AUTOCAD CLASS IN NYC - AutoCAD 3D Modeling

AutoCAD 3D modeling - Level IV - 20 hours

AutoCAD® 3D Drawing and Modeling introduces students who are proficient with the 2D commands in the AutoCAD® software to the concepts and methods of 3D modeling. The training guide provides a thorough grounding in the fundamentals of 3D and explores the main features of the advanced 3D Modeling workspace in the AutoCAD software.

Topics Covered:

3D viewing techniques
Working with simple and composite solids
Creating complex solids and surfaces
Modifying objects in 3D space
Editing solids
Creating sections, camera perspectives, and animations
Working with point clouds
Converting 3D objects
Setting up a rendering with materials and lights
Creating 2D drawings from 3D models
Working with the User Coordinate System

Prerequisites:
Before taking this course, students need to have a good working skill level in the AutoCAD software, or must have taken AutoCAD Essentials or Fundamentals.

Course Outline:

AutoCAD 3D Modeling (Mixed Units)
Total Hours: 20

Chapter 1: 3D Foundations................................................................................. 1-1
1.1    Why Use 3D?............................................................................................ 1-2
Types of 3D Models.................................................................................. 1-2
1.2    Introduction to the 3D Modeling Workspace................................... 1-4
3D Ribbon Panels..................................................................................... 1-4
1.3    Basic 3D Viewing Tools......................................................................... 1-7
Preset 3D Views........................................................................................ 1-7
Orbiting in 3D............................................................................................. 1-7
Using Visual Styles................................................................................... 1-9
1.4    3D Navigation Tools............................................................................. 1-10
ViewCube................................................................................................. 1-10
SteeringWheel......................................................................................... 1-13
Practice 1a 3D Navigation Tools................................................................ 1-16
1.5    Introduction to the User Coordinate System (UCS).................... 1-19
Dynamic UCS.......................................................................................... 1-20
Practice 1b Introduction to the User Coordinate System.................... 1-22
Chapter Review Questions.......................................................................... 1-24
Command Summary...................................................................................... 1-25

Chapter 2: Simple Solids...................................................................................... 2-1
2.1    Working with Solid Primitives.............................................................. 2-2
Drawing Solid Primitives.......................................................................... 2-2
Editing Solid Primitives............................................................................. 2-3
2.2    Solid Primitive Types............................................................................. 2-5
Creating Boxes and Wedges................................................................... 2-5
Creating Pyramids..................................................................................... 2-7
Creating Cylinders and Cones................................................................ 2-9
Creating Spheres and Tori..................................................................... 2-11
Creating Wall-like Solids with Polysolid.............................................. 2-13
Practice 2a Working with Solid Primitives - Architectural................... 2-15
Practice 2b Working with Solid Primitives - Mechanical..................... 2-16
2.3    Working with Composite Solids........................................................ 2-18
Creating Composite Solids.................................................................... 2-18
Modifying Composite Solids.................................................................. 2-21
Practice 2c Working with Composite Solids........................................... 2-23
Practice 2d Mechanical Project - Machine Part...................................... 2-24
Practice 2e Architectural Project - Facade Puzzle................................. 2-26
2.4    Working with Mesh Models................................................................ 2-28
Creating Mesh Primitives....................................................................... 2-28
Creating Mesh Models from Objects.................................................... 2-30
Editing Mesh Models.............................................................................. 2-30
Convert From Mesh Models.................................................................. 2-35
Practice 2f Mesh Model................................................................................. 2-36
Chapter Review Questions.......................................................................... 2-40
Command Summary...................................................................................... 2-42

Chapter 3: Working with the User Coordinate System................................ 3-1
3.1    UCS Basics............................................................................................... 3-2
UCS Icon..................................................................................................... 3-3
Moving the UCS Origin............................................................................. 3-5
Moving the UCS to a Face....................................................................... 3-6
Moving the UCS Using 3 Points............................................................. 3-6
Practice 3a Using the UCS............................................................................. 3-8
3.2    UCS X, Y, and Z Commands.............................................................. 3-11
Practice 3b X, Y, and Z Commands........................................................... 3-13
3.3    UCS Multi-functional Grips................................................................. 3-16
3.4    Saving a UCS by Name........................................................................ 3-17
Practice 3c Working with Named UCSs................................................... 3-20
Chapter Review Questions.......................................................................... 3-21
Command Summary...................................................................................... 3-22

Chapter 4: Creating Solids & Surfaces from 2D Objects............................. 4-1
4.1    Complex 3D Geometry........................................................................... 4-2
Creating Surfaces and Solids.................................................................. 4-2
4.2    Extruded Solids and Surfaces............................................................. 4-3
Presspull..................................................................................................... 4-4
Modifying Extrusions................................................................................ 4-6
Practice 4a Creating an Extruded Solid...................................................... 4-7
Practice 4b Extruding Along a Path............................................................. 4-8
4.3    Swept Solids and Surfaces................................................................... 4-9
Modifying Sweeps................................................................................... 4-10
3D Paths................................................................................................... 4-11
Practice 4c Creating a Swept Solid............................................................ 4-13
Practice 4d Sweeping Along a Helix.......................................................... 4-15
Practice 4e Sweeping Along a 3D Polyline.............................................. 4-16
4.4    Revolved Solids and Surfaces.......................................................... 4-18
Modifying Revolves................................................................................ 4-19
Practice 4f Creating Revolved Solids........................................................ 4-20
4.5    Lofted Solids and Surfaces................................................................ 4-22
Modifying Lofts........................................................................................ 4-25
Practice 4g Creating a Lofted Solid........................................................... 4-26
Practice 4h Basic Solid and Surface Editing........................................... 4-27
4.6    NURBS Surfaces................................................................................... 4-29
Creating NURBS Surfaces.................................................................... 4-29
Edit NURBS Surfaces............................................................................ 4-30
Practice 4i Create and Edit a NURBS Surface........................................ 4-37
Chapter Review Questions.......................................................................... 4-41
Command Summary...................................................................................... 4-42

Chapter 5: Modifying in 3D Space..................................................................... 5-1
5.1    3D Gizmo Tools....................................................................................... 5-2
Practice 5a 3D Gizmo Tools........................................................................... 5-5
5.2    Aligning Objects in 3D Space.............................................................. 5-8
Align Command......................................................................................... 5-8
3D Align Command................................................................................ 5-10
Practice 5b Aligning Objects in 3D............................................................ 5-12
5.3    3D Modify Commands......................................................................... 5-13
3D Move and 3D Rotate......................................................................... 5-13
3D Scale................................................................................................... 5-14
Mirroring Objects in 3D........................................................................... 5-14
Arraying Objects in 3D........................................................................... 5-15
Practice 5c Working with 3D Modify Commands................................... 5-17
Practice 5d Architectural Project - Gallery............................................. 5-19
Chapter Review Questions.......................................................................... 5-21
Command Summary...................................................................................... 5-23

Chapter 6: Advanced Solid Editing................................................................... 6-1
6.1    Editing Components of Solids............................................................. 6-2
Editing Faces............................................................................................. 6-5
Editing Edges............................................................................................. 6-5
Editing Vertices.......................................................................................... 6-6
Modification Options................................................................................. 6-6
Practice 6a Editing Components of Solids................................................ 6-7
6.2    Editing Faces of Solids.......................................................................... 6-8
Extruding Faces......................................................................................... 6-9
Offsetting Faces and Edges.................................................................. 6-10
Moving Faces........................................................................................... 6-11
Rotating Faces......................................................................................... 6-12
Tapering Faces........................................................................................ 6-13
Removing Faces..................................................................................... 6-14
Copying Faces......................................................................................... 6-15
Practice 6b Editing Faces of Solids........................................................... 6-16
6.3    Fillets and Chamfers on Solids......................................................... 6-18
Practice 6c Fillets and Chamfers on Solids............................................. 6-21
Practice 6d Mechanical Project: Bracket................................................. 6-24
Chapter Review Questions.......................................................................... 6-25
Command Summary...................................................................................... 6-27

Chapter 7: Additional Editing Tools.................................................................. 7-1
7.1    Creating a Shell........................................................................................ 7-2
Practice 7a Creating a Shell........................................................................... 7-3
7.2    Imprinting Edges of Solids................................................................... 7-5
Practice 7b Imprinting Edges on a Solid.................................................... 7-7
7.3    Slicing a Solid along a Plane............................................................... 7-8
Practice 7c Slicing a Solid............................................................................ 7-10
7.4    Interference Checking......................................................................... 7-12
Practice 7d Interference Checking............................................................... 7-16
7.5    Converting Objects to Surfaces........................................................ 7-18
Creating Planar Surfaces from 2D Objects......................................... 7-18
Converting 2D Objects to Surfaces..................................................... 7-18
Converting Solids to Surfaces.............................................................. 7-20
7.6    Converting Objects to Solids............................................................. 7-21
Converting 2D Objects to Solids.......................................................... 7-21
Converting Surfaces to Solids.............................................................. 7-22
Converting Solids or Surfaces to Wireframe....................................... 7-23
Practice 7e Converting Objects to Surfaces and Solids...................... 7-24
Practice 7f Mechanical Project - Connector............................................ 7-27
Chapter Review Questions.......................................................................... 7-28
Command Summary...................................................................................... 7-29

Chapter 8: Refining the View.............................................................................. 8-1
8.1    Working with Sections........................................................................... 8-2
Working With Sections............................................................................. 8-2
Setting the Section Plane........................................................................ 8-3
Working with Live Sections...................................................................... 8-5
Generating Sections from Section Planes............................................ 8-7
Practice 8a Working with Sections.............................................................. 8-9
8.2    Working with Cameras........................................................................ 8-11
Adjusting a Camera................................................................................ 8-13
Clipping Camera Views.......................................................................... 8-14
Practice 8b Working with Cameras............................................................ 8-16
8.3    Managing Views in 3D......................................................................... 8-18
Modifying Views...................................................................................... 8-22
Practice 8c Managing Views in 3D............................................................. 8-24
8.4    Animating with ShowMotion.............................................................. 8-27
8.5    Creating ShowMotion Shots.............................................................. 8-29
Practice 8d Animating with ShowMotion................................................. 8-32
8.6    Creating Animations............................................................................. 8-34
Using Walk and Fly................................................................................. 8-35
Animating a Walkthough....................................................................... 8-38
Animation Motion Paths......................................................................... 8-40
Practice 8e Walking and Flying Through Models.................................. 8-42
Chapter Review Questions.......................................................................... 8-44
Command Summary...................................................................................... 8-46

Chapter 9: Point Clouds....................................................................................... 9-1
9.1 Point Clouds............................................................................................. 9-2
Attach Point Cloud.................................................................................... 9-3
Point Cloud Contextual Tab..................................................................... 9-5
Object Snap............................................................................................. 9-13
Dynamic UCS.......................................................................................... 9-14
Practice 9a Attach a Point Cloud................................................................ 9-15
Practice 9b Working with Sections............................................................ 9-17
Chapter Review Questions.......................................................................... 9-21
Command Summary...................................................................................... 9-22

Chapter 10: Visualization................................................................................... 10-1
10.1 Creating Visual Styles.......................................................................... 10-2
Visual Style Settings............................................................................... 10-5
Practice 10a Creating Visual Styles....................................................... 10-12
10.2 Working with Materials...................................................................... 10-13
Using the Materials Browser............................................................... 10-14
Libraries.................................................................................................. 10-15
Adding Materials................................................................................... 10-16
Attaching Materials by Layer............................................................... 10-20
Material Editor........................................................................................ 10-21
Texture Editor........................................................................................ 10-24
Practice 10b Working with Materials..................................................... 10-25
10.3 Specifying Light Sources................................................................. 10-29
Default Lighting..................................................................................... 10-29
Sunlight.................................................................................................. 10-30
User-Defined Lights............................................................................. 10-36
Modifying Lights.................................................................................... 10-39
Practice 10c Creating a Sun Study........................................................ 10-41
Practice 10d Placing Lights in a Model.................................................. 10-43
10.4 Rendering Concepts.......................................................................... 10-45
Adjusting the Exposure........................................................................ 10-48
Render Presets Manager.................................................................... 10-48
Practice 10e Rendering Concepts......................................................... 10-50
Chapter Review Questions........................................................................ 10-53
Command Summary................................................................................... 10-55

Chapter 11: Working Drawings from 3D Models......................................... 11-1
11.1 Creating Multiple Viewports............................................................... 11-2
Practice 11a Creating Multiple Viewports.............................................. 11-5
11.2 2D Views from 3D Solids..................................................................... 11-8
Creating Hidden Line Views.................................................................. 11-9
Creating Profiles from Solids.............................................................. 11-11
Practice 11b 2D Views from 3D Solids.................................................. 11-13
11.3 Creating Technical Drawings with Flatshot................................. 11-17
Practice 11c Creating Technical Drawings with Flatshot................ 11-20
Practice 11d Mechanical Project - Saddle........................................... 11-22
11.4 3D Model Import.................................................................................. 11-23
11.5 Automatic Model Documentation................................................... 11-24
Adding Base Views............................................................................... 11-25
Adding Projected Views....................................................................... 11-27
Editing Drawing Views......................................................................... 11-30
Practice 11e Creating Automatic Model Documentation................. 11-32
11.6 3D Printing............................................................................................ 11-37
Print Studio............................................................................................ 11-37
3D Print Service.................................................................................... 11-40
Practice 11f Send a 3D Model to Print.................................................... 11-41
Chapter Review Questions........................................................................ 11-43
Command Summary................................................................................... 11-45