Selecting a Material

You start by activating the application and selecting a material.

1. Open a part.
2. Display the Sustainability Task Pane by doing one of the following:
   • To use SustainabilityXpress, click SustainabilityXpress (Tools toolbar or Evaluate CommandManager tab) or click Tools > Xpress Products > SustainabilityXpress.
   • To use full Sustainability, click Sustainability (Tools toolbar or Evaluate CommandManager tab) or click Tools > SOLIDWORKS Applications > Sustainability.
   The application opens in the Task Pane.
3. Under Material:
   1. Select a Class of materials.
   2. Select a material Name.
   The Class and Name lists contain all materials in the Sustainability database, including custom materials to which you have added sustainability data.
   The software displays the part's weight and the amount of recycled content. The Recycled content field is editable if the sustainability database contains primary (virgin), secondary (recycled), and trade mix (default mix of virgin and recycled content) values.
4. Edit the recycled content value if you have more precise information. Click Use Trade Mix to return to the database defaults.
5. Optional: Click Find Similar to search for materials with similar characteristics to the material you have selected.
   See Using the Find Similar Material Tool.
6. To make the material the active Material in the FeatureManager design tree, click Set Material.
   The model updates in the graphics area.

   The Environmental Impact dashboard at the bottom of the Task Pane provides real-time feedback about the environmental impact of your design.