Ateneo de Zamboanga University

Fr Eusebio, SJ Campus, La Purisima St., Zamboanga City

LESSON 12: THREE DIMENSIONS DRAWING

You may have already figured out why CAD has many advantages over manual drafting. One
big advantage is that once you've drawn something, you shouldn't have to draw it again. If you
manually drew a house plan, you would have to draw a front elevation, side elevations, and possibly
a perspective view. With one 3-D CAD model, you can generate views from any angle either inside or
outside the house and animations. Afterwards, if your client needs something changed, you can then
make the changes once and re-render your views.

You’ll be learning the 3D concepts in the following order:

 Isometric Drawings (not true 3D)

You will have a chance to draw the same object different ways to see the differences between
the various methods.

3D CAD TERMINOLOGY
2-D A concept of displaying real-world objects on a flat surface showing only height and width. This
system uses only the X and Y axes.
3-D A way of displaying real-world object in a more natural way by adding depth to the height and
width. This system uses the X Y and Z axes.
Boolean Commands that allow you to add, subtract or intersect solid objects in AutoCAD.
operations
Complex Generally a curved surface. Examples: car fender, landscape contour.
surface
Elevation The difference between an object being at zero on the Z-axis and the height that it is above
zero.
Extrude The extrude command raises the shape of a 2D outline into a 3D solid. For example, a circle
would be extruded into a cylinder.
Face The simplest true 3-D surface.
Facet A three or four sided polygon that represents a piece (or section) of a 3-D surface.
Hidden line A way of hiding lines that would not be visible if you were viewing the actual object you have
removal drawn in AutoCAD. (Command: HIDE)
Isometric A simple way of achieving a '3-D' appearance using 2-D drawing methods.
Drawing
Plan View Also known as the top view, a plan view looks directly down the WCS Z-axis to the X-Y axis.
Primitive A basic solid building block. Examples would be boxes, cones, cylinders.
Region A 2-D area consisting of lines, arcs, etc.
Rendering A complex way of adding photo-realistic qualities to a 3-D model you have created.
Shading A quick way of adding color to a 3-D object you have drawn. (Command: SHADE)
Solid Model A 3-D model creating using solid 'building blocks'. This is the most accurate way of representing
real-world objects in CAD.

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 Ateneo de Zamboanga University
Fr Eusebio, SJ Campus, La Purisima St., Zamboanga City
College of Science and Information Technology
ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Surface Model A 3-D model defined by surfaces. The surface consists of polygons. (See facets.)
Thickness A property of lines and other objects that gives them a 3-D like appearance.
UCS The user co-ordinate system. This is defined by the person drawing to have easier access to
portions of a 3-D model.
View A particular view of the object you have created.
Viewport A window into your drawing showing a particular view. You can have several viewports on your
screen. Different from the viewports used in plotting.
Wire-frame A 3-D shape that is defined by lines and curves. A skeletal representation. Hidden line removal is
Model not possible with this model.
Z-Axis The third axis that defines the depth.

ISOMETRIC DRAWING
This is the simplest ways to give a 3D representation while using only 2D commands. This has
been the usual way of doing things before CAD allowed true 3D work to be done. Many times, an
isometric drawing is used to complement a 3-view orthographic drawing. See Activity 26 target output.

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