CAD and 3D basics

Sketches are the source

A single sketch can contain several enclosed areas. Rectangles, straight lines, circles, circular arcs and unmirrored splines automatically define separate enclosed regions for Push/Pull without trimming the original objects. Read the sketch region workflow.

Lines, arcs, splines, circles, rectangles and text remain editable sketch geometry. Closed paths can define faces for 3D operations, while open paths remain useful for construction, engraving and revolve axes.

Keep geometry simple where possible. A deliberate mix of exact lines, circular arcs and a few well-placed spline points is usually easier to edit than one very dense spline.

Use Ctrl-click in Push/Pull to select several closed areas from one sketch and apply a shared extrusion. Adjacent New body regions merge, disconnected regions create separate bodies, and Join/Cut applies the selection to one target.

Planes and projections

Every sketch belongs to a plane. The permanent Top, Front and Right origin planes establish the model coordinate system. Construction planes can be offset from a planar face, placed midway between references, rotated around a straight edge or defined from other supported references.

Projected references let a later sketch follow upstream solid geometry without copying disposable display meshes into the document.

Associative solid features

Push/Pull, Loft, Revolve, Shell, Chamfer and Fillet are stored as ordered feature definitions. Cadivari rebuilds their display geometry from the referenced sketches, faces and edges after edits or save/open.

Push/Pull also supports direct, repeated edits to planar faces on supported Extrude bodies. Click the current solid face, then pull outward or push inward by a signed distance. Each placement adds an editable Face Push/Pull feature, so sketches remain the foundation and later face edits remain in the history. See the Push/Pull guide for the workflow and supported combinations.

Create a sketch directly on a supported edited face, then use Join or Cut in that sketch plane. Through all keeps a cut passing through the target as its dimensions change; Up to face follows a selected parallel planar face. Compatible Chamfer, Fillet and Shell features can share the same ordered history. For a hollow part, shell the convex planar body before adding pockets and rounded edges.

When a feature cannot rebuild safely, Cadivari should preserve the definition and explain the invalid reference rather than silently creating unrelated geometry.

Visibility and selection

The 3D object tree controls visibility independently for reference planes, sketches and solid bodies. Hiding a sketch does not delete it or break a linked feature. Select a body or feature in the tree when dense geometry makes direct viewport selection difficult.

Detailed guides

Browse the complete CAD tool guides and workspace and 3D guides for exact controls, test checklists and current limits.