Chapter 5
Exploring 3D Tools in Tinkercad

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Exploring the main 3D creation and editing tools in Tinkercad
• Using the 3D tools to your advantage
• Finding the tools in the Tinkercad interface
• Discovering some great Tinkercad tips and tricks for 3D creating and editing

In this chapter, you find out about the great 3D tools you can use in Tinkercad to develop
your 3D designs. You discover the fundamental 3D creation and editing tools that you can use
on a day-to-day basis in Tinkercad. You also pick up some great tips and tricks for creating
and editing along the way.

Copy and Paste

Copy and Paste are located at the top left of the Tinkercad screen in the toolbar above the
View Cube (see Figure 5-1). You can also use the usual Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V keyboard
shortcuts as you would in any other application.

FIGURE 5-1: Copy and Paste on the Tinkercad screen.

These two extremely useful editing commands, quite simply, provide you with the ability to
copy and paste any parts (or the whole) of your design in Tinkercad. If you’ve used other
CAD products or even just Microsoft Word, then you know that these two commands, in any
application, are a lifesaver.

Duplicate

Duplicate is a wonderful command in Tinkercad. It, quite literally, duplicates anything in a
Tinkercad design on the screen on top of the original object. It is located in the top left of the
Tinkercad screen but is only activated when you select an object in Tinkercad. You can also
use the keyboard shortcut of Ctrl + D.
After you select the object, Duplicate is active in the top-left toolbar (see Figure 5-2). Click on
Duplicate, and Tinkercad duplicates your object exactly on top of the existing object. If you
click, select, and drag the newly duplicated object away from the existing object, you now
have two of the same object (see Figure 5-3). Pretty neat, huh?

FIGURE 5-2: The Duplicate command on the Tinkercad screen.

FIGURE 5-3: Two simple cubes in a Tinkercad design, thanks to the Duplicate command.

Hide

You can hide any object in your Tinkercad design using the Hide command. Simply select an
object and use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + H. Hide is especially useful when you have a
complex Tinkercad design and need to see the wood for the trees. Sometimes you just need
to hide a few objects so that you can see the object you need to work on.
You can also find the Hide command on the top right of the Shape window in Tinkercad, as
shown in Figure 5-4. The command appears as a light bulb icon. When you select an object in
Tinkercad, the Shape window always appears, offering you contextual commands for that
particular shape. Simply click the light bulb icon, and the shape is hidden.

FIGURE 5-4: The Hide command.

Show All

If you hide an object in Tinkercad (see preceding section), it stands to reason that you will
need to un hide it at some point, too. Showing all your objects is especially important when
displaying your final Tinkercad design when you need to display the final design in its
entirety.
You can find Show All in the top-right toolbar in the Tinkercad screen, as shown in Figure 5-
5. It is represented by a light bulb icon. When the Show All light bulb icon is active and
highlighted in bold (black) in the toolbar, it indicates that your design contains hidden
objects. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + H.

FIGURE 5-5: The Show All light bulb icon (highlighted) in the top-right toolbar of the Tinkercad screen.

Group

When you’re working in Tinkercad, you’ll often place objects within objects or objects on
objects to build complex shapes in your Tinkercad designs.
To convert the objects into one complex object, you use the Group command, which is
located on the top-right toolbar on the Tinkercad screen (see Figure 5-6). You can also use
the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + G.

FIGURE 5-6: The Group icon.
Figure 5-6 shows you two Tinkercad objects selected and the Shape window.

Ungroup

Ungroup is the opposite of Group. It appears to the right of the Group command icon on the
top-right toolbar in Tinkercad. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + G.
You can use Ungroup to break down a complex Tinkercad object back to its original
component objects.
Figure 5-7 shows you a selected complex Tinkercad object that is made up of two Tinkercad
component objects, and you can see the highlighted Ungroup icon in the top-right toolbar.

FIGURE 5-7: The Ungroup icon.

Align

Align is a great tool for making sure that you have accurate, aligned objects in your Tinkercad
designs. As you’re working in 3D, this command means you can align in any plane and in any
direction.
You need to select both the object you want to align and the object you want to align it with.
Then select the Align command from the top-right toolbar. The keyboard shortcut is just the
letter L on the keyboard, assuming that you have the objects selected.
If you look at Figure 5-8, you can see the two objects selected. The Align command has
already been selected, and the left cube is to be aligned with the right cube along the lower
horizontal plane.

FIGURE 5-8: Two cubes ready to be aligned.
You can see the alignment guide planes shown on the screen as black lines with large black
dots at each end and the proposed aligned position of the left cube highlighted in position,
after the appropriate guide has been selected.

Flip

When you’re working in 3D in Tinkercad, you may need to reverse the positioning of an
object along one of the 3D planes in the Tinkercad 3D space. You can use the Flip command
to do so.
The Flip command is in the top-right toolbar, and it is highlighted after you select the object
you want to flip. It also has a simple keyboard shortcut of the key M after you select the
object to be flipped.
After you click on Flip, you’re presented with three arrow symbols around the selected
object. These arrows represent the three 3D planes in which you can flip your object.
In Figure 5-9, the simple roof object is selected, and the Flip command is activated. Hovering
over any of the three arrow symbols gives you a preview of how the flipped object will look.

FIGURE 5-9: A preview of the roof object being flipped.

Work plane

In a 3D environment in Tinkercad, you can define where you want your work plane to be. The
work plane can be on the default snap grid provided when you first start designing in a
Tinkercad design, or it can be on one of the faces you have on an existing Tinkercad design.
The Work plane command allows you to change your work plane at your leisure. It is located
at the top of the right panel on your Tinkercad screen and is labeled Work plane. You can also
access it by using the keyboard shortcut W.
After the command is active, you simply hover over the chosen Work plane, which is
highlighted as you move over it, and click on the highlighted work plane you want to be on, as
shown in Figure 5-10.

FIGURE 5-10: The sloping side of the roof object highlighted, ready to be selected as the preferred work plane.

Ruler

You’ll often need to measure exact distances so that you can place objects accurately and
precisely as you create your design. The Ruler command offers a visual guide for placement.
To access the Ruler command, click on Ruler in the panel on the right of the Tinkercad screen
or press the R key.
An L-shaped graphic appears on your pointer on the screen. Move the red circle so that its
center is over the appropriate point you want to measure from (known as a datum) and click.
The ruler markings appear on your current work plane (see Figure 5-11).

FIGURE 5-11: The Ruler.
After you place the ruler and the ruler graduations are displayed in the appropriate
work plane, select the object you used for the datum point. You are then able to see all the
measurements of the selected object and measure them accordingly, against the ruler
graduations.
Figure 5-12 shows you the selected object and all its associated dimensions, with the ruler
displayed.

FIGURE 5-12: A selected object used for the ruler datum, with the ruler graduations displayed.
If you want to turn off the ruler, simply click on the small X symbol next to the small circle
with the three lines inside it.

Tinkercad Basic Shapes

Rather than expect you to create every shape you want to use in Tinkercad from scratch,
Auto desk has kindly made sure that you have an extensive library of standard shapes to use.
The Basics Shapes library, shown in Figure 5-13, allows you to build complex objects from
simple, component objects, such as boxes, cylinders, and pyramids.

FIGURE 5-13: Tinkercad Basic Shapes.
You can find the Tinkercad Basic Shapes in the drop-down menu in the right panel on the
Tinkercad screen. The default setting is Basic Shapes. In there, you will find standard boxes,
cylinders, pyramids, and many other standard object elements, such as text, symbols, and
connectors. Just click on the drop-down menu to find many different standard objects that
are useful!

Community Shapes

On the Tinkercad Basic Shapes drop-down menu, shown in Figure 5-14, is a Community
section. This section of shapes is provided by the Tinkercad community itself. When
Tinkercad users create shapes that they think other Tinkercad users will find useful, they can
submit them for use in either Featured Shape Generators or Community Shape Generators.

FIGURE 5-14: The Community shape generator options.
Click on either of the generator options to see the many shape generators created by
Tinkercad users all over the world.