How to Create a 2D View from a 3D Model in AutoCAD 2014
Working in the 3D world in AutoCAD can be a little confusing at first. Instead, use the 2D view. Follow these steps to produce a 2D view from a 3D model:
1Switch AutoCAD to the 3D Modeling workspace.
Select it from the drop-down list at the end of the Quick Access toolbar in the upper-right corner of the screen.
2Set up a 3D model.
Create a new model or open an existing file that contains a 3D model.
3Switch to paper space.
Click the Layout 1 tab near the lower-left corner of the screen.
4Delete the existing viewport by clicking the viewport object (the frame of the viewport) and then pressing Delete.
By default, new drawings created from a standard template file contain a single viewport. If you’ll frequently create new drawings like this, set up a template file with the viewport already deleted.
5Click the Base button from the Create View panel on the Layout tab of the Ribbon, and then choose From Model Space from the drop-down list.
The VIEWBASE command creates several new layers automatically. By default, they’re the opposite of the screen color (black or white), but they always print in black. You can change these layers to any color you want.
6Position the base view.
AutoCAD automatically selects what it thinks is an appropriate scale, assuming that you’ll place the three standard orthographic views and one pictorial view. However, you can change it: Select a suitable place in the lower-left quadrant of the layout sheet.
The Drawing View Creation contextual tab appears on the Ribbon, a drop-down list of view options appears at the cursor, and an option list appears on the command line.
7Define the base view.
Using any one of the three selection methods — Ribbon, cursor, or command line — set up the base view as follows:
Orientation: The view shows what appears to be the bottom view of the part because AutoCAD defines top, bottom, and so on relative to the world X,Y coordinates. Select Orientation and the Top to create the view you want.
Hidden lines: The preview image in paper space always displays in shaded mode, regardless of the visual style of the model in model space. Change the Hidden Lines option to Visible and Hidden. You want Hidden Lines to be Visible and Hidden. The view won’t change yet, but don’t worry — it will after you complete the steps.
Scale: This setting defaults to 1:4, which is suitable for your purposes if you started from the sample drawing.
Visibility, or Edge Visibility: This setting specifies how to display edges that are formed where tangent surfaces meet. The normal practice is not to display them, but it sometimes causes features to disappear. If you change this setting, hover the cursor over the Edge Visibility button in the Appearance panel of the Ribbon and pause for a few seconds; a much more extensive tooltip list then explains each option.
Move: Specify a new location for the view before it is finally created. This isn’t such a big deal, though, because views can always be easily moved later.
Exit: Or press Enter.
8Place the other drawing views.
When you finish placing and defining the base view, AutoCAD automatically runs the VIEWPROJ command. All you need is three quick clicks to place the top, isometric, and right-side views; then press Enter to have AutoCAD generate the views.
10Double-click anywhere within the isometric view to bring up the Drawing View Editor tab on the Ribbon.
Click Hidden Lines on the Appearance tab and choose Shaded with Visible Lines from the drop-down list.
Add dimensions and text notes in the paper space layout. Dimensions are associative to their matching geometry if you use object snaps to the geometry when you place them. While you’re at it, perhaps you can use VIEWDETAIL to create a detail view at a different scale.
When you submit a drawing to your boss, she’ll be impressed that you managed to create such a complex drawing, including the shaded isometric view, in only three days.
An isometric view and an isometric projection are different creatures. An isometric view is normally drawn so that lines that are parallel to the three principal axes appear in their true length, and an isometric projection foreshortens them due to the tilting and rotating of the viewing angle of the object. Traditional paper-and-pencil drawings use isometric views, whereas AutoCAD creates isometric projections.
If you truly want an isometric view, the solution is simply to ignore the usual rule about drawing and inserting at full size. When creating an isometric projection, use this approximate scale factor to produce an isometric view:
You can also edit the insertion later, to make it match this scale factor.