CAD Forum

I ran into a situation yesterday Where I needed to make a sweep of a steel rod for a fan grill. I thought it was a great time to use a 3D sketch. in a 2D sketch when I want to make a 180deg turn I usually sketch a circle and add lines to it then trim half of it away. So I am in the 3D skecth and I select the circle command and it only allows me to put it on the ZX plane. IS there some why to switch it to the other planes?

It looks like you have to create the reference planes while in the 3d sketch.

Hi,
When you click to place the line, arc or anything. you see two red arrows appear. When you have these arrows, press tab key to change the the direction.

I knew there had to be a way to change it from one plane to another. Thanks

In addition to tab, next to your pointer is displayed the direction you are drawing in, in case you hadn't noticed.

AlexLachance wrote: ↑Mon Jun 26, 2023 8:53 am In addition to tab, next to your pointer is displayed the direction you are drawing in, in case you hadn't noticed.

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Yea, I noticed the plane reference was shown, I just had no way for knowing how to switch to the other planes.

I never have done much 3D sketching, but I went through the weldments training a few months back and can see where it would be very handy for that.

TTevolve wrote: ↑Mon Jun 26, 2023 11:54 am . . . I never have done much 3D sketching, but I went through the weldments training a few months back and can see where it would be very handy for that.

I use weldments often, but I rarely use a 3d sketch. It's usually much simpler to use 2d sketches, even if you need two or three instead of one.

If I do use a 3d sketch I almost always create a body first, then use the Convert Entities sketch tool on its edges. That makes 3d sketches so much easier to deal with, since applying relations you do want and avoiding the ones you don't is one of the biggest headaches with 3d sketches.

After creating the 3d sketch that's driven by the body I use the Delete Body feature to get rid of it. You can just hide it, but if you need mass or volume having that body there, even if it's hidden, will mess up the results.

@Glenn Schroeder
try to use x,y,z constraints as much as possibile avoiding perpendicular or parallel even if the result is the same as x, y or z segments. 3d sketchs are prone to Instability.

mp3-250 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 12, 2023 11:27 am @Glenn Schroeder
try to use x,y,z constraints as much as possibile avoiding perpendicular or parallel even if the result is the same as x, y or z segments. 3d sketchs are prone to Instability.

. . . which is why I avoid them whenever practical.