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

Creating solids or surfaces


We can create solids from 2D closed objects, such as circles, ellipses, closed polylines (including rectangles and polygons), and closed splines. Additionally, we can create solids from regions, 3D faces, 2D solids (created with the SOLID command), planar faces of 3D solids, planar surfaces, and traces (an obsolete entity created with the TRACE command).

We can create surfaces (3D objects without thickness) from open linear objects, such as arcs, lines, elliptical arcs, open polylines, and open splines. We can also create surfaces from edges of 3D solids and surfaces.

All the commands explained in this chapter, except PRESSPULL, have the MOde option. This option allows you to choose between Surface and Solid and is useful when we want to create surfaces from closed objects. Also, the Expression option, allows the introduction of a formula or mathematical expression whenever a value is requested, and is transversal to many AutoCAD commands.

All commands are available...