Problem

MDL "Material Definition Language" is a new standard of materials that was created by NVIDIA. This adds another layer of appearances available for SOLIDWORKS Visualize. These are real-world physical appearances that can be used after they are downloaded to the system. Support for MDL materials was added with Visualize 2019.

Solution

To use MDL Materials, we will need to first download the vMaterial Library from NVIDIA:

1. Create an NVIDIA Account: https://account.nvidia.com/ 
2. Go to the NVIDIA site: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/design-visualization/technologies/vmaterials/#download-vmaterial
3. Click "Access the vMaterial Catalog" at the bottom
4. Click on the latest version of vMaterial to download
5. There will be an NVIDIA Account login prompt
6. Then the file will start downloading
7. Install the library in a convenient location on your computer. It is a very large download, and it does not need to be installed on the C: drive.
8. After downloading, copy the vMaterials folder to your SOLIDWORKS Visualize Appearances location; the default is: C:\Users\[user]\Documents\SOLIDWORKS Visualize Content
9. This location can be changed in Tools > Options > General > Library Paths > Appearances

The MDL Appearances will now show in the Appearances library. To use them now is just like all other appearances from the Appearances library. You can also import them individually if you prefer.

To add an MDL appearance manually into a SOLIDWORKS Visualize Project, follow these steps:

1. In the Appearances Palette, select '+' (Add) > Import Appearance.
2. Browse to where you have them stored and select an MDL file. You can also just Drag & Drop from Windows Explorer as well.

For more information about using MDL, check out our Video:

SOLIDWORKS Visualize: MDL Materials

For additional support, existing customers can submit a ticket or new customers can contact Hawk Ridge Systems.