[Visualize] How to apply and control a Decal on a Model

This article discusses the process of how you can apply and control a new decal on a model in a SOLIDWORKS Visualize project. 

With models that have logos or an image attached, SOLIDWORKS Visualize, just like its CAD product, provides the ability to apply a decal. 

You can insert a new decal by navigating to Projects > Appearances > New Decal or by navigating to the Appearance tab of your Palette and selecting “New Decal”. Any image type, such as JPG or PNG can be used as one.

Then, drag the decal from the Palette and drop it onto the face of your model. In order to start manipulating the decal's scale and position, be sure to select the Move Tool, and select the Decal in the graphics area or palette to activate the decal’s Transform Manipulator.

To rotate the decal, you can drag a point on the green circle back and forth. You can drag the blue or red cube of the Transform Manipulator tool while holding the left mouse button to scale the decal evenly in both horizontal and vertical directions. If you right-click the blue or red cube instead and drag it, you will scale the decal in the vertical and horizontal direction, respectively. Dragging the arrows will move the decal in the directions they are pointing. Lastly, you can move the decal freely by simply dragging the decal’s center.

There are additional controls in SOLIDWORKS Visualize to manipulate your decals to your liking. You will notice that, by default, your imported or new decals will have a decal depth of 0.1000. Change the value as needed to increase or decrease the depth, as shown below. Note that if you wish to apply the decal on multiple parts in your project, you can select “Multiple Part Decal”.

Lastly, you can also apply appearances to your decal. Simply drag and drop an appearance onto the decal when it has already been applied to the model. The decal will have an appearance icon attached in the palette and you can edit its appearance to change the general color, brightness, or texture.

If you have any questions regarding applying and controlling decals in The SOLDIWORKS Visualize, please contact Hawk Ridge Systems Technical Support at 1-877-266-4469 (US), 1-866-587-6803 (CAN), or support@hawkridgesys.com.