Table of Contents
- How to save an example material as a custom material in MSI
- How to access this “custom” material in PIC
- Material Impacts in PIC and MSI
Custom materials in MSI can be used in PIC, while example materials in MSI are just that -- examples, and therefore not included by default in PIC.
If you want to use the example materials provided in MSI, you must save it as a custom material in MSI first and then select it as a custom material in PIC.
How to save an example material as a custom material in MSI
- Select Products.
- Select Higg MSI in the black navigation bar.
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This will take you to the Higg MSI Dashboard, where you can select the example material you want to save to use in PIC.
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In this example, we’re going to save Bovine (cow) leather to use in PIC. Select the material.
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On the Example Materials Tab, select the checkbox next to the material, followed by Customize. <>
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Enter in details about the material. The Material Name and Material Category fields are required. In this example, we’ll enter in Cow Leather as the name, select the button next to Leather, and select Add Materials.
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Since we are duplicating the example material from MSI, no further changes need to be made. Select Next.
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On the next page, select Save as Final.
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You’ll see that Cow Leather has been added to the Company Custom Materials tab.
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It is also available on the Higg MSI Dashboard.
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How to access this “custom” material in PIC
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Now that the MSI example material has been saved as a custom material in MSI, navigate to PIC to access the material. Select Products.
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Select Add Product.
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In the Materials section, select Custom from the drop-down menu.
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In the Materials search bar, you’ll find the Cow Leather we duplicated from the MSI Example Library.
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Material Impacts in PIC and MSI
The impact of materials used in PIC are averages, which means they are representative materials for the industry. PIC materials are an estimate and representative of a material’s average impacts for the industry.
The impact of materials used in MSI are not averages. Rather, they are representative examples of real materials. This means you can recreate the materials in MSI because they are examples of raw materials that have gone through specific processes and therefore have a specific impact associated with them.
PIC does not integrate fully with the MSI generic library because generic PIC and MSI materials are both representative materials, and therefore equally not “real” materials. On the other hand, custom materials are real materials that have been modeled using MSI.
So in terms of level of data granularity, MSI materials are more granular than PIC materials, however the most granular data would be the actual materials that went into making your unique material.