Analyze a design > Measure > Measure 3D directions
  
Measure 3D directions
Use the Direction 3D CoPilot to measure directions. Follow the directions in the Prompt Bar.
You can measure the 3D direction of:
• Two points
• A cylinder, cone, or torus
• An edge tangent
• An edge normal
• Global coordinate axes (X,Y,Z)
• Local workplane axes (U,V,W)
• Normal direction of a face
• View in a viewport
To select which element to measure, hover over the element you want to measure, or use the context menu. All measure 3D direction functions start with:
1. Click Analysis and then, in the Measure group, click the arrow next to Direction.
2. Click Direction 3D. The Measure Output dialog box opens and shows the X, Y, and Z boxes (3D CoPilot directional arrows).
3. Select the element in the viewport or right-click and use the context menu. The X, Y, and Z boxes in the Measure Output dialog box show the measurement of each direction.
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If you select an edge in the viewport:
• Press TAB to display the edge normal (perpendicular to the selected edge), the edge normal in the opposite direction, the edge tangent, and the edge tangent in the opposite direction, in any sequence.
• Right-click and choose Edge Normal or Edge Tangent on the context menu to display an edge normal or an edge tangent, respectively.
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• For a 2D or a 3D circular edge, press TAB to display the axis directions in addition to the edge normal and the edge tangent directions.
• For a straight or a curved 3D edge, press TAB to display an edge normal which is parallel to each side face (the faces that intersect to form the 3D edge).
Example: To measure the direction of a cylinder, cone, or torus,
1. Click Analysis and then, in the Measure group, click the arrow next to Direction.
2. Click Direction 3D. The Measure Output dialog box opens with X, Y, and Z fields (3D CoPilot directional arrows).
3. Hover over the cylindrical, conical, or toroidal face. Graphical feedback shows the direction of the axis of symmetry. Press the Tab key to reverse the direction.
4. Click the face.
5. Click the green arrow button to send the measurement to a command.
6. Click the green arrow and calculator button to send the measurement to the calculator.