data from that fill will be loaded into the top section. The user can then select any or all items and load them into the current environment.

Save Selected: Saves the selected item to a spreadsheet file. The created file is tab delimited and can be opened in notepad or Microsoft  Excel. If the file is saved with a *.xls extension then the file will be loaded into Microsoft Excel by default.

Export: Depending on the selected entity the data may be exported in a format that can be then read into a commercial FEA environment such as Abaqus or Ansys. 

Depending on what section is right clicked some or all of the above options are disabled. These items are also disabled if the user does not have the appropriate license file installed. Demonstration mode greatly limits what right click functions are available.