Brandon PT Davis
Menu
Studio
3D modeling tutorial gradient
Tools & Technology

3D Modeling Tools

By Brandon PT Davis

Learn how the 3D tool palette creates and edits primitives, faces, edges, extracted surfaces, fillets, chamfers, tapers, deforms, and shell solids.

The workflow moves through primitives and then into tools that edit existing geometry. That shift is important: not every form should be rebuilt from scratch.

Push/Pull, Extract, Fillet, Chamfer, Taper, Deform, and Shell Solid each describe a specific way a solid can change after it exists.

Start with editable base solids

Vectorworks 3D primitives are useful because their Object Info palette dimensions can be adjusted before they are converted or refined.

The Object Info palette keeps simple solids flexible.

Tool choice

Choose the tool by the part of the object you need to edit.

The important question is not which 3D tool looks impressive. It is whether the next move changes a primitive, a face, an edge, a surface, or the volume of the solid.

PRIMITIVE

Start with the closest base object

Box, cylinder, sphere, pyramid, cone, and frustum primitives create editable starting points rather than finished designs.

FACE

Edit the surface when the volume is close

Push/Pull, taper, deform, and shell operations make more sense when the object already has a useful face to work from.

EDGE

Use edge tools to tune the condition

Fillet and chamfer are not decoration. They decide how a modeled corner catches light and reads in drawing views.

3D primitives

Primitive object parameters

Read primitives by the Object Info parameters that make them editable.

  • Box
  • Cylinder
  • Sphere
  • Frustum

Edge tools

Edge treatment choices

Fillet, chamfer, taper, deform, and shell change the same base object in different ways.

  • Round edge
  • Beveled edge
  • Hollow shell

One guiding idea

“A modeling tool is most useful when it edits the part of the object you actually need to change.”

Primitives are not throwaway objects

A primitive can be a fast starting point because it carries editable parameters. The drafter can adjust size and position before committing to more detailed operations.

That makes primitives useful for blocking scenic forms, building references, and creating simple solids that can be refined later.

Face and edge tools accelerate refinement

Once a solid exists, the fastest path is often to edit faces or edges directly. Push/Pull can extend or move faces, while fillet and chamfer operations refine edges.

This is where modeling starts to feel less like construction from scratch and more like shaping an existing mass.

Supporting material

Shortcuts

Shift + 3
Activate Sphere tool
P
Activate Push/Pull tool
Shift + E
Activate Extract tool
Ctrl + F
Activate Fillet Edge tool
Shift + S
Activate Shell Solid tool
Tab
Enter numeric value while using tools
Shift + Arrow
Nudge extracted surfaces
Ctrl + U
Ungroup object to return to original shape

Keep in mind

  • Use frustum spelling in public copy.
  • Some deform operations can be version or hardware sensitive.

Potential exam questions

Apply the workflow to a drawing problem. Use these cards for study or discussion, then revisit the demonstration when you need context.

Question 1 of 2

You need a separate surface from an existing solid rather than its edge curves. Which Extract mode matches the demonstration?

  1. Extract Curve
  2. Extract Point
  3. Extract Surface
  4. Extract Isoparametric Curve

3D Modeling Tools

Continue reading

Related articles