Submitted to

Sir Zahid

Submitted by Hafiz Zaib Rehman Roll No. 09-MC-03 Semester 6th Semester Discipline Mechanical Engineering

Cartesian Coordinate System

A Cartesian Coordinate System specifies each point uniquely in a plane by a pair of numerical coordinates, which are the signed distances from the point to two fixed perpendicular directed lines, measured in the same unit of length. Each reference line is called a coordinate axis or just axis of the system, and the point where they meet is its origin, usually at ordered pair (0,0). The coordinates can also be defined as the positions of the perpendicular projections of the point onto the two axes, expressed as signed distances from the origin.

3-d Coordinate System

One can use the same principle to specify the position of any point in 3-d (Three-Dimensional) space by three Cartesian coordinates, its signed distances to three mutually perpendicular planes (or, equivalently, by its perpendicular projection onto three mutually perpendicular lines). The coordinate surfaces of the Cartesian coordinates (x, y, z). The z-axis is vertical and the x-axis is highlighted in green. Thus, the red plane shows the points with x=1, the blue plane shows the points with z=1, and the yellow plane shows the points with y=1. The three surfaces intersect at the point P (shown as a black sphere) with the Cartesian coordinates (1, 1, 1).

Role of 3-d Coordinate System in CAD Softwres

Ordinary 1D points are at the heart of every CAD object. A line starts at one point and ends at a second point. The center of a circle is a point. Even complex curves twisting and turning through space are defined by equations based on points. CAD uses a 3D rectangular coordinate system for designating the locations of these points in space. In this 3D coordinate system: There are three axes labeled X,Y and Z , which are perpendicular to one another. These axes meet at a common point called the origin. Each axis is double ended, having a positive and negative direction beginning at the origin. The positive direction of the Z-axis axis is determined by the right-hand rule, explained shortly. The location of a point in space is stored as three numbers, separated by commas in the form: x,y,zs. Where: x is the points distance from the origin in the X direction y is the points distance from the origin in the Y direction z is the points distance from the origin in the Z direction The origin is often referred to as the 0,0,0 point.

The plane used for 2D drafting in AutoCAD is simply one planethe XY planewithin this 3D coordinate system. Nevertheless, the XY plane is important; many CAD prompts and messages for 3D commands still refer to it. Furthermore, CADs dot grid and snap mode work only on the XY plane. Some AutoCAD objects, such as circles and 2D polylines, can only be drawn on the XY plane or on a plane parallel to it.

ENTERING X,Y,Z COORDINATES

When entering point locations from the computer keyboard, you will use X,Y,Z coordinates most of the time. The three numbers must be separated with commas, although you can type in just two numbers. When the third number is omitted from the coordinates of a point, CAD assumes the point is on the XY plane, and sets the value of the Z coordinate to 0 or on a plane parallel to the XY plane if an elevation other than 0 has previously been established. Either absolute coordinates (based on the coordinate system origin) or relative coordinates (based on the last point entered) may be used.

USING POINT FILTERS

Most of the time, you will specify all three coordinates of a point simultaneously either by entering the coordinates on the command line, by using an object snap, or by picking a location with your pointing device. You can, however, use point filters to specify one or two of the three coordinates separately. These filters can be used any time that CAD expects a point by entering a period followed by the coordinate you want to filter out. Thus, you would type .x to filter the X coordinate. CAD will respond by prompting for a point that can supply the filtered coordinate. Often, you will use an object snap to do that. Then, CAD will prompt for the missing coordinates, and you can use filters for them also. In addition to the .x, .y, and .z filters to filter one coordinate, you can use .xy, .xz, and .yz to filter two points at a time.

THE ROLE OF THE USER COORDINATE SYSTEM

Although it is necessary to have a global coordinate systemin which every point in space is tied to a single originwhen constructing 3D models, it is often convenient to have a local coordinate system that can be tied to a particular object in space. Consider, for instance, a box located in 3D space and twisted relative to the global coordinate system, as shown in Figure 27. Each corner of this box will have coordinates relative to the global coordinate system origin. However, if you were to measure objects on or in the box, you would probably ignore the global coordinate system and base your measurements on one of the boxs corners. This would be a local coordinate system. AutoCAD has a local coordinate system. It has the same features as the global coordinate system, but it can be moved and twisted in space to suit your needs. CAD calls this movable, local coordinate system the User Coordinate System (UCS) and refers to the fixed, global coordinate system as the World Coordinate System (WCS).

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