Sketching overview

1 Select Sketch mode from the Mode ribbon group.

2 Choose where you want to sketch.

Mouse over the planes and planar faces in your design to preview the location and orientation of the sketch grid.

If you previously selected a set of references that define a plane, the sketch grid is placed on the defined plane. The sketch grid mini-toolbar allows you to switch from sketching on one plane to sketching on another without leaving the sketch tools.

The sketch grid is placed automatically if an object in the active component is already selected.

a If the sketch grid is currently displayed, click Select New Sketch Plane in the mini-toolbar, or right-click and select Select New Sketch Plane from the context menu.

b Mouse over any existing geometry to display existing planes.

c Click to select the highlighted plane and display the sketch grid. Any vertices or edges on the plane are drawn in the current layer color and bolded.

d (Optional) Click Plan View in the mini-toolbar or in the Orient ribbon group to view the sketch grid head-on.

3 (Optional) Move or rotate the sketch grid.

a (Optional) Select any points, lines, or curves that you want to move with the sketch grid.

b Click Move Grid in the mini-toolbar.

c Use the Move handle to move or rotate the sketch grid.

4 Select any sketch tool from the Sketch ribbon group.

You can draw points, lines, tangent lines, construction lines, rectangles, three-point rectangles, circles, three-point circles, construction circles, ellipses, splines, tangent arcs, three-point arcs, sweep arcs, and polygons using the sketch tools. You can also create sketch lines by projecting the edges of 3D solids onto the sketch grid.

SpaceClaim's sketch tools also let you split, trim, and offset lines, as well as create corners and rounded corners.

5 Draw with the tool.

Mousing over the sketch grid snaps to points based on your snapping options. Press Shift to turn snapping on and off.

While mousing, SpaceClaim also provides extension lines when you are parallel to an edge or perpendicular to an endpoint. For certain drawing tools, it displays indicators of tangency, line midpoint, line endpoint, squares, and golden rectangles.

All tools let you enter dimensions while sketching. In some tools, you can press Shift at a reference point to see dimensions from that point to the cursor.

When you are done sketching with the tool, you can:

Click another sketching tool.
Click Return to 3D Mode in the mini-toolbar or 3D Mode in the Mode group in the ribbon bar to pull your sketch to 3D.
Press Esc or click the Select tool in the Edit ribbon group to edit the sketch.

Sketching

Sketching is useful if you want to create a region that can be pulled into 3D. If you want to create a 2D layout, and have no immediate need to generate 3D objects from the lines in the layout, then you should create a layout.

Use the sketch tools to sketch shapes in 2D. When you exit the sketch, regions are formed by intersecting lines. These regions will become solids and lines become edges when you pull your sketch into 3D with the Pull tool. Even when pulled into 3D, a region can be decomposed back into its sketched lines for further editing as long as any remnant of the lines is still unused in 3D.

To use any of the sketch tools to sketch in 2D, you must first display the sketch grid. If you have a planar surface highlighted, and press a sketch tool shortcut (such as L for the Line tool), you can mouse over planar surfaces in the design to highlight surfaces for the sketch grid. (Press Esc while in this state to return to the Select tool in 3D mode.) You can adjust the units and spacing of the grid, and we recommend that you fade the scene under the grid to enhance the visibility of your sketch.

While you are sketching, you may need to orient your design. If you use the Spin, Pan, or Zoom tools to reorient it, click them again or press Esc to continue sketching where you left off.

Depending on your options, sketching in Section mode may automatically extrude your sketch to 3D. The extrusion depth is set to 10 times the spacing of your sketch grid. You can dimension this depth for any extruded sketch by entering a value in that dimension field.

1 Click the Select tool. (You can also press Esc if you are in a sketching tool.)

While you are sketching, the mini-toolbar provides quick access to the following actions:

	Use the Line tool to sketch lines in 2D.
	Use the Tangent Line tool to sketch lines tangent to any curves in your design.
	Use the Tangent Arc tool to sketch an arc tangent to any single curve or line in your design.
	Use the Rectangle tool to draw a rectangle along the axes of the sketch grid.
	Use the Three-Point Rectangle tool to quickly sketch a rectangle at any angle in 2D.
	Use the Ellipse tool to sketch an ellipse in 2D.
	Use the Circle tool to sketch a circle in 2D when you know the location of the circle's center and radius, diameter, or a point on the circle's edge.
	Use the Three-Point Circle tool when you don’t know the center of the circle, but you know where the edge of the circle must be. This tool works with any combination of free points, known points, or tangent attachments.
	Use the Sweep Arc tool to create an arc with a known center and endpoints.
	Use the Polygon tool to sketch a polygon with up to 32 sides.
	Use the Spline tool to sketch splines in 2D. A spline is a continuously curved line, without sharp boundaries (that is, without vertices).
	Use the Three-Point Arc tool to create an arc by specifying its start and end points, and the radius or chord angle.
	Use the Construction Circle tool to draw circles that help you create an accurate sketch. Construction circles cannot be pulled into 3D, and are removed when you select a new sketch plane or exit sketching.
	Use the Construction Line tool to draw lines that help you create an accurate sketch. These lines become axes in 3D mode.
	Use the Point tool to sketch points in 2D.
	Use the Project to Sketch tool to copy an edge, vertex, or note text to 2D lines and points that you can manipulate with the sketch tools.

	Use the Bend tool to bend straight lines and edges to form an arc. You can also use the Bend tool to adjust the radius of arcs and arced edges. Bend works on straight lines when you are sketching, when you are editing in cross-section, and when you are editing blend sections with the Edit as Blend tool.
	Use the Create Corner tool to trim back or extend two lines so that they meet at a corner.
	Use the Trim Away tool to delete any line portion bounded by an intersection with a line or edge.
	Use the Split Line tool to split one line with another line or point.
	Use the Create Rounded Corner tool to trim back or connect two intersecting lines or arcs so that they meet with an arc tangent at both ends.
	Use the Offset Line tool to create an offset of any line in the grid plane.

	Click Return to 3D Mode to switch to the Pull tool and pull your sketch into 3D. Any closed loops will form surfaces or faces. Intersecting lines will split faces.
	Click Select New Sketch Plane to select a new face to sketch on.
	Click Move Grid to move or rotate the current sketch grid with the Move handle.
	Click Plan View for a head-on view of the sketch grid.

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