AutoCAD

2008

Creating and Presenting 3D Models

Autodesk Official Training Courseware

00128-050008-1706A
April 2007

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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
Orbiting Your 3D Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Changing the Model Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Setting Viewport Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Exercise: Interact with 3D Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Lesson: Creating Solid Primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
About Solid Primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Creating a Solid Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Creating a Solid Sphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Creating a Solid Cylinder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Creating a Solid Cone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Creating a Solid Wedge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Creating a Solid Torus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Creating a Solid Pyramid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Exercise: Create Individual Solid Primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Exercise: Create Solid Primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Lesson: Creating Models from 2D Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
About Models from 2D Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
About the Right-Hand Rule of Rotation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Choosing a Model Creation Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Creating a Model Using the Planar Surface Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Creating a Model Using the Polysolid Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Creating a Model Using the Extrude Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Creating a Model Using the Presspull Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Creating a Model Using the Revolve Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Creating a Helical Path. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Creating a Model Using the Sweep Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Creating a Model Using the Loft Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Exercises: Specific Commands and Model Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Exercise: Create Solid Models from 2D Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Exercise: Create Surface Models from 2D Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Exercise: Create Sweeps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Exercise: Create Lofts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Lesson: Creating Composite Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
About Composite Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Creating Solids Using Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Creating Solids Using Subtract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Creating Solids Using Intersect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Checking Interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Exercise: Create Composite SolidsMechanical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Exercise: Create Composite SolidsArchitectural . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Lesson: Working in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
About the Cartesian Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Changing the Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Changing the UCS Icon Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Changing the Coordinate System Dynamically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Acquiring Points in 3D Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Exercise: Work with the UCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Exercise: Use a Dynamic UCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Exercise: Use Dynamic Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Exercise: Track with Object Snaps in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Chapter 2: Editing Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Lesson: Adding Detail to Your Solid Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Filleting Solid Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Chamfering Solid Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Slicing a Solid Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Exercise: Create 3D Fillets and Chamfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Exercise: Slice a Solid Along a Plane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Exercise: Slice a Solid with a Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

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Contents

Lesson: Converting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Converting 2D Objects to Solids or Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Converting to Surfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Converting to Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Thickening Surfaces into Solids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thickening Surfaces to Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Convert Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lesson: Editing Solid Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Solid History and Editing Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Grip Editing Solid Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Extruding Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moving Faces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Offsetting Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deleting Faces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rotating Faces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tapering Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a Shell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Imprinting Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Separating Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Edit Solid Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lesson: Getting Information from 3D Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Checking Solid Model Integrity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing Mass Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing Face Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing Edge Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Get Information from 3D Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Contents

vii

Chapter 3: Sectioning a Model and Creating Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Lesson: Section a Solid Model and Generate 2D Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
About Flattened Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Displaying 2D Geometry from a Model View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Creating Section Planes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Manipulating Section Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Generating 2D/3D Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Exercise: Create Cross Sections and Slice Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Exercise: Flatten a View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Exercise: Define Section Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Exercise: Draw a Section Plane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Lesson: Creating Drawings from 3D Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Types of Views from 3D Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Shaded and Hidden Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Creating Views from Flatshots and Sectionplanes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Exercise: Create Layouts of 3D Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Exercise: Create a Section Plane Layout View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Chapter 4: Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Lesson: Using Visual Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
About Visual Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Using the Visual Styles Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Using the Visual Styles Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Exporting Visual Styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Exercise: Use and Create Visual Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Exercise: Apply Visual Styles to Layout Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Lesson: Using Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
About Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Adding Lights to a Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Editing Lights in a Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Exercise: Work with Lights in a Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Lesson: Using Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
About Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Working with Predefined Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Creating and Editing Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Exercise: Add Materials to Your Scene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Lesson: Using the Sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
About the Sun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
About the Light Control Panel and Sun Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Specifying Your Scenes Geographic Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
About the Sun Properties Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Exercise: Use the Sun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

viii

Contents

Lesson: Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About the Rendering Environment and Render Presets . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rendering Views, Cropped Regions, and Selected Objects . . . . . . . . .
About the Render Window and Image Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Controlling Render Output Size and Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Advanced Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Render a 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: Using Cameras and Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Cameras and Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activating and Managing Camera Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise: Create Camera Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

319
319
319
321
323
325
328
331
333
333
334
338
340
342
345
345
346
347
352
356
360

Appendix A: Additional Support and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

Courseware from Autodesk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Autodesk Services & Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Autodesk Subscription. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Autodesk Consulting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Autodesk Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Autodesk Authorized Training Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Autodesk Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Useful Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

362
364
364
364
365
365
366
366

Contents

ix

Contents

Introduction
Welcome to the AutoCAD 2008: Creating and Presenting 3D Models Autodesk Official Training
Courseware (AOTC), a training course for use in Authorized Training Centers (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 2000 or Microsoft Windows XP.

The current or a previous release of AutoCAD.

You should also know how to create and edit basic AutoCAD objects, and 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.

xii

Introduction

Completing the Exercises

You can complete the exercises by using the book or working online.

Use the book

Follow the step-by-step exercises in the book.
Onscreen
Click the AutoCAD 2008 Creating and Presenting 3D Models AOTC icon installed on your desktop
from the CD, and follow the step-by-step exercises onscreen. 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.

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 doubleclick 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 2008\
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.

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