How to change view in AutoCAD 3D Modeling?

Karajko CAD

1 Jan, 2018 09:58 AM

This tutorial will show you how to change views in AutoCAD when you are drawing a 3D model.

1. Step 1:

   Orientating and Drawing in 3D can be a little misleading if you are a beginner so I will show you how to change views in the next few steps.

   

   So here we are,this is a random model I drew so I can use it for better explanation and we are in 3D Modeling Workspace.

   Now,your view is TOP on default right?And it represents X,Y axis while Z is the axis of extrusion and as long as you are on TOP you are not able to properly draw on other planes,faces which is probably your problem if you are a beginner and you are not familiar.

   On the Toolbar you can find tool palette called Coordinates and here you can find most tools for good orientation while Modeling.You can see that I am now on Front view and you see how my UCS is lined,remember X and Y axis are a plane where your lines can go,Z is the extrusion.

   You will probably sometimes experience problems when your lines will snap to the points of your 3D model even if you are on the view you want,be careful with that,you can turn off Object Snap and 3D Object Snap when is necessary.

2. Step 2:

   

   Now I am on TOP view,you can see how UCS changed its orientation.

   So what you can is to change you view to TOP,FRONT,RIGHT,LEFT,BOTTOM when you need.

3. Step 3:

   There is a nice tool on the status bar called Dynamic input UCS and when it is turned on it will allow you snap to face of your model when you move cursor over it and it will allow you to automatically draw on that face without changing view.

   It is a little bit clunky but it can be useful in some cases.

4. Step 4:

   

   The next thing are the icons shown on the picture.The first icon will just make your UCS parallel to the screen no matter which orientation you are on,you can use other two icons to move your UCS (User Coordinate System) to object and a face of the object,they are both similar.

   

   Here I made UCS parallel to the screen and you can see what happened.

   
   

5. Step 5:

   

   Here I moved my UCS to the face of my model.

   You can change the orientation of your axis manually by clicking on them and moving them with blue points.

   

   On this picture my UCS is on the cylindrical surface now,also done by moving UCS to face.

   
   

6. Step 6:

   

   The icon in the red rectangle is for moving your UCS,play a little bit with these tools,they are pretty important for fast and effective modeling,you will probably need some time to get used to.

   
   

   
   

   
   

7. Step 7:

   

   You also have a 3 Point tool and with it you need to select 3 points of your X,Y and Z axis.

   And btw you can change you views at the left top corner too,it will also make your screen parallel to the view you chose.

   

   The icon in the green is for rotating around an axis (X,Y,Z),the icon in red is where you turn on or off you UCS and the last blue icon is where are the properties of your UCS like size color and other.

   
   

   I hope this tutorial made you life a little bit easier :)

   
   

   Karajko CAD