Creating Cutting Planes

You can create cross-section views of 3D models by creating cutting planes.

Cutting planes are always invisible in the 2D pages.

To Create a Cutting Plane

1. Click Create from the Cutting Planes panel in the 3D Edit tab of the Ribbon.

 

2. Mouse over a part’s face that you want to create a cutting pane. The mouse pointer changes to the red arrow pointer  .

 

3. Click if you are ready to create.

 

When Cutting Planes are created, they will be also listed in the Assembly Tree panes.

To Select Cutting Planes in the Viewport

1. Make sure the Select Collaboration is on either from the Assembly Tree pane or the Select drop-down list. When it is on, the icon is highlighted in gray.

            

2. Select a cutting plane in the Viewport.
   

You can always select cutting planes in the Assembly Tree pane regardless Select Collaboration is on or off.

 

To Create a Cutting Plane on X, Y, or Z plane

1. Click Create from the Cutting Planes panel in the 3D Edit tab of the Ribbon.

2. Select Create Cutting Plane X, Y, or Z from the drop-down list.

   

3. Mouse over a part’s face that you want to create a cutting pane. The mouse pointer changes to the red arrow pointer  .

4. Click if you are ready to create.

 

To Create a Cutting Plane from 3 Points

1. Select the Create from 3 Points from the Create drop-down list.

2. Mouse over a part’s face that you want to create a cutting pane. The mouse pointer changes to the red arrow pointer  .

3. Click at 3 different points to define a plane.

To Shift a Cutting Plane

1. Mouse over inside a cutting plane that you want to shift.

2. When you see the Shift control, drag to the direction of shift.

            

To Rotate a Cutting Plane

1. Mouse over one of the 4 sides of cutting plane.

2. When you see the Rotate control, drag to the direction of rotation.

   

To Update an Existing Cutting Plane

1. Select a cutting plane that you want to update.

2. Click Update from the Cutting Planes panel in the 3D Edit tab of the Ribbon.

   

1. Mouse over a part’s face that you want to create a cutting pane. The mouse pointer changes to the red arrow pointer  .

2. Click if you are ready to create.

To Apply Cut to Selection Only

1. Select a cutting plane.

2. Shift-click parts that you want to make the cut effective.

   

   The brown parts and gray cutting plane are selected in this case.

3. Click Apply to Selection from the Cutting Planes panel.

   

4. Drag the cutting plane to cut.

   

To Enable Union Mode

1. Create 2 or more cutting planes.

2. Drag them to make cuts.

   

3. Click Union Mode from the Cutting Planes panel.

4. Click Union Mode again to restore the previous cuts.

            

To Flip Cuts

1. Select a cutting plane or planes.

2. Click Flip from the Cutting Planes panel.

 

                                            

To Hide Cutting Planes and Disable Cuts

1. Select a cutting plane or planes that you want to hide.

2. Do one of the following:

   • Deselect the checkbox of the selected cutting plane items in the Assembly Tree pane.

   • Right-click in the Viewport and select Hide Selection.

                             

To Hide Cutting Planes Only

1. Select a cutting plane or planes that you want to hide.

2. Deselect the Plane Visibility checkbox in the 3D Properties pane.

   

                       

You can disable the cut by deselecting Cut checkbox in the 3D Properties pane.

To Show Hidden Cutting Planes

1. Select a cutting plane or planes that you want to show in the Assembly Tree pane.

2. Do one of the following:

   • Select the checkboxes of the selected cutting plane items in the Assembly Tree pane.

   • Select the Plane Visibility checkbox in the Cutting Plane section.

To Delete Cutting Planes

1. Select a cutting plane or planes that you want to delete.

2. Do one of the following:

   • Right-click in the Assembly Tree pane and select Delete.

   • Right-click in the Viewport and select Delete.

To Change the Name of Cutting Plane

1. Select a cutting plane that you want to rename.

2. Show the 3D Properties pane, if necessary, by selecting the 3D Properties checkbox from the Panes panel in the View tab of the Ribbon.

3. Type a new name in the Instance Name field in the General section.

   

To Change the Attributes of Cutting Planes

1. Select a part or parts that have cutting planes.

2. Show the 3D Properties pane, if necessary, by selecting the 3D Properties checkbox from the Panes panel in the View tab of the Ribbon.

3. Set the attributes of cutting planes. For details, please refer to: Cutting Plane.