3D AutoCAD 2010 for Starters and Others. . .

Saturday January 02, 2010

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AutoCAD offers commands to facilitate plotting 3D models.  Once a 3D model is created, the 2D drawing views can be automatically generated from the model so that it can be dimensioned or annotated or used for presentation purposes.

Creating 3D models and then generating 2D views is much faster than creating independent 2D views in 2D.   It is also easier to work in 3D as changes and viewports update automatically in all 2D viewports of the model.  When working in 2D, changes, revisions and updates must be made multiple times, once for every 2D view that is being used in any of the relevant drawings.  Mistakes occur when the creation of geometry in one view doesn’t “match” the geometry in another view.  Plotting 2D views of 3D models avoid this problem.

AutoCAD offers the FLATSHOT, SECTION PLANE, and SECTION commands to create suitable 2D profiles of the 3D model at the current viewpoint angle for delivering drawings in 2D.

AutoCAD also offers a set of paper space plotting tools called SOLVIEW, SOLDRAW, and SOLPROF to generate 2D plans from 3D models. SOLVIEW sets up the paper space viewport and SOLDRAW and SOLPROF are used to create the actual drawing to be placed into the viewport.   These commands are good for simple drawings and generate 2D "profiles" of 3D models but may not

2D Drawings with SECTION PLANE

The SECTIONPLANE command creates a section object that acts as a cutting plane through solids, surfaces, or regions.  If live sectioning is used, moving the section object throughout the 3D model in model space reveals inner details in real-time.

Section objects are created by moving the cursor over any face of a 3D model and selecting the face to place the section object. Alternatively, selecting points create a straight cutting plane, or using multiple points create a plane with jogged segments. Orthographic views, such as front, top, or back can also be a choice.

The SECTION command creates a cross section through a 3D solid model. The result is a two-dimensional object that represents the shape of the section.  If the cutting plane option is used with a section object plane, the cut profile of the intersected solids is revealed in real-time.

To use the SECTIONPLANE command, follow the steps outlined below.

1.   Open the an existing 3D model drawing.  See Figure 1.

Figure 1 Pin Bracket model displayed in SE Isometric view.

2.   Set the 3D view of your choice (3DOrbit or the Vpoint or SE-Isometric). 

3.   Make a copy of this current drawing and name it Section View Pin Bracket. This allows the deletion of the 3D object in the 2D drawing when finished creating the 2D views.  

4.   Create a layer each for three views named TOP, FRONT and BACK.  

5.   Invoke the SECTIONPLANE command. 

6.  Place a section plane on each of the three faces by selecting the respective face and select them to display grips. Move each plane into a position away from the 3D model. 

7.  Select one section plane at a time to display grips and then right-click to reveal the option menu. 

8.  Select the Generate 2D/3D section…option and insert the view into the drawing.

Figure 2  SECTIONPLANES create 2D views by right-clicking and then selecting the Generate 2D/3D section… option from the options menu. 

9.   Switch to TOP view and delete the 3D model and section planes. Explode the orthogonal projections and add centerlines and hidden lines as needed. Convert the side view into a section view and then hatch the section.

See Figure 2.

 10. Save the Section View Pin Bracket drawing.

Figure 3 Orthogonal projections created with the SECTIONPLANE command are ready for dimensioning in model space.

Finish the drawing in MODEL space:

1.   In model space with top, front and back views arranged as desired start dressing up the various views by placing centerlines, hidden lines and removing undesired lines.  Notice the corner lines are still showing in the TOP view.

2.   Add dimensions and annotations to your drawing in model or paper space.

Figure 4 Pin Bracket front view dimensioned.

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