TABLE OF CONTENTS Viewing an object in three dimensions gives you a sense of its true shape and form. It also helps you conceptualize your design, which results in better design decisions. In addition, using three-dimensional objects helps you communicate your ideas to those who might not be familiar with the plans, sections, and side views of your design.
A further advantage to drawing in three dimensions is that you can derive 2D drawings from your 3D models, which might otherwise take considerably more time with standard 2D drawing methods. For example, you can model a mechanical part in 3D and then quickly derive its 2D top, front, and right-side views by using the techniques discussed in this chapter.
Most of this book is devoted to showing you how to work in what is called the AutoCAD Classic workspace. This classic workspace is basically a 2D drawing environment although you can certainly work in 3D as well.
AutoCAD 2007 offers something called the 3D Modeling workspace, which gives you a set of tools to help ease your way into 3D modeling. This 3D Modeling workspace gives AutoCAD a different appearance, but don't worry. AutoCAD still behaves in the same basic way, and the AutoCAD files produced are the same regardless of whether they are 2D...
