Help to rotate Hand Rail in 3D

[JamFam]

Hand rail.dwgGreetings all. I have tried to rotate this railing in 3D so that it looks like this photo but I can't. I've tried several different things with the UCS but clearly I don't know what I'm doing. So I'm turning to the CAD community that does. Can anyone help me? I can draw the hand rail no problem. But the drawing always leaves the finished hand rail in the X,Y plane. I need to rotate it in the Z axis (I think). Here is the orientation I want the railing to look once it's drawn. I need a step by step procedure so I can learn how to do this the correct way for future reference.

Thanks

[pqphillips]

It sounds like you need the 3DROTATE command.

 

http://www.cadtutor.net/tutorials/autocad/3d-move-and-3d-rotate/

[iainlines]

Do you know about manipulating the UCS? 3D rotate will certainly do what you want but learning about UCS manipulation is the way to go first, in my opinion

[Dadgad]

This is always going to be easier visualized in an isometric perspective than an orthographic view.

By the way, it is already correct, if you look at the image, you will see that the ground plane is the XY plane,

and that your handrail is at a higher elevation on the Z axis, at what may well be the height you were after.

 

You don't really need to manipulate any UCS here, you just need to be able to access different VIEWS or PERSPECTIVES,

so that you can see what it looks like from a different angle.

I typically keep my VIEW toolbar on my desktop, and use it all the time, or I also like the VIEWPORT CONTROLS which were new in 2012 I think,

you can see them in the upper left hand corner of the image. You can easily change your VIEW, VISUAL STYLE and VIEWPORT CONFIGURATION there.

[JamFam]

I know of the UCS but whenever I try to apply what my understanding of it to an object I just get confused even more. I want to be able to use the UCS because I know it can help now and in the future. It's one of those tools I don't use because I don't know how to. Sounds crazy I know. Once I "get it", like riding a bike, I'll use it more often I'm sure. From the SE Isometric view the railing "looks ok" but when I view it from the end of the wall like in a section view, I see the hand rail is flat not vertical. I think once I "get it" ( the UCS rotation thing) I won't be confused. #D rotate command?? I didn't know about that? Is there a simple step by step exercise I can practice that can help me grasp this UCS thing?

 

Thanks everyone.

[SLW210]

CHECK THESE OUT.

[TKall]

JamFam:

I will second your request for a good tutorial on manipulating the UCS. I realized a little while ago that most of the problems I was experiencing were due to my lack of understanding of the UCS. In fact, the way it looks to me, understanding the UCS is perhaps the most vital aspect of the program to understand. The problem with most books and tutorials is that they tend to use very simple examples and the instant I try to draw something real I am left asking...what do I do here?

[ReMark]

You can manipulate the UCS old school style from the command line or you can resort to using the Dynamic UCS which you will find an icon for at the bottom of your screen (left hand side).

 

I'm old school because that's all we had way back when and I never adapted to the Dynamic version. Newbies should forget the command line and use the Dynamic UCS. You'll probably find it much easier to use than I do.

 

Don't forget to look at the buttons on the View tab/Coordinates panel nor should you neglect the options found on the Home tab/View panel itself. I speaking about the Ribbon as it appears in the 3D Modelling workspace by the way.

[JD Mather]

.... Newbies should forget the command line and use the Dynamic UCS.

 

I don't think I would go that far. I use DUCS a lot, but could not possible work without UCS 3P.

[BIGAL]

A quick tutorial bit rough THICKNESS 2400 draw a line 5000 long draw a 2nd at 90 deg 5000 long Vpoint 1,1,1 you will see a wall created.

 

OK ucs 3p pick pt1 as cnr pt2 along as new X axis pt3 vertically above cnr sets Y axis Then UCS S give it a name wall1 Then Plan you are now drawing on the wall.

 

Draw your handrail as a pline then move pick handrail 0,0,0 0,0,100 this puts handrail 100mm of the wall add a circle for tube dia on end of handrail use rotate3d to swing the circle sq to handrail then just EXTRUDE pick circle PATH pick pline all done

[TKall]

Thanks BIGAL.

[JamFam]

Thanks for all the help. What seems to work is the 3D rotate. I drew a new hand rail, once drawn, I picked the 3D rotate tool then grabbed the appropriate rotate ring and rotated it 90 degrees. What I can't figure out though is when I view the entire floor plan in layout the hand rail is not visible but the "line" that has the grips that moves the hand rail is and it's about 2 feet away from the wall. However when I look at the stairs in front view, there it is perfectly where I want it. The more I dive into 3D the more I'm developing a love hate relationship. I have another post topic I will be submitting about a section view that is incomplete. Thanks everyone.

[Dadgad]

You might enjoy using multiple viewports in your MODELSPACE,

in that way you can see mulltiple different PERSPECTIVES at the same time.

You can access those options with the VPORTS command at the commanline.

[JamFam]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. It will take this old boy some doing before he "get's it" but I agree with TKall, the more tutorials the better, especially when it comes to the UCS and how to maximize it.