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AutoCADTutorial|Basic3DandSurfaceModelling|CADTutor
Basic3DandSurfaceModelling
byDavidWatson
Introduction
AlthoughAutoCADhasanumberofcommandsforcreatingspecial3Dobjects,alotcanbe
achievedbychangingthepropertiesofbasic2Dobjectslikepolylines.Most2Dobjectscanbe
givenathicknessusingthethicknessoptionintheProperties(DDCHPROP)command.Although
objectswithathicknesscanbesaidtobeextruded,thisshouldnotbeconfusedwiththeEXTRUDE
commandwhichcreatessolidextrusionsgivinganobjectthicknessproducesasurfaceextrusion.
AllobjectscanbegivenanelevationbymovingthemintheZdirectionusingtheMOVEcommand.
WithacombinationoftheMOVEandPropertiescommandsyoucanquicklycreatesimple3D
drawings.
Usingthistutorialyouwilllearnhowtogiveobjectsathickness,howtomovethemvertically,how
toviewyour3Dcreationsandhowtousethe3DFACEandSHADEcommands.
TheDDVPOINTCommand
Toolbar
None
Pulldown
View
Keyboard
DDVPOINT
3DViewpoint
Select
Youcanusethiscommandtogetanaxonometricviewofyourdrawing.
ThereareanumberofwaystogetanaxonometricviewofyourAutoCADdrawingbutthe
DDVPOINTcommandisprobablytheeasiestandquickesttouse.Itis,however,buriedtwolayers
deepinthepulldownmenusoit'softenquickersimplytotypeitatthekeyboard,sincethereisno
toolbarbutton.Asyouprobablyrecognisefromthecommandnameitisadialogueboxdriven
command.TheViewpointPresetsdialogueboxisillustratedontheright.Asyoucansee,youdefine
aviewbyspecifyingtwoangles.ThefirstangleistherotationfromtheXaxis(thehorizontalangle).
ThesecondistheanglefromtheXYplane(theverticalangle).Usingthedialogueboxyoucan
specifyanangleeitherbypickingonthetwodialsorbyenteringanangleintoeachofthetwoangle
editboxes.Youcanevenlookatyourdrawingfromunderneathbyspecifyinganegativevertical
angle.Formostpurposesahorizontalanglealongoneofthediagonals,45,135,225and315anda
verticalangleof30givethebestresults.
YoucanreturntoaplanviewofyourdrawingbyusingthePLANcommand.Todothis,justenter
"PLAN"atthecommandpromptandthen
toacceptthe"CurrentUCS"default.Youcanalso
returntoanypreviousviewbyusingtheZoomPreviouscommandoption,Z
keyboardor
atthe
fromtheStandardtoolbar.
ThePropertiesCommand
Toolbar
Pulldown
Modify
Properties
Keyboard
DDCHPROP(singleormultipleobjects)DDMODIFY(singleobjectsonly)
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YoucanusetheDDCHPROPcommandtochangethecolour,layer,linetype,linetypescaleand
thicknessofanysingleormultipleobjectselection.TheDDMODIFYcommandgivesallofthese
changeoptionsinadditiontothosewhicharespecifictotheobjecttype.DDMODIFYisalwaysused
byAutoCADasadefaultforsingleobjectselectionswhenthePropertiescommandisselected
fromthetoolbarorfromthepulldownmenu.
CommandSequence
Command:DDCHPROP
Selectobjects:(pickoneormoreobjects)
Selectobjects:
Whenyouhaveselectedtheobjects,theChange
Propertiesdialogueboxappears.Tochangethethickness,
simplyenteravalue(indrawingunits)intheThicknessedit
box.Whenyouclickthe"OK"buttonyourobjectswillbe
extrudedbytheamountspecified.
Theillustration(right)showstheresultofapplyinga
thicknesstoacircle.Acirclewithnothicknessisshown
ontheleftandacirclewiththicknessontheright.
Effectivelyacirclewiththickness
becomesacylinder.Youcantellby
theorientationoftheUCSiconinthis
illustrationthatthisisanaxonometric
view(see"TheDDVPOINTCommand"
abovefordetails).
MovingintheZDirection
BynowyoushouldbequiteusedtousingtheMovecommandbutupuntilnowyou'veonlybeen
moving2DobjectsintheXYPlane.Movecanjustaseasilybeusedtomoveadrawingobject
vertically,perpendiculartotheXYPlane.YoucandothisbyusingXYandZcoordinatesorby
pickingpointsin3Dspace.
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Intheillustrationontheleftacirclehasbeen
movedfromthebaseplaneofacubetothetop
faceofacube.ThisisdonebyusingtheMOVE
command(Modify
Movefromthepulldownor
fromtheModifytoolbar).Juststartthe
MOVEcommand,selectthecircle,pickoneof
thelowercornersofthecubeasthebasepoint
(usetheendpointOsnap!)andthenpickthe
correspondingtopcornerasthesecondpoint,
againusingtheendpointOsnap.Ifyoulookat
thecircleinplanthereappearstobenodifference
init'spositionbecauseithasnotbeenmovedin
theXYplanebutperpendiculartoit.Youcanusethesameprincipletomoveanydrawingentity.
BearinmindthatyoumustalwaysuseanOsnapwhenyouarepickingpointsin3Dspace.Ifyou
donot,thepickedpointwillalwaysbeonthebaseplane,whichdoesn'tmakeanysense.Oneofthe
problemswiththisisthatyoumaynotrealiseyourmistakeuntilyouchangeyourviewposition
becauseinthecurrentviewtheobjectswillappeartohavebeenmovednormally.It'sagoodideato
keepswitchingyourviewpointasacheck.
Intheaboveexamplethemovewasfairlyeasybecausewehadacubetouseasaguide.Very
oftenyouwillneedtomoveanobjectverticallywithoutanyguide.Insuchacaseyoushoulduse
coordinates.Forexample,ifthecubeintheillustrationabovewas40drawingunitshighthenIcould
movethecircleusingthefollowingcommandsequence.
CommandSequence
Command:MOVE
Selectobjects:(selectthecircle)
Selectobjects:
Basepointordisplacement:0,0,0
Secondpointofdisplacement:0,0,40
NoticethatIusetheUCSoriginpointasabasepoint,that'sbecauseit'sstandardpracticebutin
principleitcouldbeanypointinspace.ThemostimportantthingisthattheXandYcoordinates
remainthesame(becausewedonotwanttomoveintheXYPlane)andtheZcoordinatemust
increasebythedistanceyouwanttomoveup.Usingcoordinate25,43,16asthebasepointand
25,43,56asthesecondpointwouldhaveresultedinexactlythesamemove.Tomovedownyou
justneedtospecifyanegativeZcoordinate.Forexampletomovethecircledownby40unitsthe
secondpointcoordinatewouldbe0,0,40.
The3DFaceCommand
Toolbar
Pulldown
Draw
Surfaces
Keyboard
3DFACE
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3DFace
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The3DFacecommandisusedtodraw3Dsurfaceswith3
or4edges.
CommandSequence
Command:3DFACE
FirstPoint:(pickpoint)
SecondPoint:(pickpoint)
ThirdPoint:(pickpoint)
FourthPoint:(pickpointor
foronly3edges)
ThirdPoint:(startanother3DFaceor
toend)
WhydoIneeda3DFace?
Thereasonisthatwhenyougiveanentitylikearectangleathicknessitisgivensolidsidesinthe
directionoftheextrusionbutitisleftopenendedlikeatube.Toaddatopandabottomtoabox
youmustuse3DFaces.Intheillustrationontheright,twoboxeshavebeenshadedusingthe
Shadecommand,SHADEfromthekeyboard,View
Shade
Optionsfromthepulldownor
fromtheRendertoolbar.SeeSHADEforadescriptionoftheShadecommandoptions.Theboxon
therightisarectanglewhichhasbeengivenathickness.Asyoucansee,itdoesnothaveatop.A
3DFacehasbeenaddedtothetopoftheboxontheleftwhichgivestheeffectofasolidsurface
whenshaded.
WhenyouusetheShadecommand,don'tforgettousetheRegencommandtogetbacktothe
wirelinedrawing.AutoCADdoesnotallowyoutopickpointsonashadeddrawing.
Forcomplicatedshapesyoumayneedtouseanumberof3DFacestofillasurface.Fortunately,
extrudedcirclesareautomaticallygivenasolidtopandbottomsoyoudon'tneedany3DFaces.If
youdoneedtouseacomplexoffacestofillasurfacethereisawaytohidethejoinlinesbetween
faces.Ifyoutype"I"and
beforethefirstpickpointofanyedge,thatedgewillbemadeinvisible.
Ifyouarecarefulyoucaneasilyfillacomplicatedsurfacewithmany3DFaceswhichwillsimply
appearasasinglecontinuoussurface.Ifyouneedtocreateaverycomplexsurfaceitmaybebetter
tousetheEXTRUDEcommandwhichcreatessolidextrusionsi.e.theyalreadyhavetopand
bottomsurfaces.
AnExercise
Theexercisebelowisdesignedsothatyoucanpracticeallofthenewcommandsandtechniques
outlinedabove.Itisasimpletablewhichiscomposedof9mainelements,4legs,4rails,andatop.
TheseelementsareallconstructedusingtheRectanglecommand,RECTANGfromthekeyboardor
Draw
Rectanglefromthepulldownmenu.Remember,thereisnothingspecialaboutrectangles,
theyarejust4sidedclosedpolylines,soifyoupreferusingthePLINEcommand,thenfeelfree.
TheserectangleswillbegivenathicknessusingthePropertiescommandandanelevationusing
theMOVEcommand.Some3DFacesareusedforthefinishingtouchesusingthe3DFACE
command.
DrawingtheTable
Step1
Firstofalldrawthetableplanusingthedimensionsontheillustrationandinsetdetailbelow.All
dimensionsareinmillimetres.Theplaniscomposedofninerectangles.Youmayneedtouseother
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commandslikeLine
andOffset
toconstructtherectangles.Alternativelyyoucanworkout
therectanglecoordinatesandconstructthemmanually.RemembertousetheCopy
Mirror
and/or
commandstoduplicateidenticalobjects.Forexample,it'sreallyonlynecessarytodraw
onelegsincetheyareallthesame.
Step2
Next,usingtheProperties
command,selectthefourtablelegsandgivethemathicknessof
700.UsingthePropertiescommandasecondtime,selectthefourtablerailsandgivethema
thicknessof100.Movetherailsverticallythrough600withtheMOVE
commandusingaco
ordinatevalueof0,0,0forthebasepointand0,0,600forthesecondpoint.Finallyusethe
Propertiescommandathirdtimetogivethetabletopathicknessof40anduseMOVEagainto
givethetopanelevationof700.NowlookatwhatyouhavecreatedusingtheDDVPOINT
command,View
theSHADE
3DViewpoint
SelectfromthepulldownorDDVPOINTatthekeyboard.Use
commandtoseethesolideffect,View
Shade
Optionsfromthepulldownor
SHADEatthekeyboard.
Step3
Asyouwillhavenoticed,yourtabledoesnotyethaveasolidtop.Youcanachievethisusing3D
Face.Youcanstartthe3DFacecommandfromthepulldown,Draw
fromtheRendertoolbar,
3DSurfaces
3DFace,
orfromthekeyboard,3DFACE.3DFacesaredefinedbypickingthe
fourpointsofarectangleineitheraclockwiseoranticlockwisedirection.Startthe3DFace
commandandusingtheendpointOsnap,selectthefouruppercornersofthetabletop.Usethe
Shadecommandagaintoseetheeffect.Youcanusemore3DFacestocompletethemodel.By
lookingatthetablefromvariousanglesyouwillnoticethattheundersideoftherails,theunderside
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ofthelegsandtheundersideofthetabletopallneed3DFacesinordertocreateacompletelysolid
model.
Nowthatyouhavecompletedyourmodel,experimentwiththeShadecommandandthevarious
shadeedgesettings(see"TipsandTricks"below).
Step4
Tofinishyourdrawing,settilemodeto0,createanA3drawingsheetandinsertsometiled
viewports,seethePaperSpaceexercisefordetails.Yourdrawingshouldenduplookingsomething
liketheonebelow.ThevasewascreatedusingtheREVSURFcommand,seeREVSURFfor
details.
3DObjects
Inadditiontothesimple3Dobjectsyoucancreatebygivingobjectsthicknessandadding3D
Faces,AutoCADprovidesanumberofreadymade3Dobjects.Theseobjectscanbechosenfrom
the3DObjectsdialoguebox.Asyoucanseefromtheillustrationofthedialogueboxbelow,youcan
createverysimpleobjectslikeaboxandcomplexoneslikethetorus.
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Youmustinvokethe3Dobjectsdialogueboxfromthepulldownmenu,Draw
3DSurfaces
3D
Objectsasthereisnokeyboardequivalent.Alternativelyyoucanselectindividual3DObject
commandsfromtheSurfacestoolbar.Each3DObjectrequiresdifferentinputfromtheuserbutthe
commandlineisquiteexplicitsoyoushouldn'thaveanyproblems.
OneofthemostusefulobjectsistheSphere.Intheillustrationonthe
righta3Dtreehasbeencreatedusingacirclewiththicknessasthe
trunkandasphereasthecanopy.Onethingtobearinmindwhen
creatingspheresisthatthecentreofthespherewillbeontheground
plane.Therefore,halfofthesphereisbelowgroundlevelandhalf
above.Ifyouwantthespheretositonthegroundplane,allyouhave
todoismoveitupthroughadistancewhichisthesameasit's
radius.
Anotherconsiderationwhencreatingspheresandsomeoftheother
shapesisthenumberofsegmentstouse.Itisverytemptingtouse
alotandcreateasmoothshapebutthisdoestakelotsofdrawing
memorysogocarefully.Thedefaultvalue(16)isusuallyadequate
formostpurposes.
CommandSequence
Invokethedialogueboxfromthepulldown(Draw
iconandthenthe"OK"buttonorpick
3DSurfaces
3DObjects),pickthesphere
fromtheSurfacestoolbar.
Centerofsphere:(pickpoint)
Diameter/<radius>:(pickpointorentervalue)
Numberoflongitudinalsegments<16>:(enternumberor
Numberoflatitudinalsegments<16>:(enternumberor
)
)
YourSphereisdrawn.
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Tips&Tricks
Ifyouwouldliketotrycreatingthevaseasshowninthetabledrawing.Youwillneedtoknow
alittlebitaboutUCS,UserCoordinateSystems(seeUCS)andhowtheRevolvedSurface
commandworks(seethe3DTreeexercisefordetails).
YoucanchangetheshadedeffectthattheShadecommandgivestoyourdrawingusingthe
SHADEDGEvariable.TochangetheshadeedgevariablejustenterSHADEDGEatthe
keyboardandenteravaluebetween0and3.
SHADEDGE=0givesashadedcoloursurfacewithnolines.
SHADEDGE=1givesashadedcoloursurfacewithlines.Thistendstogivethebestoverall
results.
SHADEDGE=2givesabackgroundcoloursurfacewhichgivesasimilareffecttotheHide
command.
SHADEDGE=3givesablockcoloursurface,thisistheAutoCADdefault.SeeSHADEfora
fullerdescriptionoftheSHADEDGEvariable.
AlwaysuseOsnapswhenpickingin3D.
UsetheShadecommandregularlytokeeptrackofyourdrawing.Inwirelineit'simpossibleto
tellifasurfacehasa3DFaceornot,soyou'llneedtouseShadetocheck.
Youcanforceinvisible3DFaceedgestodisplayinwirelineusingtheSPLFRAMEvariable.If
SPLFRAME=0allinvisibleedgesremainhidden.Ifitissetto1invisibleedgeswillbe
displayed.Thiscanbeextremelyusefulbecauseitisimpossibletoselecta3DFacewhich
hasnovisibleedges.Theonlywaytoselectsucha3DFaceistosetSPLFRAMEto1first.
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