AutoCAD Insider: AutoCAD 3D Conceptual Design 131

October 15, 2009

AutoCAD 3D Conceptual Design 131

The top of the rubber grip is nice and rounded but I’d like to make it a little larger to fit better with an adult hand. To scale the top of the rubber grip, I’ll use the 3D gizmo. The gizmo is a handy 3D editing tool that was first introduced in AutoCAD 2007 and was dramatically enhanced in AutoCAD 2010. If you’re modeling in 3D (since AutoCAD 2007) but haven’t yet tried this gizmo, take a few minutes to check it out. You’ll wonder how you lived without it.

Before editing the rubber grip, I’ll turn on the Plastic layer because I want to use the Center object snap of the sphere as my base point for scaling the grip.

When you select 3D objects and sub-objects, AutoCAD automatically displays a 3D gizmo. There are three different gizmos: Move, Rotate, and Scale (Scale is new in AutoCAD 2010). You can switch between these three gizmos using the Gizmo list in the subobject selection panel of the ribbon or by right-clicking on the gizmo icon. The gizmo you set remains persistent until you change it.

To modify the rubber grip, I used the CTRL key to select the upper part of the mesh and then the Scale gizmo. The gizmo location changes, jumping from grip to grip, as you move the cursor over the selected objects. To move the gizmo, to a specific location you can choose the Relocate Gizmo option from the right click menu and then snap to the location. For example, I want the top of the rubber grip to scale from the center of the plastic sphere so I relocated the gizmo by selecting the center object snap of the sphere.

One of the primary benefits of the 3D gizmo is the ability to constrain the editing behavior to a specified axis or plane. You can specify the axis or plane by clicking on the gizmo when the proper axis/plane is highlighted or you can choose it from the Set Constraint option in the right-click menu.