Documenting 3D Models: Part 1

Documenting 3D Models: Part 1:

This is the first post in a multi-part series on creating 2D views of 3D models in AutoCAD 2013.
As more and more people create complex 3D models in AutoCAD, more and more people wish creating real things from those models was as easy as snapping your fingers. We may be getting close with 3D printing, but in the meantime, most of us still have to create 2D drawings of those 3D models before the designs can be built or fabricated.
AutoCAD 2013 makes this process easier than ever with the new & improved tools on the new Layout tab.

(You can see, from the number of tools on this tab, why this will be a multi-part series.)
The first two panels, Layout and Layout Viewports, contain tools you’re already familiar with, for creating and modifying layouts, page setups, and layout viewports.
Let’s move on, then, to the third panel: Create View.
Today’s topic is where to get the 3D geometry that will be the source for your 2D views. In AutoCAD 2013, you have a choice: AutoCAD or Inventor.

If you choose “From Inventor”, your base view will be created from an Inventor assembly, part, or presentation. In this dialog, you have options for the Design View, Positional Representation, and Level of Detail, which you can set before you click Open.

Creating a base view from an Inventor file creates a link between the DWG and IAM/IPT/IPN files, rather than importing the model. This means that when changes are made to the source model, your base view will update.
You can also choose “From Model Space”, if your 3D model already exists in your AutoCAD file.
By default, AutoCAD grabs everything in model space to create the base view. If you’d rather be more particular, you can use the “Model Space Selection” feature on the Drawing View Creation contextual tab.

This temporarily pops you in to model space, where you can add and remove objects from your selection with the standard A and R shortcuts.
When you’re finished refining your selection, you can return to the layout.

In the next post, we’ll cover the rest of the Drawing View Creation tab—stay tuned!