Tools are logically grouped into three main palettes.
¨ The Construction Palette
¨ The Modeling Palette
¨ The Assembly Palette
In Amapi 3D you can choose between two user-interfaces:
¨ The first one follows the “Workshop” metaphor. Especially adapted to the work in 3D space, it attempts to mimic, as closely as possible, the natural movement of a designer at the drawing table, or the movement of a sculptor in his workshop.
¨ The second interface has the advantage that it is more familiar to the average computer user -- it is the “Standard” interface.
For more details about the choice of interface, see the chapter User Manual/Edit/Preferences /Interface/Tool palettes.
The goal of this chapter is to describe precisely how each tool operates.
You already know that Amapi 3D offers additional features that can be of great help to your work. Here are some of them:
|
In numerous tools, the user can position points or group of points the following ways:
|
A dialog box displayed in the Data Window will always give the precise coordinates of the current point. |
|
Amapi 3D lets you work in absolute or relative mode (see chapter User Manual/Edit/Preferences/Units). q In Absolute mode, the position of a point is relative to the origin. This origin can be user-defined. By default, it is at the center of the workbench.
|
|
Tools can be applied to all or part of an object. The user can apply a tool on a selection of the points defining an object. |
|
The user can specify, at any time, the level of precision (e.g., number of points of a curve, axis step size, fine tuning of the values entered using mouse clicks…) and set motion constraints. |
|
The user can, of course, check, at any time, the dimensions of his constructions to make any necessary corrections. |
|
The user can change the point of view, at any time, and continue his work on a different plane. |