Using the 3D Align tool
The 3D Align tool is used to align one solid with another. It translates and rotates the object to align with the destination object. You need to select three points on the source object and destination object to align them together. An example of 3D Align tool is given next.
Example:
Start AutoCAD in 3D Modeling workspace.
Select Front from the 3D Navigation drop-down in the View panel. Create the solid object as shown below. The extrusion distance is 50 mm.
Select Front from the 3D Navigation drop-down in the View panel. Draw the sketch as shown below and extrude it upto 16 mm using the Presspull tool.
Deactivate the 3D Object Snap button on the status bar.
Type DS in the command line and press ENTER; the Drafting Settings dialog box appears.
Click the Object Snap tab and Clear All the Object Snap modes.
Now, select the Endpoint checkbox and click OK.
Alternatively, you can activate the OSNAP (Object Snap) from the status bar, as shown. And, you can select/deselect the required Object Snap modes from the shortcut menu displayed after clicking on the down- arrow with it, as shown.
Click Home > Modify > 3D Align on the ribbon.
Select the second solid object from the drawing window and press ENTER; the message, “Specify base point or [Copy]:” appears in the command line.
Select the Copy option from the command line.
Select three end points on the source object as shown below.
After selecting three end points, the copy of the selected object gets attached with the cursor.
Select three end points on the destination object as shown below; a copy of the source object will be aligned to the destination object.
Activate the Ortho Mode button on the status bar.
Type 3DALIGN in the command line and press ENTER.
Select the object which you have copied and aligned in the previous step. Press ENTER to accept the selection.
Select the base point on the object as shown below; the
message, “Specify second point or [Continue] <C>:” appears in the command line.
Select the Continue option from the command line; the
message, “Specify first destination point:” appears in the command line.
Select the endpoint on the destination object as shown below.
Move the cursor along the X-direction and select the endpoint as shown in figure; the
message, “Specify third destination point or [eXit] <X>:” appears in the command line.
Select the eXit option from the command line; the source object will be aligned as shown below.
