With 3D modeling, you can create solid, wireframe, and Surface (mesh) models of your design.

Modeling in 3D has several advantages. *You can View the model from any vantage point .*Generate reliable standard and auxiliary 2D views automatically. *Create sections and 2D drawings.*Remove hidden lines and do realistic shading.*Check interferences .*Add lighting.*Create realistic renderings .*Navigate through the model. *Use the model to create an animation.* Perform engineering analysis .*Extract manufacturing data A wireframe model is an edge or skeletal representation of a real-world 3D object using lines and curves. You can use a wireframe model to.* View the model from any vantage point.* Generate standard orthographic and auxiliary views automatically.*Generate exploded and perspective views easily.*Analyze spatial relationships, including the shortest distance between corners and edges, and checking for interferences.*Reduce the number of prototypes required Wireframe models consist only of points, lines, and curves that describe the edges of the object. Because each object that makes up a wireframe model must be independently drawn and positioned, this type of modeling can be the most timeconsuming. You can use the XEDGES command to create wireframe geometry from regions and 3D solids and surfaces. XEDGES extracts all the edges on the selected objects or subobjects. Tips for Working with Wireframe Models::::Creating 3D wireframe models can be more difficult and time-consuming than creating their 2D views. Here are some tips that will help you work more effectively: 1)Plan and organize your model so that you can turn off layers to reduce the visual complexity of the model. Color can help you differentiate between objects in various views. 2)Create construction geometry to define the basic envelope of the model. 3)Use multiple views, especially isometric views, to make visualizing the model and selecting objects easier. 4)Become adept at manipulating the UCS in 3D. The XY plane of the current UCS operates as a workplane to orient planar objects such as circles and arcs. The UCS also determines the plane of operation for trimming and extending, offsetting, and rotating objects. 5)Use object snaps and grid snap carefully to ensure the precision of your model. 6) Use coordinate filters to drop perpendiculars and easily locate points in 3D based on the location of points on other objects. Methods for Creating Wireframe Models:::You can create wireframe models by positioning any 2D planar object anywhere in 3D space, using the following methods: 1) Entering 3D coordinates. You enter coordinates that define the X, Y, and Z location of the object. 2)Setting the default workplane (the XY plane of the UCS) on which you will draw the object. . 3)Moving or copying the object to its proper 3D location after you create it. Wireframe modeling is a skill that requires practice and experience. The best approach to learning how to create wireframe models is to begin with simple models before attempting models that are more complex. SURFACE: You can create polygonal mesh forms. Because the faces of the mesh are planar, the mesh can only approximate curved surfaces.You can use meshes if you need hiding, shading, and rendering capabilities that wireframe models cannot provide but do not need the physical properties that solid models provide (mass, volume, center of gravity, moments of inertia, and so on). You can also use meshes to create geometry with unusual mesh patterns, such as a 3D topographical model of mountainous terrain. The visual style controls how a mesh is displayed, either wireframe or shaded. (VISUALSTYLES command).You can create several types of meshes.1)3D face. 3DFACE creates a planar mesh with either three or four sides. 2)Ruled mesh. RULESURF creates a polygon mesh representing the ruled surface between two lines or curves. 3)Tabulated mesh. TABSURF creates a polygon mesh representing a general tabulated surface defined by the extrusion of a line or curve (called a path curve) in a specified direction and distance (called a direction vector). 4)Revolved mesh. REVSURF creates a polygon mesh approximating a surface of revolution by rotating a path curve or profile (lines, circles, arcs, ellipses, elliptical arcs, polylines, or splines, closed polylines, polygons, closed splines, or donuts) about a specified axis. 5)Edge-defined mesh. EDGESURF creates a polygon mesh approximating a Coons surface patch mesh from four adjoining edges. A Coons surface patch mesh is a bicubic surface interpolated between four adjoining edges (which can be general space curves). 6)Predefined 3D mesh. 3D creates three-dimensional polygon mesh objects in common geometric shapes, including boxes, cones, spheres, tori, wedges, and pyramids. 7)General meshes. 3DMESH and PFACE create threedimensional polygon mesh objects in any shape. Understand Mesh Construction

The mesh density controls the number of facets, and is defined in terms of a matrix of M and N vertices, similar to a grid consisting of columns and rows. M and N specify the column and row position, respectively, of any given vertex. A mesh can be open or closed. A mesh is open in a given direction if the start and end edges of the mesh do not touch, as shown in the following illustrations. There are several methods for creating meshes.Create a Ruled Mesh With RULESURF, you can create a mesh between two lines or curves. You can use two different objects to define the edges of the ruled mesh: lines, points, arcs, circles, ellipses, elliptical arcs, 2D polylines, 3D polylines, or splines. Pairs of objects to be used as the rails of a ruled mesh must both be either open or closed. You can pair a point object with either an open or a closed object.

You can specify any two points on closed curves to complete RULESURF. For open curves, construction of the ruled mesh is based on the locations of the specified points on the curves.

Create a Tabulated Mesh:::With the TABSURF command, you can create a mesh representing a general tabulated surface defined by a path curve and a direction vector. The path curve can be a line, arc, circle, ellipse, elliptical arc, 2D polyline, 3D polyline, or spline. The direction vector can be a line or an open 2D or 3D polyline. TABSURF creates the mesh as a series of parallel polygons running along a specified path. You must have the original object and the direction vector already

drawn, as shown in the following illustrations.

Create a Revolved Mesh :::Use the REVSURF command to create a revolved mesh by rotating a profile of the object about an axis. REVSURF is useful for mesh forms with rotational symmetry.

The profile is called a path curve, which can be any combination of lines, circles, arcs, ellipses, elliptical arcs, polylines, or splines, closed polylines, polygons, closed splines, or donuts. Create an Edge-Defined Mesh With the EDGESURF command, you can create a Coons surface patch mesh, as shown in the following illustration, from four objects called edges. Edges can be arcs, lines, polylines, splines, and elliptical arcs, and they must form a closed loop and share endpoints. A Coons patch is a bicubic surface (one curve in the M direction and another in the N direction) interpolated between the four edges.

Create a Predefined 3D MeshThe 3D command creates the following 3D shapes: boxes, cones, dishes, domes, meshes, pyramids, spheres, tori (donuts), and wedges.To view the objects you are creating with the 3D command more clearly, set a viewing direction with 3DORBIT, DVIEW, or VPOINT.In the following illustrations, the numbers indicate points you

specify to create the mesh. Solid Modeling:::When you create solid models, you use solids and surfaces as the building blocks for your model. A solid object represents the entire volume of an object. Solids are the most informationally complete and least ambiguous of the 3D modeling types. Complex solid shapes are also easier to construct and edit than wireframes and meshes. You can create basic 3D shapes (solid primitives): boxes, cones, cylinders, spheres, wedges, pyramids, and tori (donuts). You can then combine these shapes to create more complex solids by joining or subtracting them or finding their intersecting (overlapping) volume. You can also create 3D solids and surfaces from existing objects through any of the following methods: Extruding objects , Sweeping objects along a path , Revolving objects around an axis , Lofting through a set of curves , Slicing a solid , Converting planar objects with thickness into solids and surfaces Solids and surfaces are displayed in the visual style that is applied to the viewport. You can analyze solids for their mass properties (volume, moments of inertia, center of gravity, and so on). You can export data about a solid object to applications such as NC (numerical control) milling or FEM (finite element method) analysis. By exploding a solid, you can break it down to regions, bodies, surfaces, and wireframe objects. The ISOLINES system variable controls the number of tessellation lines used to visualize curved portions of the wireframe. The FACETRES system variable adjusts the smoothness of shaded and hidden-line objects. By default, 3D solids record a history of their original forms. This history allows you to see the original forms that make up composite solids