Surface Coordinates

Three-dimensional objects are defined within a system of spatial coordinates. Spatial coordinates are like using three-dimensional graph paper! Since using a mouse for such coordinates is very difficult, special consideration must be given for mouse input. This will be covered elsewhere in this manual. For typed input, again the distance is measured from the origin, but now a third distance needs to be entered. The distances are always called X, Y and Z-axes. The best way to visualize these axes directions is to consider your model siting on a floor. The X and Y directions lye on the floor and the Z direction is the height above or below the floor. The origin is shown in DeskArtes by a special marker that also indicates the positive direction for each of the axes.

Using a similar example of this, if you were to draw eight points forming the corner of a 100x100x100 box with one corner at the origin then the coordinates you type in would be as follows….

The coordinate of the hidden corner is not shown in this diagram. Can you work out what it should be and why?