How to rendering a manually created 3D wireframe?

A have AutoCad 2000. I have made a 3D wireframe drawing of a boat hull by drawing each "wire" individually. Most of the surface of the hull is curved in two directions. The drawing is made of some straigt lines, polylines, elipses and circles and many arcs and splines. Snap is used everywhere so all lines connects together where they should do.

The problem I have is the drawing is difficult to view as the lines that should be hidden is not hidden. I can't find any way to do this. I have played with the 2D, 3D wireframe, with render, shaded etc. But I cant find any way to do it.

Is it not possible to hide the (what should be) invisible parts of a manually drawn up 3D wireframe drawing?

Edit: Sorry, posted in the wrong subforum.

No. In order to hide what should not be seen you need surfaces. All you have are lines.

You might be able to create surfaces using the lines that you have already drawn. Read up on Autocad's surface commands: http://books.google.com/books?id=I49AEJAsa98C&pg=PA207&lpg=PA207&dq=autocad+2000+surface+commands+edgesurf+revsurf&source=bl&ots=2N4ixOtQAy&sig=1Te_i2hqS40Mh9pWs5pWnkORBsA&hl=en&ei=5HlRTuXTIYKtsALiqN3gBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

I've moved your question to the 3D Modeling section.

Yes, I was supposing something like that. However a lot of the lines is long splines with multiple snap points. I don't think I can break up those lines which I suspects would be nesecarry in order to make surfaces from the lines I have.

Why don't you post your drawing so we can take a look at what you have.

Here is the file. It has a number of layers. If the wisible layers is retained in the upload it should be fine. There is some other layers where I have some "help lines". Those layers should be turned off.

I hope the file name is not a problem. It have a non englis language letter, therefore the strange signs.

Båt 2.dwg

It isn't usually a good idea to use the same color for all your layers. It makes it difficult to visualize what-is-what.

Your using AutoCAD 2000 right?

ReMark:

Very true in this drawing.....

If you had a newer version of AutoCAD I'd consider creating cross-sections then lofting between them.

You do have numerous lines, arcs, etc. that appear to have been mirrored. I might have "joined" them using the Pedit command.

Yes, one side is a mirror of the other side. The problem as I see it is the splines. I cant break them and i seem not to be able to make surfaces without breaking them.....

Refresh my memory. In AutoCAD 2000 what are your options for creating surfaces?

2D Solid

3D Face

3D Surfaces....

-------

Edge

3D Mesh

--------

Revolved Surface

Tabulated Surface

Ruled Surface

Edge Surface

Well while I was awaiting your reply I took several of the cross-sections, joined them, then used the LOFT command (which 2000 does not have) and created a series of lofted surfaces. I had success with all but two sections that would not loft. I'm still looking at them.

Norway. What time is it? Must be like 1 a.m.?

I added colours. It made it easier but it's not what I really want.

The drawing is not completed yet, some lines in the stern is missing among other things...

Båt 2.dwg

1 a.m soon....

The color only helps to visualize entities that are on the same layer. That makes it much easier to see what one is working with. For example, differentiating between Snitt 94 and Snitt 140. If you were showing the drawing to someone on your monitor how would you tell them apart?

It would be a tremendous amount of work, but you could fake a hidden view by creating copies of the original and breaking the lines in back at points where they "apparently intersect" lines in front and then erasing the ones you wouldn't see. You'd have to create viewport and do that for every view you wanted to create, and you could never change the view in that viewport without doing it all over again.

It will be an exercise in patience to do and you may be old and grey by the time you get it to look the way you want.

You're not going to have all the new tools with 2000, but I watched an AU course several months ago by a guy who's company designs ship hulls

No Mesh About It: Create Ship Hulls and Other Complex Surface Models in AutoCAD®

It would be a tremendous amount of work' date=' but you could fake a hidden view by creating copies of the original and breaking the lines in back at points where they "apparently intersect" lines in front and then erasing the ones you wouldn't see. You'd have to create viewport and do that for every view you wanted to create, and you could never change the view in that viewport without doing it all over again.

 

It will be an exercise in patience to do and you may be old and grey by the time you get it to look the way you want.[/quote']

 

I'm already starting to develop grey hairs so I think I 'll skip that alternative.

 

A lot of the time spent have been used to develop the crossections. I have them if I start a new drawing. I'll probably look more into how it can be possible to make a draving with surfaces in the first place. The problem in that lies in how to get a smoth transition between the different crossections without the use of long splines. Polylines doesn't fit nearly as good I find. And polylines consisting of arcs are very interesting to modify to say it mildly....

 

I have an idea I will look into.....

You're not going to have all the new tools with 2000, but I watched an AU course several months ago by a guy who's company designs ship hulls

 

No Mesh About It: Create Ship Hulls and Other Complex Surface Models in AutoCAD®

I will look into this later.

I will check some options in 2000i when I get home tonight if I have time. I am still not 100% clear on your final objective. There may be some old LISP routines around to create some surfaces in 2000i.