Texture orientation Dumb newbie question

[PaulP]

Just got the program...and of course I am facing a deadline for a rendering!

I have brushed stainless steel sheet metal that is bent into a rectangle shape.
How do I get the grain of the brushing to all go in one direction? Right now it changes at the bends. So its correct on my verticals but then it goes 90 degrees the other direction on the horizontals.

thanks,

Paul

[Speedster]

Hi Paul;
In your native CAD, you need to "map" each surface a different color, any colors will do.  So do your top in green, side in pink, etc. This instructs KS as to your intent when you apply the material.  Apply each material individually, not as Copy/Paste.  You will have to adjust the angle of any given surface(s) to get them all to align. It's actually very simple!    Below is a screenshot that helps explain this technique.  I did this so I could align the oak grain properly on each spoke.  Hope this helps.
Bill G

[PaulP]

Thanks Bill,

It helps, some...in your example it make perfect sense because it is an assembly of many pieces. But in what I am trying to do I can't see how to do it. If you will indulge me, let me use another example.  I have a piece of wood that is a cap for one part, its 1" thick and 6" wide, in KS the wood grain shows up along the length of the 6" width, just as a real board of wood is, but the grain goes the wrong direction on the 1" thickness.  Of course its just 1 piece in my CAD (Inventor) and there is no way to "map" each side of the one piece of material.

Given I am brand new to this I bet I am missing some simple thing...(I hope!)

[guest84672]

Apply different colors to the surfaces and then apply the materials separately. This will allow you to apply the material control the material per surface.

[PaulP]

OK I got it, I knew it was a dumb newbie thing, thanks guys! Long weekend ahead, but the best way to learn new software is with a real project and a real deadline!

[guest84672]

Not dumb at all. We have all the surface level information inside KeyShot, and ideally you should be able to select the surface inside KeyShot. But we haven't exposed it yet for the sake of keeping it simple. We will get there.

Enjoy, and come back here to ask for help if you need it. Our community is quite helpful!

Thomas

[PaulP]

OK thanks, and now a follow up to my original question.

So I have an assembly that I import. If there is a grain issue(and it may be ironic that my first effort has both wood and brushed stainless steel) Does EVERY planar surface need to be mapped withing my CAD?

It seems so, but I thought that at least different parts in the assembly would not need to be mapped. My results are saying otherwise, even down to the radius on the bent sheet metal. Until I changed its color in the CAD it was coming out as wood grain because it was not a different color than the wood part.

I know this example is maybe not common as everything I have has grain issues, but this seems like a lot of work in my CAD files.

Is there an easier way?

Thanks again,

Paul