Active Dimensions 3 Documentation
How to Buy

The price of Active Dimensions 3 version 2.3 is $56 US and includes the Parts Library. Click here to purchase your copy online.

System Requirements

Windows 95/98, Windows Millennium Edition (ME), Windows NT 4.0, or Windows 2000
16 bit color (24 or 32 bit recommended for better rendering quality)
12MB free hard disk space

Screenshot

Installation

You have the option of installing Active Dimensions 3 Version 2.3 in either of two ways.

You may use the first method if you are using Windows 2000, Windows Millennium Edition or have the Windows 2000 installer on your machine. If you are using Windows 95/98 or NT and are not sure if you have the installer, then extract the file named ad3setup.msi into a temporary directory. If the file is represented by a setup icon then you have the Windows 2000 installer on your computer.

Method 1. Extract the file named ad3setup.msi into a temporary directory. (If you use this method, all other files within the zip file are not needed.) Launch this file and follow each step to install.

Method 2. Extract the files into a permanent directory of your choice, e.g., "C:\Program Files\Active Dimensions 3\". If you use this method, you may delete the file named ad3setup.msi since it is only used by the first method. Double-click Ad3cad.exe to run the application. If you use this method, no changes will be made to your system.

Preset Surfaces

Surfaces are grouped into ten categories as shown below.

Category Surfaces
Miscellaneous outline block, plane, tiled plane
Extruded Regular Polygons extruded hexagon, extruded octagon, extruded pentagon, extruded triangle
Joints mechanical joint, organic joint (Both are inverse kinematics-ready.)
Diamonds round diamond, soft diamond, softer diamond, softest diamond
Platonic Solids dodecahedron, icosahedron, octahedron (outline block), tetrahedron (outline block)
Cones cone, pyramid (outline block)
Cubes cube (outline block), soft cube, softer cube, softest cube
Cylinders cylinder, soft cylinder, softer cylinder, softest cylinder
Sphere sphere
Toruses torus - small pipe, torus - medium pipe, torus - large pipe

Click the button that categorizes the surface you want; then select the desired surface from the menu.

Dynamic Transformation Control

The Dynamic Transformation Control (DTC) is located directly beneath the ten surface category buttons. The DTC provides for extrusion (of planar geometry), rotation, scaling, and translation that is based on the local coordinate system of the selected surface.

You should use the DTC as much as possible to position surfaces, particularly when the scene is rotated at an angle. It allows greater accuracy and control than freehand 3D positioning allows.

Extrusion

Planar geometry must be created using the 2D Editor for Active Dimensions 3.

(Prior to extrusion, it may be helpful to rotate planar geometry so that it is positioned at an oblique angle. This helps make extrusion easier.) Select a planar surface. Click the right mouse button on the appropriate yellow arrow of the DTC and drag the mouse in the direction of the arrow. The selected surface will be extruded in the direction of the arrow. After releasing the right mouse button, a message box will appear asking you if you would like to bevel the edges of the extruded geometry. Click Yes if you would like to bevel the edges.

There is no explicit way to change the beveling radius in Active Dimensions 3. However, you can achieve that effect by using the proceeding method.

Scale the planar geometry to a smaller size before extruding with beveled edges. After the extrusion and beveling process, scale the geometry back to original size. This achieves the same effect as increasing the beveling radius. To decrease the bevel radius, use the same process, except scale the geometry to a larger size prior to extrusion.

The figure above shows an I-beam created by extruding a 2D cross-section.

Rotation

Manual Rotation

In order to use manual rotation, uncheck the Enable Auto Rotation item in the Edit menu. By default this item is unchecked.

Select a surface. Click the left mouse button on one of the three green rings on the DTC and drag the mouse in a straight line tangent to the selected ring. See the Movie Demonstrations section below.

Automatic Rotation

To enable automatic rotation, check the Enable Auto Rotation item in the Edit menu.

Select a surface. Click and hold the left mouse button on one of the three green rings on the DTC. The selected surface will automatically rotate in the same way the green ring would if it were a wheel. The entire DTC will rotate in the same way to dynamically reflect the current orientation of the selected surface. Usage of the right mouse button will cause the selected surface and DTC to rotate in the opposite direction. To increase the speed of rotation, drag the mouse horizontally (in either direction) away from the mouse-down location.

Scaling

Select a surface. Click the right mouse button on one of the six yellow arrows on the DTC and drag the mouse in the direction of the arrow. The selected surface will be scaled in the direction of the arrow. If the mouse is moved in the opposite direction of the arrow, the selected surface will also be scaled in the opposite direction of the arrow. See the Movie Demonstrations section below.

Translation

Select a surface. Click the left mouse button on one of the six yellow arrows on the DTC and drag the mouse in the direction of the arrow. The selected surface will be translated or moved in the direction of the arrow. If the mouse is moved in the opposite direction of the arrow, the selected surface will also be translated in the opposite direction of the arrow. See the Movie Demonstrations section below.

Standard 3D Positioning

The first three of the little round buttons directly beneath the DTC provide an alternative to the DTC. The last button is for inverse kinematics.

  • The first button allows you to rotate a surface by clicking the left or right mouse button on it and dragging the mouse around in the area of the scene.
  • The second button allows you to scale a surface. Click a surface with the left mouse button and drag the mouse to the right to make the selected surface larger or to the left to make the selected surface smaller. Click a surface with the right mouse button and drag the mouse to the right to make the selected surface larger horizontally and upwards to make the selected surface larger vertically.
  • The third button allows you translate a surface by clicking the left or right mouse button on it and dragging the mouse around in the area of the scene. Use the left mouse button to move the selected surface left, right, up and down. While holding the right mouse button, move the mouse upwards to translate the selected surface away from you and move the mouse downwards to translate the selected surface towards you.
Inverse Kinematics

Inverse Kinematics works with joints only.
Inverse kinematics in Active Dimensions 3 is simple and basic. The user does not have to know anything about inverse kinematics in order to begin experimenting with it.
Simply add a joint to your scene. Click the Inverse Kinematics button. Drag the mouse on the tip of the smaller end of the joint, and watch the joint follow the mouse in a natural manner.

Want to learn more about the use of inverse kinematics?
Open the file named "inverse kinematics.ad3". This file contains a simple robot arm that can positioned in a natural way using inverse kinematics. After opening the file, simply click the Inverse Kinematics button. Then click on the tip of the robot arm and slowly drag the mouse around and watch the arm follow in a realistic manner.

Color Selection

Click the left mouse button on the color you want in the color selection box. All new surfaces added to the scene will be the color you selected. You can change the color of an existing surface by right-clicking it and selecting Apply Current Color from the context menu.
You may also change the current color by selecting Choose Custom Color... from the Edit menu. This will display the Windows color dialog box so you can choose an exact color.

File Menu

New
If the current scene has not been saved or has unsaved changes, you are prompted to save your work. Afterwards, any surface(s) in the current scene are removed.

Open...
Displays the Open dialog box so you can open a scene that is in the AD3 2.2 format. Files that were saved with all versions of Active Dimensions 3 prior to version 2.2 are in the AD3 1.0 or 2.0 format and must be converted to the 2.2 format. A conversion utility is available for all registered users.

Save As...
Displays the Save As dialog box so you can save your scene in the AD3 2.2 format.

Save Image...
Displays the Save As dialog box so you can save the current image of your scene as a bitmap.

Import... Displays the Open dialog box so you can import an AD3 2.2 file into your current scene.

Export:DXF...
Displays the Save As dialog box so you can export your scene as a DXF file.

Export:VRML 2...
Displays the Save As dialog box so you can export your scene in the VRML 2.0 format. If you intend to export your work in the VRML file format, you should not use the Paint feature.

Export:Wavefront...
Displays the Save As dialog box so you can export your scene in the Wavefront obj format.

Exit
If the current scene has not been saved or has unsaved changes, you are prompted to save your work. Afterwards the program exits.

Edit Menu

Undo
Undoes your last action. (Some actions can not be undone.)

Select All
Selects all surfaces in your scene.

Deselect All
Deselects any selected surface(s) in your scene.

Choose Custom Color...
Displays the Color dialog box so you can choose an exact color.

Background Color:Black
Changes the background color to black.

Background Color:White
Changes the background color to white.

Enable Auto Rotation
Toggles rotation mode of Dynamic Transformation Control from manual to automatic or from automatic to manual.

Highlight Selection
Toggles highlighting, by outlining polygons, of any selected surface(s).

Create Detailed Geometry from Outline
If this menu item is checked, Active Dimensions 3 will generate detailed geometry when you create a curved surface from an outline surface.

Interactions Menu

Paint
Allows you to "paint" individual polygons of a surface.

Pick Color
Enables you to match the current color to that of a polygon by clicking the polygon.

Position Light
Enables you to drag the left mouse button in the scene to position the light.

Render Menu

The Render menu controls the way your scene is shown on your screen.

Wireframe (orthographic)
The scene is rendered as a set of line segments that represent the edges of the polygons that make up each surface. Perspective is not shown.

Before performing any Boolean operation or joining two solids, it may be helpful to render the scene in this wireframe mode.

Wireframe (perspective)
This is the same as Wireframe (orthographic) however, perspective is shown.

Flat Shading
Flat shading gives a rough approximation of the scene and results in a faceted appearance of surfaces.

Gourand Shading
When you first start Active Dimensions 3, the current rendering mode is gourand shading. Gourand shading makes the curved surfaces in your scene appear smooth and rounded.

Phong Shading
Phong shading makes the curved surfaces in your scene appear smooth, rounded and shiny. If your scene is composed of less than thirteen polygons, phong shading will render shadows.

Phong Shading (Antialiased)
This rendering mode is designed to give you a final view of your scene. It is the same as Phong Shading, but with antialiasing enabled. Antialiasing helps make the jagged edges in your scene appear less jagged for higher image quality.

Help Menu

Help Topics
Displays a message box, informing the user to refer to this documentation.

About Active Dimensions 3
Displays the Active Dimensions 3 splash screen so the user can read version information, vendor information, license information, and program specific information. Click the mouse anywhere on this splash screen to close it and return to the main window.

Right-Click Context Menu

The context menu appears when you right-click a surface without moving the mouse.

Apply Current Color
Applies the current color to all polygons of the selected surface that have the same color as the selected polygon. If all surfaces are selected however, no color matching will be performed.

Delete
Deletes the selected surface(s). You may also delete the selected surface(s) by pressing the delete key on the keyboard.

Duplicate
Duplicates the selected surface. The duplicate surface will coincide with the original surface. This menu item will not appear when all is selected.

Group
This menu item is used to group surfaces. Right click the first surface or group of surfaces and then select this item from the context menu. Click a second surface or group of surfaces to group the two. By grouping surfaces, you can perform certain operations on them simultaneously. However, Boolean operations and surface joining can not be performed on grouped surfaces. A grouped surface must be ungrouped before such operations can be performed on it.

Join
Joins two solids to form a single solid. The two solids will be joined only if the vertices in the intended joining region of the first solid match the vertices in the intended joining region of the second solid. You should choose Wireframe (orthographic) on the Render menu to enable you accurately match up vertices. This menu item will not appear when all is selected or when a group of surfaces is selected.

Loft
Lofts two planar surfaces created with the 2D Editor.

After right-clicking a planar surface and selecting this menu item, select a separate planar surface to loft the two.

  • Planar surfaces for lofting must be composed of the same number of points.
  • The starting point on one surface must be properly aligned with the starting point on the other surface.
  • The vertex ordering of both surfaces should be the same.

This menu item will appear only when a planar surface is selected.

Mirror
Creates a mirror image of the selected surface over a vertical plane. This menu item will not appear when all is selected.

Remove From Group
Removes the selected surface from a group. A grouped surface must be ungrouped before certain operations - Boolean operations for example - can be performed on it. This menu item will appear only when a grouped surface is selected.

Reset Orientation
Returns the selected surface to its default orientation. This menu item will not appear when all is selected.

Set as Front
Makes the current orientation of the selected surface be regarded as its default orientation. This menu item will not appear when all is selected.

Outline Blocks

Active Dimensions 3 uses outline blocks to help make modeling rounded surfaces easier. Using outline blocks, you can build an outline of whatever rounded object you are modeling, and then let Active Dimensions 3 automatically create the curved geometry. The process is very simple and efficient, and thereby enables you to quickly model more complex surfaces.

Although the basic concept of outline blocks is simple, there are some important aspects to this modeling method that must be taken into consideration. First, you must understand that Active Dimensions 3 can only automatically create curved geometry from an outline surface. An outline surface is defined as a surface that was formed solely from outline blocks. You may construct an outline surface by joining outline blocks or by performing Boolean operations on outline blocks. In many cases you can simply join outline blocks to build an outline surface, however there will be cases wherein you should use Boolean Operations to help build your outline surface. When you use Boolean Operations to construct outline surfaces, you should attempt to create the simplest possible geometry. For an example on how to help create simple geometry, open the file named simple.ad3. Right-click the dark gray outline block and select Boolean Difference (A - B): Select Operand B from the context menu. Click one of the two white outline blocks. Since the two white outline blocks have been united, they will be subtracted from the dark gray outline block in one step, thereby helping to create simple geometry. If the two white outline blocks were sequentially subtracted from the dark gray outline block the resulting geometry would be more complex than necessary.

Create Curved Geometry From Outline
Creates a curved surface from an outline surface. This menu item will appear only when an outline surface is selected.

Create More Curved Geometry From Outline
Creates a more curved surface from an outline surface. This menu item will appear only when an outline surface is selected.

Create Most Curved Geometry From Outline
Creates a very curved surface from an outline surface. This menu item will appear only when an outline surface is selected.

Boolean Operations

Note: Since Boolean Operations can be unwieldy and can require careful planning, Active Dimensions 3 checks the geometric topology of the result of every Boolean Operation. If the result fails the geometric topology test, AD3 will display the text "Non-Solid" in the status area. This means that the Boolean operation did not produce solid geometry. As a general rule, if both operands were solids prior to the Boolean Operation, then the result should be a solid. (All preset surfaces in AD3 are solids with exception of the plane, tiled plane, mechanical joint and the organic joint.) However, under certain circumstances, AD3 may be unable to produce solid geometry. Therefore, if both operands were solids prior to a Boolean Operation, and immediately after the Boolean Operation, the text "Non-Solid" is displayed in the status area, the operation should be undone and reattempted after the position, size, and/or orientation of one or both operands has been adjusted.

Boolean operations are used to form a more complex surface from two simpler surfaces. Before performing any Boolean operation it is recommended that you be sure that the surfaces on which the operation will be performed are positioned exactly as you want them. You should view your scene from various different angles to verify this.

Active Dimensions supports the difference, intersection, and union operations.

To perform a Boolean operation, right click the first surface. This surface will be operand A - the target surface. Select the desired Boolean operation from the resulting context menu, and then click the second surface, which will be operand B - the tool surface.

The first image shows a sphere interpenetrating a cube before any boolean operation has been performed.

Boolean Difference (A - B): Select Operand B
The second image shows the sphere having been subtracted from the cube. The cube was operand A and the sphere was operand B. The Difference operation is not commutative, just as subtraction in mathematics is not commutative. As a result, if the sphere was operand A and the cube was operand B the result would be different. The difference operation preserves the volume of operand A that is not shared by that of operand B.

Boolean Intersection (A and B): Select Operand B
The third image shows the cube having been intersected with the sphere. The cube was operand A and the sphere was operand B. The Intersection operation is commutative. As a result, if the sphere was operand A and the cube was operand B the result would be the same. The intersection operation preserves the volume that both operands have in common.

Boolean Union (A + B): Select Operand B
The fourth image shows the cube having been united with the sphere. The cube was operand A and the sphere was operand B. The Union operation is commutative, just as addition in mathematics is commutative. As a result, if the sphere was operand A and the cube was operand B the result would be the same. The union operation preserves the volume of both operands that they do not have in common.

Front View
Shows your scene from the predefined front view. If you are not satisfied with the predefined front view, rotate your scene to the desired front view. With all selected, right click in the area of the scene and select Set as Front View from the context menu. This menu item will appear only when all is selected.

Side View
Shows your scene from the predefined right side view. This menu item will appear only when all is selected.

Top View
Shows your scene from the predefined top view. This menu item will appear only when all is selected.

Set as Front View
Defines the current view of the scene as the front view. This menu item will appear only when all is selected.

Movie Demonstrations

Below are the descriptions of the AVI demonstrations that are shipped with the demo version of Active Dimensions 3.

  • rotate.avi - This file demonstrates manual rotation using the Dynamic Transformation Control.
  • scale.avi - This file demonstrates scaling using the Dynamic Transformation Control.
  • translate.avi - This file demonstrates translation using the Dynamic Transformation Control.
Sample Models
Online Tutorial

Click here to visit the online tutorial.

Parts Library

The Parts Library is a small set of parts and models that is included with the full version of Active Dimensions 3. Click here to learn more about the Parts Library.

2D Editor for Active Dimensions 3

The 2D editor (Outline.exe) that is included with Active Dimensions 3 can be used to create surfaces of rotation or planar geometry for extrusion or lofting in Active Dimensions 3.

2D Editor Tutorial

Load the 2D editor. On the File menu Choose Open Background Image... and open the bitmap named "Outline Tutorial" for a very simple tutorial on how to create a 3D pulley.

After completing the tutorial, try saving the same outline as planar geometry and see what happens. You will be able to extrude the geometry in Active Dimensions 3.

You can also create a pulley without a hole in the center by following the steps below.

Delete the last point you added. (The last point was placed in the same location as the first point.) Drag the point that is directly below the first point to the very left of the window. Then drag the first point to the very left of the window. Now choose Save As Surface of Revolution... from the File menu to save the new pulley. In this case a fully enclosed outline was not needed.

Adding And Inserting Points

Click a location within the window to add a new point there. The new point will be connected to the previous point, if there is one. You can drag a point to any location. You can also insert a point between two points by clicking on the segment that joins the two points.

Deleting Points

To delete a point, select it and then press the delete key on your keyboard. You can choose Select All on the Edit menu and press the Delete key to delete all points simultaneously.

Opening a Background Image

You can choose Open Background Image... on the File menu to open a bitmap for manual tracing.

Save As Planar Geometry...

Choose this menu item to save your outline as planar geometry for extrusion or lofting in Active Dimensions 3.

Save As Surface of Revolution...

Choose this menu item to generate and save 3D geometry that is formed by rotating an outline 360 degrees about a vertical axis. The axis about which the outline is rotated is located along the left side of the 2D Editor window.

Creating Curves

Choose Smooth Points on the Edit menu to properly smooth any curves in your outline.

Support

If you need assistance then please send an email to microtools@onebox.com

Uninstallation

If you installed Active Dimensions 3 using the first method then you may uninstall it by using the Add/Remove Programs Dialog Box. If you used the second method then all that is necessary to completely remove Active Dimensions 3 from your system is to delete the application and the additional files that were included with it.

Copyright © 2001 Robert Lee
All Rights Reserved