Yesterday I had a fabulous time presenting at the AUGI CAD Camp in Mountainview, California. If you haven't had a chance to check the CAD Camp schedule - be sure to do so just in case there happens to be one coming to your neighborhood. These events are filled with lots of learning, tips and tricks, and networking (definitely not to be missed!)
So lets start to dabble into the world of 3D in AutoCAD 2007...you've no doubt heard that 3D is SUPER easy now in AutoCAD 2007. Very visual, very intuitive, with no headaches (like it was in previous releases). The new solid primitives work just as your existing commands work...if it's based on a circle (like a cone or cylinder), you'll see the same prompts as you'd find in the CIRCLE command...super friendly. A box is created similar to a rectangle, etc. Let's take a look at just a few today:
BOX
The new friendlier BOX command is similar to RECTANG (same options), you just dynamically add in the height. You can also use a center point to define the cube.
WEDGE
Simply draw the base rectangle and the height with the sloped face opposite the first corner. You can also use the Cube option to draw a wedge with equal sides. Just like BOX, you can specify a center point to define the wedge.
CONE:
Here you will find the same options as the CIRCLE command to define the base (cen, radius or diameter, 3P/2P/TTR) followed by the height which is easily picked dynamically. You can also specify an elliptical base. The height may be defined by selecting between two points (2P), or an axis endpoint. The Top Radius option creates a cone that does not meet at a point (cone frustum) as you'll see below (ok...how many of you actually know what a frustum is?)
more later...Happy AutoCADding!