With the 3D Measurement Tool, you can measure the distance between two points and the angle between two edges of a 3D model.
- On the 3D toolbar (or after right-clicking the 3D model and choosing Tools), select the 3D Measurement Tool.
- Then the measuring toolbar and the 3D Measurement Tool Info window appear in the upper-right and lower-right corner of the 3D canvas respectively. You can drag them anywhere within the 3D canvas as needed.
Select measurement types, snapping types, and set the scale ratio on the measuring toolbar. The 3D Measurement Tool Info window displays the information about the measurement (such as the current measurement result and scale ratio) and acts as a wizard for your measurement.
Measurement types:
- Select 3D Point to Point Measurement to measure the distance between two points on the 3D model. Click the first point, move the pointer to the second point, and click. Then the result information (the current measurement result) appears. Move the pointer and click a third time where you want to locate the result information.
- Select 3D Perpendicular Dimension to measure the perpendicular distance between two straight edges that are parallel. Click the first point on an edge, move the pointer to the second point on the other edge, and click. Along with the result information, the line leaders on both sides of the measurement points appear as you move the pointer. Move the pointer and click a third time to determine the leader length and set the location of the result information.
- Select 3D Radial Dimension to measure the radius of a circular part or a round shape you specified/clicked. With the 3D Snap To Radial Edges option enabled, move your cursor to the edge of a circular part so that a circle appears, and double-click to confirm the measurement. Along with the result information, an arrow appears as you move the pointer and points to the measured circle. Move the pointer and click to set the location of the result information. Without 3D Snap To Radial Edges option enabled, click on three points to specify a round shape you want to measure and then click to specify the location of the result information.
- Select 3D Angle Measurement to measure the angle between two edges (or three points). Click three points (A, B, and C) on the 3D model to measure the angle between the line BA and the line BC. Along with the result information, the line leaders on both sides of the first and third measurement points (A and C) appear as you move the pointer. Move the pointer and click a third time to determine the leader length and set the location of the result information.
Snapping types:
- 3D Snap To Edge Endpoints: snap to the endpoint of an edge when moving the cursor toward the end of the edge.
- 3D Snap To Linear Edges: snap to a straight-line segment of an edge when moving the cursor over the edge.
- 3D Snap To Radial Edges: snap to the circumference of a circular part when moving the cursor over the circular part.
- 3D Snap To Silhouettes: snap to the silhouette for a part (the apparent edge of the part, e.g., the side of a cylinder) when moving the cursor over the part.
- 3D Snap To Planar Faces: snap to the geometric plane for a face of a part when moving the cursor over the face.
In the Default View of the 3D model or with no existing view selected, adding 3D measurements creates a new view in the View pane of the Model Tree, with the default name of “MeasurementView[n]”. You can double-click the view name to rename it. The 3D measurement will be listed under the created view (as a child of the view), named “Measurement1”, “Measurement2”, and so on.
If the 3D measurement is added to an existing view, the 3D measurement will be listed under that view.
- (Optional) Clicking on the result information highlights it, and the
icon (four-way arrow) appears. By dragging the icon, you can adjust the location of the result information. - (Optional) To delete a 3D measurement, right-click it in the View pane of the Model Tree and choose Delete.
Notes:
- 3D measurements added to a 3D model are associated with the corresponding views. The measurements associated with a view will be invisible once you switch to another view, but will show again when you switch back to the view. However, if you delete a view, the associated 3D measurements will also be removed.
- You can press the Esc key to exit the 3D Measurement mode and return to the last selected navigation mode (such as Rotate) at any time as you measure the 3D model.