Solid Modeling Tools - How to Modify the Active 2D Section Drawing to Modify the 3D Product (Tutorial 2: Part 2)

Solid Modeling Tools - How to Modify the Active 2D Section Drawing to Modify the 3D Product (Tutorial 2: Part 2)

This article continues from Solid Modeling Tools - How to Restore Products from an Existing Drawing and provides information regarding the use of 2D Section Drawings for modifying 3D Products. 

  1. Click in the left viewport containing the section to activate it. Zoom to the view that you are comfortable working with.  
    1. Click on the upper top plate to display its grips. The various grips give you different ways of interacting with the object selected. 
    2. Stretch the upper top plate by changing the width from 5 to 8 (127 to 203 if working in metric units). To do so, click the grip located at the midpoint of the right side polyline segment, as shown in figure 3 below, and move your cursor to the right, but do not click. Enter 3 (76 if working in metric units) and press Enter. The section drawing and the 3D product will now redraw with the new part size. 
      3.  
      Fig. 01


      Fig. 02
      Grips provide a quick and easy way to reshape, move, or manipulate some 2D objects, 3D objects, and annotation objects. For more information, see the Autodesk article: " About Editing with Grips." 
  2. Use the grips to modify the lower top plate in the same way, by stretching to match the upper top plate. 
  3. Use the grip for the top right corner of the stud to stretch only that corner to match the width of the two top plates. Your section should match figure 5. 
    4.  
    Fig. 03 

  4. In this step, we will show you how to use the Circle command with an AutoCAD construction line, Object Snaps, and Object Snap Tracking to create a circular cutout at the geometric center of the stud. 
    1. Make sure your Object Snap Tracking is activated by clicking the button Object Snap Tracking on the Status Bar, as shown below, or press the F11 function key. 
      2.  
      Fig. 04 

    2. Enter "XLINE" at the command prompt to draw a construction line. As the first point, select the Midpoint object snap point of the stud upper horizontal edge. Select the Midpoint object snap point of the stud lower horizontal edge. This construction line will define the horizontal midpoint of the angled part. 
    3. With Orthomode (F8) set ON, enter "CIRCLE" at the command prompt and hover over the Midpoint object snap point of the angled line of the stud, but don't click the point. A small + will show that the point has been acquired, and an alignment path will be displayed. Next, click on the point where the temporary alignment path intersects the angled construction line previously drawn, shown by a green X. Enter a value of 1 for the default option of Radius. 

      4. Notice that the circle is added to the 2D section drawing, and the 3D product is updated automatically with a circle cutout. 

       
      Fig. 05 

    4. Erase the angled construction line. 
  5. That circle cutout is not large enough for fictitious cable connectors to pass through, so it must be enlarged. 
    1. Click on the circle object in the left viewport to display the object grips. 
    2. Click on one of the grips at the four quadrants of the object and begin to move outwards. Do not click another point, but enter a value of 1.5 for the new radius of the cutout. The program automatically updates the size of the cutouts in the 3D product studs with the new size. 
  6. Enter "REC" at the command prompt to create a rectangular shape on the 2D stud in the left viewport. The exact dimensions don't matter, as this is to demonstrate the fact that adding a shape on the 2D stud automatically adds a cutout in all the associated vertical studs in the 3D product. 
    7. Occasionally, the 3D product may not be updated with the most recent modification to the 2D section. In this case, click the Tree View tab in the SMT palette, uncheck the checkbox for the offending product name, and check it back on. This will redraw the product. 
  7. Enter "PLINE" at the command prompt to create a shape with an angled right side on the 2D stud in the left viewport. The exact dimensions don't matter, as long as the polyline is Closed. This is to demonstrate the fact that adding a shape on the 2D stud automatically adds a cutout in all the associated vertical studs in the 3D product. 
    8.  
    Fig. 06 

    If the polyline is not Closed and you don't want to erase it and start over, enter PE (polyline edit) at the command prompt and select the polyline that needs to closed. Click "Close" from the option list and press Enter. The open polyline is converted to a closed polyline and, after that, useable in updating the 3D product. 

    There are several options listed below for adding polyline shapes to the 2D section that will be updated as cutouts to the 3D product. 
    1. Draw a polyline directly on the 2D section. 
    2. Draw a polyline elsewhere in AutoCAD space and move it on the 2D section. 
    3. Make a copy of the existing closed polyline shape and place the copy on the 2D section. 

      4. All of these methods conform to the SMT rule that 'no vector of the polyline may extend outside the borders of the 2D section entity,' in this case a stud. If it does, the cutout will not be recognized or displayed in the 3D product. 

  8. Erase the cut out shapes from the 2D section, except for the circle. Watch for the corresponding updates to the 3D product. 
Continue on to Solid Modeling Tools - How to Modify the Construction Path to Change the Shape of your 3D Product in Plan View.