x,y,z

[chiefxyz]

2 years ago i graduated from a 1 year school with a diploma CAD at that time I wasn't to bad at drawing in 3d for a beginner. I used my view toolbar to make sure i was in the proper view. sometimes I would use orbit. now this may sound crazy to some of you but i didn't pay much attention to the ucs. and didn't get alot of instruction on it. now i'm in a refresher course that's suppose to prepare me for ship constructor.My instructor has me drawing the 3d object and using solview,and soldraw. Anyway ,Im using the 3 point command in the ucs toolbar. when I rotate the ucs lol, I become lost.and Im starting to fall behind. Is there a tutorial on this site that may help me or maybe someone who can explain it a little better.

[ReMark]

AutoCAD 2012? You should be using the Dynamic UCS. There is a toggle for it on your Task Bar. You should also probably learn how to use the View Cube too. Manually changing the UCS is old school.

[Dadgad]

Welcome to the forum.
I agree with ReMark, DYNAMIC UCS (F6) is the way to go.
I prefer using my VIEW toolbar to the VIEWCUBE though, it is just as fast, and enables you to keep working from whichever orthogonal perspective you select(because it changes the UCS for you).

In 2012 VIEWBASE functionality was introduced, I wonder if your instructor has tried it?
It has been improved in 2013, although there are still some issues, it is really fast.
You should familiarize yourself with it, maybe you can show your instructor something new.

I have been using Autocad for 4 years, and rarely have to think about UCS, probably because I too favor using the VIEW toolbar, although I work in 3D all the time.
If you try DYNAMIC UCS you will see how drop dead simple it is.

Typically in Autocad you are able to work on the plane in your modelspace which is parallel to your screen.

http://www.cadtutor.net/tutorials/autocad/ucs.php

Polylines are only drawn on the X-Y plane.
In order to draw polylines extending along the Z (or any other nonorthogonal) axis you need to convince your software that what is described in WCS as the Z axis is now the Y axis, whence you need to redefine, or change temporarily the UCS to suit the task at hand. The VIEW toolbar does that automatically for you for the orthogonal perspectives.
It is worth mentioning that there is another type of polyline, which is the 3D POLYLINE, which can be used in any plane, need not be constrained to the X-Y plane.
Another good thing to know, as you are using 2012 is that the VIEWPORT CONTROLS which you will find in the upper left corner of your MODELSPACE (see the image), and every other active VIEWPORT, will do the same thing. As long as the VEWPORT is ACTIVE (meaning you have double clicked in to it, so the border is highlighted) and unlocked.
You can adjust your viewport configurations, save new configurations and change the VISUALSTYLE there too. Very handy and under utilized. If you are used to using the VIEW toolbar, I would imagine that you have SAVED new views with the VIEW MANAGER which you find at the end of that toolbar.

[Murph_map]

Sorry you're having trouble understanding the UCS and 3D but to get on my soapbox, are you taking the refresher course from a AutoCAD reseller and Authorized Training center? Four or 5 years ago I might of been your instructor if it is. Also most of the ship builders down there are using Inventor or another brand of software and not simple AutoCAD vanilla. When I was doing tech support I got calls every week from them. good luck and stay out of Issac's path.

[rkent]

I think it is important to be able to manipulate the ucsicon and 2012 added a nice feature where you can grab the ucsicon and move it and rotate it. If you grab it and pick on the origin then you can move it and if you pick the x grip you can rotate the ucsicon to align with a line, etc. Especially with dimensioning and text the UCS not only has to be on a plane but the x and y need to point a certain direction to display properly. With this direct manipulation it makes that much easier.

You should check out the options under the UCS command, especially the 3Point, Object, and Origin among others. Some don't show when you first start the command so after starting the UCS command type ? enter to see other options. You don't have to see them to use them but the ? will give you a list of what is available.

[chiefxyz]

thanks for the help everybody esp. dadgad that was another problem i had thur. nite.an object i was drawing needed a wedge subtracted from it i tried slicing [t didn't work i tried drawing the wedge to insert it and subtract but it kept telling me one of the lines was not on the x,y,z, plane.

[chiefxyz]

YES! dadgad that toutoral site was information i needed bad what i'm understanding is draw the wedge in 2d and give it height. then insert into object to subtract.does this sound right? get out of world, and into user. or 3d polyline

[Dadgad]

Glad it is starting to make more sense to you. It really isn't too difficult, but you have to be comfortable with it.
If you have two 3D solids created, and intersecting (as in occupying any common points) not just looking like they do from any given perspective, then you should be able to SUBTRACT one from the other from any perspective, regardless of the UCS.
I tend to prefer modeling and modifying 3D objects in an isometric (or more precisely, a non-orthogonal perspective) usually, because then you can read all 3 axii at once.
I frequently use a CIRCLE which is selected with the OBJECT option in the SLICE command. Obviously you need to consider its alignment prior to slicing.

When things start to get tricky it can also be very helpful to have more than one viewport showing in your modelspace, so you can see the objects being manipulated from multiple different perspectives simultaneously.

[JD Mather]

....My instructor has me drawing the 3d object and using solview,and soldraw. ....

There is a good chance that you do need to become very familiar with manipulating UCS if your models are complex and you are creating views with the solx commands.
Start to become familiar with the Viewbase command rather than solview and soldraw in 2012.
The command was limited in 2012 (ex. no sections) but much improved when you get into 2013.
As a student you can download free learning license of 2013 from http://www.autodesk.com/edcommunity