default density

[mr.ska]

default density

I've wondered for a while what material has a density of 36.09 lb/cu-in. That's the default material density that has been coming up with new parts that I create... at least before I re-set that system-wide to a more reasonable 0.283 for steel. Whatever it is, it's dense stuff!

How about having a material table - even a rudimentary one - that you can pick a material out of, instead of just setting a value for density? You could specify a default material instead of a default density, which might be more useful.

 

[Willbur]

I think I know where that number comes from - it's 1 kg/cm^3 which are Alibre's default internal units (and 1 was just a nice number for the programmers to pick) - but I'm all for providing a list of materials from which to choose - saves me the trouble of looking up the density for something new. At the very least, just change that system default to aluminum or steel or something that actually exists and might be used....

 

[swertel]

If you create a list of choos-able materials, make it a separate text file that can be edited by each user. Having a separate text file makes it easier for us to add our own materials, add that next significant figure based on our sources for material properties (MIL-HDBK-5 comes to mind, even though it's cancelled), and so on.