UCS Icon

                    The UCS icon represents the orientation of the user coordinate system (UCS) axis and the location of the current UCS  origin. It also represents the current viewing direction relative to the XY plane. AutoCAD displays the UCS icon differently for 2D, 3D and paper space environments.

1. Choose      View, Display, UCS Icon                                                                                                                                                            (or)

2. Type        UCSICON at the command prompt

                     Command: ucsicon

                     Enter an option [ON/OFF/All/Noorigin/oRigin/Properties]<ON>:

                

ON                 Displays the UCS icon.

OFF               Turns off the display of the UCSICON.

All                  Affects the display of the UCSICON in all viewports.

Noorigin       Always displays the UCS at the lower left corner.

UCS Icon Properties

1. Choose      View, Display, UCS Icon,Properties                                                                                                                              (or)

2. Type        UCSICON at the command prompt

                     Command: ucsicon

                     Enter an option [ON/OFF/All/Noorigin/oRigin/Properties]<ON>: P

UCS Overview

                     The user coordinate system provides an alternate movable coordinate system for coordinate entry, planes of operation, and viewing. Most AutoCAD geometric editing commands are dependent on the location and orientation of the UCS. There are a variety of ways to set the User Coordinate System using the UCS command.

1. Type              UCS at the command prompt
                    Command: UCS
                    Specify origin of UCS or [Face/NAmed/OBject/Previous/View/World/X/Y/Z] <World>: 

 Face               Aligns the UCS to the selected face of a solid object.

Named          Saves or restores a UCS.

Object           Lets you define a new UCS by pointing at an object.

Previous       Restores the previos UCS.

New               Defines a new coordinate system by one of six methods: Origin, Z Axis,3 Point, Object, Face, View X, Y, Z.

View              Establishes a new UCS whose XY plane is perpendicular to your viewing direction (e.g. parallel to your screen)

World           Restores the world UCS

X/Y/Z           Rotates the ucs around a specified axis.

UCS Toolbars

Found under the AutoCAD Classic Toolbars

New (3 Point) UCS

The 3 Point option is one of the easiest ways to define a new UCS on a given 3D object.

1. Open        a drawing with a simple 3D object (Ex: BOX)

2. Type        UCS at the command prompt

                     Command: UCS

                     Specify origin of UCS or [Face/NAmed/OBject/Previous/View/World/X/Y/Z Axis] <World>: N

                    Specify origin of new UCS or [ZAxis/3Point/OBject/Face/View/X/Y/Z]<0,0,0>: 3

                    Specify origin point <0,0,0>: Pick point

                    Specify point on positive portion of X-axis <3.5,7.5,0>: pick point for X direction

                     Specify point on positive Y portion of the UCS XY plane<2.5,8.7,0>: Pick point for Y direction

New UCS

TIP:

You can also click the dropdown beside WCS and click New UCS.

World UCS

                The World UCS is only UCS guaranteed to be the same in all AutoCAD drawings and can be used to set the UCS back to its original state. This is the UCS you should use when creating Wblocks and inserting Wblocks.

1. Type        UCS at the command prompt

                    Command: UCS

                    Specify origin of UCS or [Face/NAmed/OBject/Previous/View/World/X/Y/Z Axis] <World>: W

Dynamic UCS

                     You can use the dynamic UCS to create objects on a planar face of a 3D solid without manually changing the UCS orientation.

                     During a command, the dynamic UCS temporarily aligns the XY plane of the UCS with a planar face of a 3D solid when you move the cursor over the face.

                     When the dynamic UCS is active, specified points, and drawing tools, such as polar tracking and the grid, are all relative to the temporary UCS established by the dynamic UCS.

1. Click                         the DUCS icon  on the status bar                                                                                                                                           (or)
2. Press                   CTRL+D
3. Type                    any draw command                                                                                                                                             Command: Circle
4. Move                   the cursor to the face of the 3D object on which you would like to draw. 
   
5. Click                    to begin drawing your new object.   
   
          

Viewcube

                     The ViewCube provides visual feedback about the current orientation of a model. The viewCube can help you adjust the viewpoint of a model. The orientation shown by the ViewCube is based on the North direction of the WCS for the model. The ViewCube also shows the current UCS and allows you to restore a names UCS.