Looked at this further, and instead of trying to set up these CPlanes by using rotations of existing CPlanes it’s much easier to do it using the 3 Point option of the _CPlane command.
I will use the Perspective viewport to set-up and save all the CPlanes and then apply them to the other views.
First reset the Viewports and CPlanes:
_4Viewspace4Viewspace
Next, set the CPlane in the Perspective viewport using the Object option:
_Cplanespaceospaceclick front wheel
Now the CPlane in the the Perspective viewport should have it’s origin at the center of the front wheel, it’s X-Axis should be oriented towards the front of the wheel, and it’s Y-axis should be oriented towards the top of the wheel as shown here:
Note: I’m using an X-Ray display mode here with increased transparency to be able to better visualize the CPlane axis indicators.
This CPlane matches the orientation in the Perspective viewport in your “desired outcome” screenshot, so save it in the Named CPlanes panel with the name F-L_Wheel_Persp-View.
Now to set up the CPlane for the Top viewport we’ll be using the Center OSnap, Ortho mode, and Elevator Mode.
Elevator Mode may seem a bit tricky at first if you haven’t used it before, but it’s pretty easy once you’ve used it a few times. You start setting a point in Elevator Mode by positioning the mouse cursor at the point on the CPlane that is above (or below) where you want to place your point and making a control-click (Windows) or command-click (MacOS). You’ll then get the Elevator Mode indicator and you can position the mouse pointer above or below your anchor point and click to set your point.
Make sure the Center Osnap is active, I won’t be using any other OSnaps during this process.
Enable Ortho mode by clicking it in the status bar or by typing:
ospace
Start the CPlane command using the 3 Point option by typing:
_CPlanepspace
At the prompt for CPlane Origin, move the mouse pointer near the edge of the wheel until the Center Osnap activates and then click.
At the prompt for X-Axis Direction you’ll need to use Elevator Mode to place a point above the current CPlane. Move the mouse near the edge of the wheel until the Center Osnap activates then control-click (Windows) or command-click (MacOS) this will activate Elevator Mode. Position the mouse cursor at the outside of the wheel and you should see the red X-Axis indicator extending outward from the wheel. Move the mouse a short distance from the wheel and click to orient the X-Axis.
At the prompt for Y-Axis Direction, move the mouse pointer towards the back of the front wheel until the green Y-Axis indicator is oriented towards the back wheel and click.
The Perspective Viewport should now look like this:
Don’t worry if your result doesn’t match this the first time. You can restore the previous CPlane by double-clicking the saved CPlane named F-L_Wheel_Persp-view in the Named CPlanes panel and then try again.
When your view matches the picture above, save it with the name F-L_Wheel_Top-View in the Named CPlanes panel.
Now setting up the Front view CPlane, start the CPlane command using the 3 Point option by typing:
_CPlanepspace
At the prompt for CPlane Origin, move the mouse pointer near the edge of the wheel until the Center Osnap activates and then click.
At the prompt for X-Axis Direction position the mouse pointer at the outside of the wheel until the red X-Axis indicator is pointing outward then click.
At the prompt for Y-Axis Direction position the mouse pointer above the wheel until the green Y-Axis indicator is point upwards and click.
The viewport should now look like this:
Save this CPlane in the Named CPlanes panel with the name F-L_Wheel_Front-View
Now to set up the Right view CPlane start the _CPlane command using the 3 Point option by typing:
_CPlanepspace
At the prompt for CPlane Origin, move the mouse pointer near the edge of the wheel until the Center Osnap activates and then click.
At the prompt for X-Axis Direction position the mouse pointer at the rear of the wheel until the red X-Axis indicator is pointing towards the back wheel and click.
At the Y-Axis prompt, position the mouse above the wheel until the green Y-Axis indicator is pointing upward and click.
The viewport should now look like this:
Save this CPlane in the Named CPlanes panel with the name F-L_Wheel_Right-View
Now you can activate the saved CPlanes by dragging them from the Named CPlanes panel and dropping them in the corresponding viewports (or you can double-click each of the names of the custom CPlanes in the Saved CPlanes panel while the corresponding viewport is active).
You should also run the _Plan command while each of the Top, Front, and Right viewports are active to insure the views are aligned with the newly activated CPlanes.
The end result showing all viewports should look like this:
You can enable the display of the blue CPlane Z-Axis indicator by going to Options → Display Modes → Shaded → Grid → Advanced grid settings and enabling Show Z-axis (or enabling this option for whatever display mode you’re using).
Seems like a long post, but if you work though this you’ll see that it isn’t too difficult or time consuming - you’ll get pretty fast at it after you do it a few times.
I’ve read though this a few times - if I’ve missed any typos or something doesn’t seem to work let me know and I’ll try to sort it out.
Here’s the updated file:
crude tractor_re_v5.3dm (119.5 KB)
Edit #1: Small change in wording to clarify.
Edit #2: Noticed that when I was creating the CPlane for the right view, I had clicked the center Osnap for the inside of the wheel instead of the outside (updated screen shot and 3dm file). Lesson learned - tumble model around to visually double check from multiple angles (especially if you’re doing this late at night).
Also worth noting that after defining the initial CPlane by using the Object option of the _CPlane command. When defining the CPlanes for the other views using the 3 Point option, at the first prompt (for CPlane Origin) you can just enter 0space since the origin is staying the same (probably less error prone).
-Kevin