Transitioning from 2D to 3D AutoCAD drawings 102

In my previous “Transitioning from 2D to 3D… 101” post, I provided an introduction to this series of posts in which I will show you how to update an existing 2D floor plan to a 3D AutoCAD model.

First, I’ll turn off some of the layers so that I can focus on the structural elements.

Then, holding down the Shift key and middle mouse button, I’ll move the mouse to change the viewpoint of the drawing. This means that I’m looking at the drawing at an angle rather than from directly above.

This drawing includes two different types of columns and therefore uses two different block references. Since the columns are block references, changes I make to the block definitions will automatically apply to all of the block references. This is typical AutoCAD behavior regardless if you are working with 2D or 3D geometry.

There are several ways to edit a block definition. In AutoCAD 2006 and 2007, you can use the BEDIT command to access the Block Editor. However, the Block Editor does not enable you to change the viewpoint of your block definition. You can use 3D creation tools in the Block Editor but since you can only view the geometry from the top, it might be difficult to see what you are doing. For this reason, I prefer to use the REFEDIT command. Using REFEDIT enables me to edit the block definition in the context of the rest of the drawing and it provides full access to the 3D creation as well as the 3D viewing tools.

1. Zoom into the column blocks.
2. Select one of the block references, right-click and choose Edit Block In-place. This launches the REFEDIT command.
3. In the Reference Edit dialog box, choose OK.
4. Press the Ctrl and Alt keys and pick inside the 2D column.
   The Ctrl Alt keys launch the Presspull functionality (you can also use the PRESSPULL command). As you pass your cursor inside the boundary of the column, AutoCAD detects the boundary and highlights it. You can then drag your cursor up or down to press or pull the 2D geometry into a 3D solid.
   
5. Drag the cursor up and pick a point or enter a value for the height. Even if you do not know the exact height, you can specify some value and then easily edit it later.
   
   AutoCAD creates a new 3D Solid object within the block definition. The new object is created on the current layer so you will want to be sure you have an appropriate layer set prior to using the Presspull functionality or change the layer property of the 3D object after it is created. The same layer rules apply to 3D as they do in 2D. For example, if you want block geometry to take on properties of the layer in which the block is inserted, you should create that geometry on layer 0 within the block definition.
6. On the Refedit toolbar, choose Save Reference Edits.
   All of the block references for that particular type of column will update with the new 3D geometry just as you would expect them to do when you make 2D edits to the block definition.
   

I can repeat a similar process for the other block definition. If I want the height of the second column to be the same as the first one, I can easily use what I know about object snaps in a 2D environment to quickly snap to the height (Z value) of the existing column. Although the new column appears to be too tall, as soon as I pick the endpoint of the existing column, AutoCAD will read the Z value and apply it to the new object.

Reading my explanation of this process takes a lot longer than actually performing these tasks in AutoCAD 2007. I can easily convert all the column blocks to 3D in less than a minute and a half!

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