Appearances Surface Finish PropertyManager

Use the Surface Finish tab in the Appearances PropertyManager to modify the surface finish of models.

If you have the PhotoWorks application add-in selected, but cannot see the Surface Finish tab, click Advanced.

Surface Finish

• Select a surface finish types to display its properties.

• None. No finish is applied to the material.

• From file. Applies a pattern based on an image file that you browse to in Image path.

• Casting. Applies an irregular casting pattern.

• Rough. Applies a coarse, uneven pattern.

• Tread Plate. Applies a regular tread plate pattern.

• Dimpled. Applies a regular dimpled pattern.

• Knurled. Applies a regular knurled pattern.

• Chips. Applies an irregular chipped pattern.

• Circular. Applies repetitive, circular patterns.

• Rough/Smooth. Applies a combination of coarse and smooth patterns.

• Select or clear Dynamic help to display pop-up tips. Pop-up tips include surface finish dependencies.

• Set values, or use the slider to control the surface finish properties.

• Amplitude. Sets the height of surface finish above the neutral model surface. A positive value raises surface finish, and a negative value indents the surface finish below the neutral model surface.

• Set or clear Use material scale and mapping to use the scale and mapping values that belong to the material.

• Scale. Controls the pattern of surface finish elements. A higher scale decreases the pattern incidence, and a lower scale increases the incidence of pattern elements.

• Detail. Sets the level of granularity for any surface finish. When set to high detail, individual surface elements appear in sharp focus; when set to low detail, surface elements appear in soft focus.

• Texture. Sets a range for the smoothness or roughness of brushed surfaces such as stainless steel. Texture is controlled by manipulating Amplitude and Scale.

• Sharpness. Influences the shape of the surface finish. A sharp setting (slider left) retains the original shape of the bump maps. A smooth setting filters the details of the bumps.

• Blend. For Dimpled, Tread plate, and Knurled styles, controls the extent of the boundary  between each bump and the surface.

• Radius. Controls the relative size and spacing of bumps for Dimpled and Tread plate styles.

• High Threshold. Controls the extent to which bumps rise above the material surface. The high threshold is an absolute distance from the neutral surface, where the amplitude equals zero. The high threshold extends further away from the neutral surface than the low threshold. For positive amplitude, the high threshold flattens the peaks of the surface finish. For negative amplitude, the high threshold flattens the valleys of the surface finish.

• Low Threshold. Controls the extent to which bumps dip below the material surface. The low threshold is an absolute distance from the neutral surface, where the amplitude equals zero. The low threshold extends closer to the neutral surface than the high threshold does. For positive amplitude, the low threshold flattens the valleys of the surface finish. For negative amplitude, the low threshold flattens the peaks of the surface finish.

Setting sliders for High and Low Threshold at approximately equal values minimize the height differences.

Related Topics

Appearances PropertyManager Color/Image tab

Appearances PropertyManager Illumination tab

Appearances PropertyManager Mapping tab