Okay, we have a very capable CAD system that can create fantastic and complex designs; but can someone please sort out how you colour parts/assemblies in!!!. It's basically embarrassing explaining to people that you cannot colour you new design in correctly!!!. God forbid trying to set up your own colours or textures.

Someone please explain what's going on!!!. I seem to spend more time thinking I've coloured in a component/assembly only to find out that when I bring it into an assembly it's not what I expected, or you then contact your VAR to find out it's a bug!! and you've wasted 2 hours!!. I gave up on Photoworks years ago.

It get's even better when your using PDM and have to raise Engineering Change Notes to explain the reason for the Revision change as 'Wrong Colour'.

So can someone explain this to me.

1. Model part and apply create colour/appearance. (Casting)
2. Create assembly with the part (casting) and create various Assembly cuts (Machining). Colours and textures then disappears!!!

FANTASTIC!!!

Here's another brilliant example with a textured molding.

1. Model moulding with correct appearance and add a texture to the required surfaces.
2. Create assembly with the molding and create some Assembly cuts. Any surface that has a texture disappears!!!

The VAR work around.

1. Model moulding fully textured and then change the surfaces that you don't want texturing, which is usually 90% of the molding!!
2. Create assembly with the molding and create some Assembly cuts. Everything looking great.
3. Add Assembly to higher Assembly seems to work fine.
4. I then open PhotoView360 and all the colours and textures are STUFFED!!!!!. Well no rendered images for me then.

So for the past 3 months I've been using this work around. Guess what, I'm evaluating 2010 and Solidworks have stuffed me yet again and all the appearances have all disappeared!!!.

HELP!!!!! Is there a useful link explaining how to colour things in!!!!

All I want to do is to add an appearance from a 'Company Standard' that I've set up and for it to filter all the way from part to assembly. When I want a fancy rendered image open Photo360View and bang job done. Why can't we have all the appearances in one network location, that is easily customisable and works with Photoview 360.

Simple!!!!!