About View Creation

As a designer, you need to have a general idea of the overall dimensions of your design, as well as of its position in space. Defining layout views is an important step in the layout design process.

This topic provides information about view creation.

This page discusses:

Support of 3D Shapes

Projection views may be defined to fit the layout representation of a 3D shape.



Projection views of the 3D shape are defined in the 2D Layout for 3D Design window:



Support of Assemblies

Projection views may also be defined to fit the layout representation of an assembly.



Projection views of the layout representation of the assembly and its context are defined in the 2D Layout for 3D Design window:



Important: Assembly layouts are taken into account by the following functionality:

View Box

The data needed to fully define the layout of a view set in the 2D window, as well as the position of each view in the 3D space, is defined in the standards, using a "view box".

This data is made up of:

A single, default, view box is defined for each standard (for example, there is a single view box for the ISO_3D standard). The standard definition is retrieved when creating the first view of a view set: the view box definition is associated to each view set. Therefore, an update of the standard does not impact existing views, or views added to an existing view set.

For more information, see Layout Views Customization.

View Box Anchor Point

The view box anchor point is the 3D point from which the view box position in 3D space is defined. It is defined in the standard. Two anchor points are available (the primary view is displayed in red in the images below):

  • At the lower left corner of the view box:



  • At the center of the view box:



3D Axis

The view plane definition corresponds to the specific position of design views in the 3D space. It is defined in the standard. In 2D Layout for 3D Design, coordinates are always expressed as local coordinates (H, V). Local coordinates are transformed to be expressed in 3D space using the view plane definition.



The 3D axis gives the primary view orientation in space. Its first direction corresponds to the view local direction H while its second direction corresponds to the view local direction V. The third direction is deduced from the H and V directions to form an axis system.

3D Axis Origin

The 3D axis origin corresponds to the position of the view box's anchor point in 3D space, i.e. its center or lower left corner.

In the example shown here, the anchor point is placed at the bottom left corner of the view box.



Specifying this position is particularly important when the 3D shape is designed in an assembly (as for a rear bumper). When the 3D shape is designed to be multi-instantiated in the assembly, this position is generally null (as for wheels).

The 3D axis orientation of projection views, isometric views, section views, section cuts and auxiliary views depends on the following factors:

  • The active view 3D axis orientation.
  • The position of the cursor on the layout.
  • The projection method.



The 3D axis orientation can be modified by selecting a 3D element when creating a view. This 3D element can belong either to a 3D shape or to an assembly:

  • In the case of a standalone 3D shape, the primary view lies on a plane parallel to the selected element as well as on the view box fitting the 3D shape.
  • In the case of a 3D shape in the context of an assembly, the primary view lies on a plane parallel to the selected element as well as on the view box fitting the 2DL assembly.

View Box Overall Dimensions

The overall dimensions are as follows:

  • The distance between the Front and Rear views.
  • The distance between the Right and Left views.
  • The distance between the Top and Bottom views.



The view box overall dimensions define approximately the size of the design. They are computed to hold as tightly as possible the 3D shape or assembly. Therefore, the view box may be a cube or a rectangular parallelepiped.

Important: All elements that cannot be zoomed (i.e. planes, infinite lines) and 3D annotations are not taken into account when computing the view box. If the 3D shape or assembly contains only elements that cannot be zoomed and/or 3D annotations, then all these elements are taken into account to avoid getting a bounding sphere with a size of zero.

View Frame

For views located in design sheets, the view frame has rounded corners and it is displayed using a solid linetype. For 2D component reference views (located in detail sheets), the view frame has a solid linetype and strengthened square corners. The following table depicts the type of view frame color each view has:

View View frame color
ActiveRed
Projection Blue
Section Green
Section cutYellow
2D component Blue
2D Layout for 3D Design View Frame

2D Component View Frame

View Set

A view set can be associated to an independent view box. This is what happens when you create a primary view, for example. However, a view set does not have an associative view box when it is initiated from a view from 3D plane creation.

It is not possible to create several projection views of a same type within a set of views (two Right views, for example). If needed, you can either start a new view set (that is create a primary view) or create an auxiliary view from the related view. However, it is possible to create several isometric views or several section views/cuts.

Existing view sets are not impacted by changing standards as they are linked to independent view boxes, if any. If you need to create views according to a view box different from the one stored in the document's standard, then you first need to switch to a standard containing the new definition, and finally to start a new view set.

Existing view sets can still be extended after a standard update. The definition of new projection views is found from the view box associated to the set of views.

When defining the view box, you can invert the naming of the Left and Right views if you want the Right view to be called Left view, and vice-versa. This only inverts the name (not the type) of the views.

View Position

Positioning a view during its creation defines the projection view direction, in accordance with the projection method and the primary view type.

For information on the projection method, see About the Projection Methods. For more information on the primary view type, see 2D Layout for 3D Design Views.

View Text

The view name and the view scale are displayed in the view as per the settings done by the administrator.

For more information, see Managing View Texts.

Propagation of the Reference View Scale

Primary views are created using the sheet scale. Projection views, sections (including multi-plane section views) and auxiliary views are created using the scale of the reference view.

If you change the sheet scale (defined in the sheet properties), the scale of all existing views (defined in the view properties) is multiplied by that of the sheet (for example, if existing views already have a scale of 1/10, and if you change the sheet scale to 1/10, then existing views will now have a scale of 1/100).

Naming Uniqueness

A view name uniqueness can be verified during creation and edition by selecting the appropriate check box in Me > Preferences > App Preferences > 3D Modeling > Mechanical Systems > Drafting.

In the Administration section, under Naming Uniqueness, select Ensure uniqueness of view names check box. For more information, see Administration.

Case sensitivity in view names or sheet names is considered only when creating views or sheets, respectively.

While creating a view from reference:

  • Naming uniqueness is ensured if the Ensure uniqueness of view names check box is selected.

  • Naming uniqueness is not taken into consideration irrespective of the Ensure uniqueness of view names check box if the reference is a 3D Tolerancing & Annotation. The name of the view in 2D Layout for 3D Design is same as the reference view selected in 3D Tolerancing & Annotation.

Geometries and Annotations

You can generate geometries and annotations in a drafting view from the 2D layout view.

Select the following:

  • In the Standard Definition dialog box, select the 2D Layout For 3D Design node. From the Extract 2D Content list, select Yes (available through Me > Preferences > Standards > generativeparameters category).
  • Clear the Disable generative view style usage check box in Me > Preferences > App Preferences > 3D Modeling > Mechanical Systems > Drafting > Administration section, under Generative view style.

When you create a 2D layout view with geometries and annotations, the same geometries and annotations are generated while creating views using generative view styles in drafting.

Important:
  • The layout, 2DL sheet and 2DL view must be in the show space and visible in 3D.
  • The projection planes of the 2D layout view and the drafting view must be parallel in the same direction.

3D Tags

You can select the 3D tags as filterable elements.

The 3D tags can be generated in a drafting view from a 2D layout view. For more information, see Generation of 3D Tags.

For more information about creating 3D tags, see 3D Modeling: 3D Modeling Core: Generative Shape Design User's Guide: Creating 3D Tags.