How do I use the part viewer: measuring, 2D view and DFM?

When you open a part in the portal you see its 3D model with its dimensions. Right there you rotate it, view it in four display modes, measure distances and diameters, see it in 2D like a drawing and check its DFM to know if your file is ready to be made.

How the viewer is laid out

• Top left: the file name and the part’s size (length × width × height) in millimeters and inches, with its volume.
• Top center: the switch between 3D and 2D.
• Top right: the tools: measure, DFM, PNG snapshot, auto-rotate, grid and floor, dimensions and fullscreen.
• Bottom: the display modes, the standard views and the switch between perspective and orthographic.

Four ways to display your part

• Shaded: the part as it looks once made.
• Edges: the solid with its edges outlined, so the shape reads better.
• Wireframe: lines only, to see the full geometry.
• X-ray: the part becomes transparent, so you can see holes, pockets and details that are inside or behind.

Rotate it and pick your angle

• Drag to rotate the part and use the mouse wheel or the zoom on the right to get closer.
• The standard views Iso, Front, Top, Left and Right put it facing you, from above or from the side in one click, just like the view cube in the corner.
• Persp shows it in perspective; Ortho, without perspective, as on a drawing.
• Home (fit view) brings the whole part back to the center.

The overall dimensions at a glance

• With Show dimensions the viewer draws the part’s length, width and height on it. It’s a quick way to confirm the file comes in the right scale and units.

Measure distances and diameters

• 1. Turn on Measure distances and diameters.
• 2. Hover over the part: the measurement snaps to vertices, midpoints, centers and edges. Over an edge you get its length; over a hole, its diameter.
• 3. Click two points to measure the distance between them. The panel gives you the total and how much it measures along each axis (X, Y and Z).
• 4. Switch units between mm, m and in, and click Clear to start over.

Precise measuring works with STEP files. With STL or 3MF you see the model and its overall dimensions.

The 2D view, like a drawing

• With 2D the viewer draws your part as on a drawing, with exact lines: visible edges as solid lines and hidden ones as dashed lines.
• Change views with the same buttons at the bottom and measure on the drawing with the same measure tool.

DFM: your file checked as soon as you upload it

• The DFM button opens your part’s manufacturability analysis on the left, with eight checks: file type, floating parts, part size, model fidelity, number of shells, maximum size for the finish, internal voids and wall thickness.
• Each check says whether it passes and what was checked. If one finds something, click it and the viewer marks where it is on the part.
• The same DFM appears below the viewer, in the part configuration.

More tools

• Auto-rotate: the part spins on its own so you can see it from every side.
• Grid and floor: a reference for size and orientation.
• Download PNG snapshot: saves an image of what you’re looking at, to share with your team.
• Fullscreen: the viewer at full width, with all its tools.

Try it

Upload your file and check your part in 3D, in 2D and with its DFM instantly.