---
title: How to create a User defined Material in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation
description: If you find that the SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation Engineering Database does not have the specific material you need, fear not! Creating your own custom material is a straightforward process that gives y
---
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1. [MECAD Systems Knowledge Base](https://faq.mecad.co.za/knowledge?hsLang=en)
2. [SOLIDWORKS Simulation](https://faq.mecad.co.za/knowledge/solidworks-simulation?hsLang=en)
3. [SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation](https://faq.mecad.co.za/knowledge/solidworks-simulation?hsLang=en#solidworks-flow-simulation)
# How to create a User defined Material in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation
If you find that the SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation Engineering Database does not have the specific material you need, fear not! Creating your own custom material is a straightforward process that gives you the flexibility to input unique properties tailored to your project's requirements. By following a few simple steps, you can easily add a custom material to SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation and enhance the accuracy of your simulations.
1. **Getting the Properties for your materials.**
Before we add our material in SOLIDWORKS, we will first need to find its properties.
Depending on the material, you will require different properties, i.e. gases, compressible Liquids and non-Newtonian fluids.
It is worth noting that SOLIDWORKS expects the use of SI units, but it is possible to change this.
For example, defining a gas requires:
• Specific Heat Ratio – (Cp/Cv)
• Molecular Mass – 0 kg/mol
• Dynamic Viscosity – Pa⋅s
• Specific Heat Capacity – J/(Kg⋅K)
• Thermal Conductivity – W/(m⋅K)
2. **How to store Data**.
Once you have found the required data, it is in your best interest to arrange it in a way that allows for it to be input easily into SOLIDWORKS. An example of this would be by using Excel.
Not only does it allow you to copy and paste the data directly into SOLIDWORKS, but it also means that all your data is stored in an external location.
This is good because the default Database can be purged when a SOLIDWORKS update to a new year version is performed — check the release notes for your specific version to confirm this behaviour.
The image below shows an example of what the data looks like when stored in Excel.
*\[Insert screenshot of Excel spreadsheet showing material property data arranged for copy-paste into SOLIDWORKS.\]*
3. **Creating a User Defined Material.**
Now that you have the data you can import it into SOLIDWORKS.
You will first have to select the Engineering Database in the Flow Simulation Command Manager.
Then select the “+” symbol next to material.
Next select the type of material, select the “+” symbol and right click “User Defined” and select the option, “New Item”.
Once you have created a new item, SOLIDWORKS will open the “Items Properties” tab and prompt you to name the material and give it non-zero values for the specific properties.
If any values are temperature-dependent, switch to the **Tables and Curves** tab and paste the data directly from Excel. Below is an example of what this looks like.
*\[Insert screenshot of the Tables and Curves tab in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation Engineering Database with temperature-dependent data entered.\]*
Once you have filled in the required data you can now save your material and close the Engineering Database.
You can now use your custom material in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation like any other material. There are two ways to add it:
1. **Wizard tool:** When setting up a new Flow Simulation project, proceed through the wizard to the fluid or solid material selection step. Browse to your user-defined material under the appropriate category and select it.
2. **General settings (existing project):** With an existing Flow Simulation project open, go to **Flow Simulation** \> **General Settings**. Navigate to the **Fluids** or **Solids** section, click **Add/Edit**, and select your custom material from the **User Defined** category.
In summary, the process of adding a custom material in Flow Simulation mirrors that of adding one in SOLIDWORKS. By leveraging Excel spreadsheets, you can effortlessly include and manage additional custom materials.
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