Use the tool to create a reference plane which you can use as input to tools requiring a plane, or as the construction plane.
Create a reference or construction plane
- Choose Construction > Plane
.
Five buttons appear at the bottom of the view window. Each allows you to create a different type of construction plane. The
five types are:
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This is a 1-point construction plane where you specify the center point of the plane. The plane is oriented so that the Z-axis
is parallel to the view vector. You can also snap the point to any geometry.
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This is a new type of plane where you specify 2 points. The third point is placed at the eye position so that you are looking
at the plane from the edge. This type of plane is useful for defining cross sections.
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This is the regular 3-point construction plane where you completely define the plane by inputting three points.
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This lets you snap the center point of the plane to geometry so that the Z-axis is oriented along the surface normal or curve
tangent.
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This is also a 1-point plane. You specify the center point and the three axes are oriented along the world axes. You can snap
the point to any geometry.
Note
, and planes have manipulators that you can use to tweak the orientation of the plane.
- Click on the button for the type of plane you want to create.
- Click to place one, two, or three points, according to the instructions on the prompt line. You can also type the 3D coordinates
for a point.
- Adjust the plane by moving the point(s), or using the manipulator (if available), to move, rotate, and size the plane.
- To make this plane a reference plane, and go on to create another plane, click .
To make this plane the construction plane, click .
Note
There can only be one construction plane in a scene. If you create a construction plane and there is already a construction
plane in the scene, the existing construction plane will become a reference plane.
How do I use the plane manipulator?
Click a handle to select it (the handle becomes white), then either:
- Drag the handle to move/rotate/scale the plane. (See Interactive manipulation.)
- Type exact values on the keyboard.
- Click the geometry or the grid, while using a snap mode, to snap the axes of the manipulator to a specific position or orientation.
Interactive manipulation
- Drag an arrow handle to move the plane along an axis.
- Drag a dotted arc to rotate the plane around the axis with the same color (the axis perpendicular to the arc).
- Drag a square handle to scale the plane along the axis that has the same color as the square.
- Click an arrow handle to change the center handle to the free move handle. Then drag the center handle to move the plane freely.
- Click a sphere or arc handle to change the center handle to the free rotate handle. Then drag the center handle to rotate
the plane freely around all three axes (or around the normal for a plane constrained to a surface).
- Click one of the rectangular boxes to flip the plane to one of the two perpendicular orientations.
- Click a dotted axis line to reflect the plane across the X, Y, or Z axes.
Edit a reference or construction plane
- Pick the plane.
- Choose Construction > Plane.
The points and manipulator (if applicable to this type of plane) appear.
Note
You can also select the tool first, then select the plane you want to edit.
- Adjust the plane by dragging the point(s), or using the manipulator.
- To make the plane a reference plane and go on to create another plane, click .
To make this plane the construction plane, click .
Note
There can only be one construction plane in a scene. If you create a construction plane and there is already a construction
plane in the scene, the existing construction plane will become a reference plane.
Choose a construction plane
Hide or show reference/construction planes
Delete a reference/construction plane
- Pick only the reference/construction plane.
- Press the
key, or choose Delete > Delete Active
from the menus.
Snap to the intersection of a curve and a plane
You can easily snap to a curve that intersects a construction plane, and position the snap point either anywhere along the
curve, or precisely at the point where the curve and plane intersect. When you drag the snap point close to the construction
plane, a yellow cross appears on the plane indicating that the snap point is precisely at the intersection point.
to undo changes to the manipulator.
) to see detailed information as you manipulate the plane.
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