Book Image

Autodesk AutoCAD 2013 Practical 3D Drafting and Design

By : JOAO ANTONIO C DOS SANTOS
Book Image

Autodesk AutoCAD 2013 Practical 3D Drafting and Design

By: JOAO ANTONIO C DOS SANTOS

Overview of this book

AutoCAD is a computer-aided design (CAD) and drafting software application. AutoCAD supports both 2D and 3D formats. AutoCAD is used in a range of industries and is utilized by architects, project managers, and engineers, among others."Autodesk AutoCAD 2013 Practical 3D Drafting and Design" will take you beyond the 2D frontier and help you create accurate 3D models that simulate reality. This book is crammed full of creative and practical tutorials which will help you master the third dimension. From exercises on coordinate systems to creating solids and surfaces from 2D, you will wonder how you ever designed without this resource by your side."Autodesk AutoCAD 2013 Practical 3D Drafting and Design" is full of hands-on studies and projects that will help develop your 3D skills. Starting from the assumption of only a very basic knowledge of AutoCAD, this book will help you master 3D visualization and coordinate systems, create 3D models from 2D drawings, and from basic shapes, measure volumes, and other information, obtain 2D construction drawings from 3D models as well as how to apply lights and materials to get photorealistic images.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
Autodesk AutoCAD 2013 Practical 3D Drafting and Design
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

UCS icons


In 3D, the UCS icon, represented by the three orthographic axes, is very important as it tells us every instant which and where is the active UCS. Normally we work with a 3D icon, but a 2D icon is also available.

Identifying UCS icons

Depending on the situation and current visual style, the UCS icon can adopt different aspects:

In 2D wireframe visual style, the icon is represented by lines. If the UCS icon has a small square (as shown in image 1), it means that the world coordinate system is current. Without the small square (as shown in image 2), it means it's a current user coordinate system. With all visual styles, except 2D wireframe, the icon is shaded (as shown in image 3) and there is no difference between the world coordinate system and the user coordinate system. Particularly in 2D projects, we may opt for a 2D icon (as shown in image 4) where the Z axis is absent and the world coordinate system is indicated by the letter W.

Modifying the UCS icon

To display or modify the...