Learn/Drafting/Construction Planes
Six Creation Methods
At a glance
- Offset — parallel to any flat face or existing plane at a set distance
- Face — coincident with a sketch face or flat body face
- 3-Point — through any three picked edge or vertex points
- Tangent to Cylinder — tangent to a curved face at a defined angle
- Midplane — exactly halfway between two parallel planes or faces
- Edge + Angle — through a body edge, rotated to any angle
Construction planes put a sketch anywhere the faces you already have can't. Press P (or pick
Plane from the Drafting toolbar), choose a Method from the dropdown, and click the geometry
each method asks for — a translucent blue preview shows the plane live before you commit with
OK.
The six methods
- Offset — pick any plane or flat body face, then set a parallel offset distance.
- Face — one click on a sketch face or flat body face makes a coincident plane.
- 3-Point — pick three edge or vertex points; collinear picks are rejected with a warning.
- Tangent to Cylinder — pick a cylindrical face; the plane rides the surface at the angle you set, ideal for sketching on round tube or a shaft.
- Midplane — pick two parallel planes or flat faces; the plane lands exactly halfway between.
- Edge + Angle — pick a body edge; the plane hinges on that edge at any angle (90° default).
Drag it or type it
Offset, Tangent, and Edge + Angle modes add an arrow gizmo in the viewport: drag it to slide the
offset or swing the angle with the preview following. The Offset field is a full expression input —
1/2in, 12.7mm, or (3+1/8)/2 all evaluate — so the plane goes exactly where the drawing says.
Planes that track the model
Planes built from a body face (Offset, Face, and Tangent picks) store a reference to that face. Change the feature that made it — a taller extrude, a different fillet — and the plane, plus every sketch and feature built on it, follows the face to its new position on the next rebuild.