Last reviewed 16 Sept 2026 · 9 min read
3D workspace and navigation
- 3D Modeling workspace — ribbon tabs for solids, surfaces, meshes, visualisation.
- Start with the acadiso3D.dwt template (metric 3D) where available.
| Tool | Function |
|---|---|
| ViewCube | Click faces/edges/corners for orthographic or isometric views (Top, Front, SE Isometric, etc.); drag to orbit; Home view |
| ORBIT / 3DORBIT (Shift + mouse wheel drag) | Rotate the view around the model |
| Preset views | Top, Bottom, Left, Right, Front, Back, SW/SE/NE/NW Isometric |
| Perspective / parallel projection | Toggle from ViewCube menu |
| Visual styles (VISUALSTYLES) | 2D Wireframe, Wireframe, Hidden, Realistic, Conceptual, Shaded, Shaded with edges, Shades of Grey, Sketchy, X-Ray |
| Steering wheels | Navigation tools |
3D coordinates and UCS
- 3D points:
x,y,z,@dx,dy,dz, cylindricald<θ,z, sphericald<θ<φ. - Most 2D and profile commands work on the XY plane of the current UCS — change the UCS (UCS Face, 3 Point, Object, X/Y/Z rotation) to draw on vertical or inclined faces.
- Dynamic UCS (F6) temporarily aligns the working plane with a face of a solid while drawing.
- ELEVATION and THICKNESS properties give simple extruded 2D objects (2½D).
Types of 3D objects
| Type | Description | Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Wireframe | Lines/curves in 3D space | Skeleton layouts; ambiguous |
| Surfaces (procedural and NURBS) | Zero-thickness surfaces — PLANESURF, network, blend, patch, offset surfaces | Complex shapes, terrain-like forms |
| Meshes | Faces with vertices and edges; smoothness levels | Freeform/organic shapes, imported models |
| 3D solids | Closed volumes with mass properties | Engineering and architectural models — Boolean editing, sections, volumes |
Objects can be converted (e.g. mesh to solid, surface thickening with THICKEN).
Solid primitives
| Command | Input |
|---|---|
| BOX | Corner points and height, or cube/length options |
| WEDGE | Like box, sloping face |
| CYLINDER | Base centre, radius, height (elliptical option) |
| CONE | Base centre, radius, height; top radius for frustums |
| SPHERE | Centre and radius |
| TORUS | Centre, torus radius, tube radius |
| PYRAMID | Sides, base radius (inscribed/circumscribed), height, top radius |
| POLYSOLID | Wall-like solids along a path with height and width — quick walls in 3D |
Solids from 2D profiles
| Command | Operation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| EXTRUDE (EXT) | Adds height to a closed profile (polyline, circle, region) — along Z, a direction, a path, or with taper angle | Walls from plan outlines, slabs, beams, columns |
| REVOLVE (REV) | Rotates a profile about an axis by an angle | Domes, pipes, bottles, circular tanks, pillars |
| SWEEP | Moves a profile along a path (with twist/scale options) | Handrails, pipes, cornices, helical springs |
| LOFT | Creates a solid/surface through a series of cross-sections (with guides or path) | Transition ducts, hulls, tapered piers |
| PRESSPULL | Push/pull bounded areas or faces to create/modify solids | Openings, projections |
| THICKEN | Surface → solid with thickness | Shell roofs |
Open profiles produce surfaces (unless solid mode is forced); closed profiles produce solids.
Boolean operations
| Command | Result |
|---|---|
| UNION (UNI) | Combines solids into one — total volume |
| SUBTRACT (SU) | Removes the volume of the second set from the first — openings, holes, recesses (first select solids to keep, then solids to subtract) |
| INTERSECT (IN) | Keeps only the common volume |
| INTERFERE | Checks overlapping volumes (clashes) and creates interference solids |
Solid history (SOLIDHIST) can record original primitives for later editing.
3D modify commands
| Command | Function |
|---|---|
| 3DMOVE, 3DROTATE, 3DSCALE | Gizmo-based move/rotate/scale along axes |
| 3DALIGN / ALIGN | Align objects using source and destination points in 3D |
| MIRROR3D | Mirror about a plane (XY, YZ, ZX, 3 points, object) |
| 3DARRAY / associative ARRAY with levels | Rectangular with levels, polar about an axis |
| SLICE (SL) | Cuts a solid by a plane; keep one or both sides |
| SECTIONPLANE / SECTION | Section objects creating live sections and 2D/3D section blocks |
| SHELL (SOLIDEDIT → Body → Shell) | Hollows a solid with wall thickness, removing selected faces (tanks, boxes) |
| FILLETEDGE, CHAMFEREDGE | Round or bevel solid edges |
| SOLIDEDIT | Face operations — extrude, move, offset, delete, rotate, taper; edge colour/copy; body imprint, separate, clean, check |
| IMPRINT | Imprint 2D geometry onto a face for later PRESSPULL |
| CONVTOSOLID / CONVTOSURFACE / MESHSMOOTH | Convert between object types |
| MASSPROP | Volume, mass (density 1), centroid, moments of inertia |