Creating and Presenting 3D Models

Autodesk Official Training Courseware (AOTC)

AutoCAD

2009

001A1-050008-1720A
June 2008

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Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Chapter 1: 3D Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Lesson: Introduction to 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Types of 3D Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Navigating and Displaying 3D Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Changing the Model Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
About the ViewCube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Using the ViewCube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Orbiting Your 3D Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Setting Viewport Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Exercise: Use ViewCube to Navigate a 3D Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Exercise: Interact with 3D Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Lesson: Creating Solid Primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
About Solid Primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Creating a Solid Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Creating a Solid Sphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Creating a Solid Cylinder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Creating a Solid Cone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Creating a Solid Wedge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Creating a Solid Torus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Creating a Solid Pyramid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Exercise: Create Individual Solid Primitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Exercise: Create Solid Primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

iii

Lesson: Creating Models from 2D Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
About Models from 2D Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
About the Right-Hand Rule of Rotation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
About Choosing a Model Creation Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Creating a Model Using the Extrude Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Creating a Model Using the Loft Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Creating a Model Using the Planar Surface Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Creating a Model Using the Polysolid Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Creating a Model Using the Revolve Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Creating a Model Using the Sweep Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Creating a Model Using the Presspull Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Creating a Helical Path. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Exercise: Create Solid Models from 2D Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Exercise: Create Surface Models from 2D Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Exercise: Create Sweeps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Exercise: Create Lofts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Exercise: Mass Shapes with 3D Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Exercise: Model a Hair Dryer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Lesson: Creating Composite Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
About Composite Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Creating Solids Using Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Creating Solids Using Subtract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Creating Solids Using Intersect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Checking Interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Exercise: Create Composite Solids - Mechanical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Exercise: Create Composite Solids - Architectural . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Lesson: Working in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
About the Cartesian Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Changing the Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Changing the UCS Icon Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Changing the Coordinate System Dynamically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Acquiring Points in 3D Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Exercise: Work with the UCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Exercise: Use a Dynamic UCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Exercise: Use Dynamic Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Exercise: Track with Object Snaps in 3D - Architectural . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Exercise: Track with Object Snaps in 3D - Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

iv

Contents

Chapter 2: Editing Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Lesson: Adding Detail to Your Solid Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Filleting Solid Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chamfering Solid Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Slicing a Solid Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Create 3D Fillets and Chamfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Slice a Solid Along a Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Slice a Solid with a Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lesson: Editing Solid Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Solid History and Editing Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Grip Editing Solid Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Editing Sub-Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Extruding Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moving Faces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Offsetting Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deleting Faces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rotating Faces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tapering Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a Shell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Imprinting Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Separating Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing Face Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing Edge Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Slicing Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Edit Solid Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Edit Solids to Create Complex Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Edit Solids Using Grips and Sub-Object Selection . . . . . . . . .
Lesson: Extracting Geometry from Solid Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Copying Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Copying Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Extracting All Model Edges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exploding 3D Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Extract Geometry from Solid Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lesson: Changing the Model Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moving in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Aligning in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rotating in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Manipulate the Models - Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Manipulate the Models - Architectural. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lesson: Duplicating the Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mirroring in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Arraying in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Mirror Objects in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Array Objects in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Mirror and Array Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Contents

Lesson: Getting Information from 3D Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Checking Solid Model Integrity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Viewing Mass Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Exercise: Get Information from 3D Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Lesson: Converting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
About Converting 2D Objects to Solids or Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Converting to Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Converting to Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
About Thickening Surfaces into Solids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Thickening Surfaces to Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Exercise: Convert Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Chapter 3: Sectioning a Model and Creating Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Lesson: Section a Solid Model and Generate 2D Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
About Flattened Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Displaying 2D Geometry from a Model View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Creating Simple Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Creating Section Planes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Manipulating Section Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Generating 2D/3D Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Exercise: Create Cross Sections and Slice Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Exercise: Flatten a View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Exercise: Define Section Planes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Exercise: Draw a Section Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Lesson: Creating Drawings from 3D Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Types of Views from 3D Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Shaded and Hidden Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Creating Views from Flatshots and Sectionplanes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Exercise: Create Layouts of 3D Models - Mechanical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Exercise: Create Layouts of 3D Models - Architectural . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Exercise: Create a Section Plane Layout View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Chapter 4: Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Lesson: Using Visual Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
About Visual Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Using the Visual Styles Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Using the Visual Styles Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Exporting Visual Styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Exercise: Use and Create Visual Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Exercise: Apply Visual Styles to Layout Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

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Contents

Lesson: Using Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Lights to a Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Editing Lights in a Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Work with Lights in a Scene - Architectural . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Work with Lights in a Scene - Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lesson: Using Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Predefined Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating and Editing Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Add Materials to Your Scene - Architectural. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Add Materials to Your Scene - Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lesson: Using the Sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About the Sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About the Visualize tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specifying Your Scenes Geographic Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About the Sun Properties Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Use the Sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lesson: Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About the Rendering Environment and Render Presets . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rendering Views, Cropped Regions, and Selected Objects . . . . . . . . .
About the Render Window and Image Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Render Output Size and Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Advanced Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Render an Architectural Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Render a Mechanical Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lesson: Navigating the Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Walking and Flying Through a Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recording an Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Animation Paths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Walk Through a Model and Create a Path Animation . . . . . .
Lesson: Leveraging Cameras and Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Cameras and Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activating and Managing Camera Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing ShowMotion Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Views for Presentation with Show Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Create Camera Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Use ShowMotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

294
294
295
297
300
307
310
314
314
315
317
321
328
331
333
333
334
334
336
341
346
349
349
349
351
352
355
358
361
363
366
366
367
372
374
377
380
380
381
382
388
392
394
397
401
404

Contents

vii

Appendix A: Additional Support and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405

Courseware from Autodesk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
Autodesk Services & Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Autodesk Subscription. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
Autodesk Consulting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
Autodesk Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
Autodesk Authorized Training Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Autodesk Student Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Autodesk Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
Autodesk Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
Useful Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410

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Contents

Acknowledgements
The Autodesk Official Training Courseware (AOTC) team wishes to thank everyone who
participated in the development of this project, with special acknowledgement to the
authoring contributions and subject matter expertise of Ron Myers and CrWare, LP.
CrWare, LP began publishing courseware for Autodesk Inventor in 2001. Since that time,
the company has grown to include full-time curriculum developers, subject matter experts,
and technical writers, each with a unique set of industry experiences and talents that
enables CrWare to create content that is both accurate and relevant to meeting the
learning needs of its readers and customers.
The companys Founder and General Partner, Ron Myers, has been using Autodesk
products since 1989. During that time, Ron Myers worked in all disciplines of drafting and
design, until 1996 when he began a career as an Applications Engineer, Instructor, and
Author. Ron Myers has been creating courseware and other training material for Autodesk
since 1996 and has written and created training material for AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor,
AutoCAD Mechanical, Mechanical Desktop, and Autodesk Impression.

Acknowledgements

ix

Acknowledgements

Introduction
Welcome to the AutoCAD 2009: Creating and Presenting 3D Models Autodesk Official Training
Courseware (AOTC), training courseware for use in Authorized Training Center (ATC) locations,
corporate training settings, and other classroom settings.
Although this courseware is designed for instructor-led courses, you can also use it for self-paced
learning. The courseware encourages self-learning through the use of the AutoCAD Help system.
This introduction covers the following topics:

Course objectives
Prerequisites
Using this courseware
CD contents
Completing the exercises
Installing the exercise data files from the CD
Imperial and metric datasets
Notes, tips, and warnings
Feedback

This courseware is complementary to the software documentation. For detailed explanations of

features and functionality, refer to the Help in the software.

Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:

Represent a design by creating solid primitives, solid or surface models from cross-sectional
geometry, or composite models from multiple solid models.
Complete a solid model design by adding the necessary features to detail, duplicate, and
position 3D models.
Convert 2D objects to 3D objects.
Document a 3D design by creating 2D drawings for production and visualization.
Communicate your design ideas using visual styles, lights, model walk-through tools,
and renderings.

xi

Prerequisites
This course is designed for the AutoCAD user who possesses an introductory-level knowledge of
AutoCAD or has been using AutoCAD for some time and understands the basics of working with
AutoCAD. Terminology and instructions assume this level of experience when concepts, procedures,
and exercises are discussed.
It is recommended that you have a working knowledge of:

Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows Vista.

The current or a previous release of AutoCAD.
How to create and edit basic AutoCAD objects.
How to create and work with layouts.

Using This Courseware

The lessons are independent of each other. However, it is recommended that you complete these
lessons in the order that they are presented unless you are familiar with the concepts and functionality
described in those lessons.
Each chapter contains:

Lessons
Usually two or more lessons in each chapter.
Exercises
Practical, real-world examples for you to practice using the functionality you have just learned.
Each exercise contains step-by-step procedures and graphics to help you complete the exercise
successfully.

CD Contents
The CD attached to the back cover of this book contains all the data and drawings you need to
complete the exercises in this course.

Completing the Exercises

You can complete the exercises by using the book or working on screen.

xii

Use the book

Follow the step-by-step exercises in the book.
On screen
Click the AOTC - AutoCAD 2009 Creating and Presenting 3D Models icon installed on your desktop
from the CD, and follow the step-by-step exercises on screen. The onscreen exercises are the same
as those in the book. The onscreen version has the advantage that you can concentrate on the
screen without having to glance down at your book.

Introduction

After launching the onscreen exercises, you might need to alter the size of your application window
to align both windows.

Installing the Exercise Data Files from the CD

To install the data files for the exercises:
1.

Insert the courseware CD.

2.

When the setup wizard begins, follow the instructions on screen to install the data.

3.

If the wizard does not start automatically, browse to the root directory of the CD and
double-click Setup.exe.

Unless you specify a different folder, the exercise files are installed in the following folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Autodesk Learning\AutoCAD 2009\
Creating and Presenting 3D Models
After you install the data from the CD, this folder contains all the files necessary to complete each
exercise in this course. You can also use the Autodesk Learning shortcut on your desktop to quickly
access the datasets for each AOTC course on your computer.

Introduction

xiii

Imperial and Metric Datasets

In exercises that specify units of measurement, alternative files are provided as shown in the following
example:

Open i_stair_settings.dwg (imperial) or m_stair_settings.dwg (metric).

In the exercise steps, the imperial value is followed by the metric value in parentheses as shown in the
following example:

For Length, enter 13'2" (4038 mm).

For exercises with no specific units of measurement, files are provided as shown in the following
example:

Open c_stair_settings.dwg (common).

In the exercise steps, the unitless value is specified as shown in the following example:

For Length, enter 400.

Some exercise may be provided with only a metric or imperial version. In those instances, you will be
asked to enter the appropriate value, as described previously.

Notes, Tips, and Warnings

Throughout this courseware, notes, tips, and warnings are called out for special attention.

Notes contain guidelines, constraints, and other explanatory information.

Tips provide information to enhance your productivity.

Warnings provide information about actions that might result in the loss of data,
system failures, or other serious consequences.

Feedback
We always welcome feedback on Autodesk Official Training Courseware. After completing this course,
if you have suggestions for improvements or if you want to report an error in the book or on the CD,
please send your comments to AOTC.feedback@autodesk.com.

xiv

Introduction