# Quick sketch

The idler plate of a drafting exercise, modelled in 3D from one sketch

Example A drafting exercise: projected, joined by tangents, extruded

A slot and two holes sketched on the sloped face of a wedge block, placed from its projected edges

A dovetail slide drawn from parallel copies and angles, its construction lines dashed

A sketch draws a profile from lines, arcs, circles and splines. An element can be placed by coordinates, but usually it is placed by its relation to what is already drawn: a line ends where it meets an edge, runs parallel to another line or at an angle to it, or touches a circle. planex2d computes the intersections and touch points, so none of them has to be worked out by hand. A full circle is one exact edge, with no vertices on it. Profile tools draw common shapes in one call: rectangles, slots, keyholes, polygons, fillets and chamfers. Construction elements and points help to place the geometry without becoming part of the part. Every element gets an id, so later calls can refer to it, and trimming, offsets, mirroring and patterns finish the drawing. The result is wires, faces and shapes on any plane in 3D, ready for Boolean operations and export. This section uses `px.QuickSketch`, which places every element once and keeps it as drawn, so it stays fast even for thousands of elements. `px.Sketch` has the same drawing calls and adds constraints and dimensions, so the design follows when a value changes. See [Constraint sketches](../constraints/index.md) for details.

In this section

## Drawing - [Sketch or QuickSketch](quicksketch.md) - [Lines and arcs](lines-and-arcs.md) - [Circles and rectangles](circles-and-rectangles.md) - [Slots, keyholes and polygons](slots-polygons.md) - [Splines](splines.md) - [Several loops](several-loops.md)

Sketch or QuickSketchThe same drawing calls with or without constraints, and what each costs.

Lines and arcsLines by length, by offset or to a point, and arcs that continue the pen or leave along a direction.

Circles and rectanglesFull circles and rectangles around the pen or a point, or placed by references, as for a pin touching a V-block.

Slots, keyholes and polygonsSlots, arc slots, keyholes and hexagons in one call each, as on a motor mounting plate.

SplinesA spline through points, joined to lines and arcs, from an airfoil to a cam.

Several loopsMany loops in one sketch, with holes determined by nesting.

## References - [To, from and until](until-from-to.md) - [Parallel, perpendicular, angle](parallel-perpendicular-angle.md) - [Tangents](tangent.md) - [Arcs from references](arc-references.md) - [Choosing between solutions](choosing.md) - [Construction elements and points](construction.md) - [Automatic ids](names.md)

To, from and untilLines that end on other edges, or on whichever edge comes first.

Parallel, perpendicular, angleDirections taken from other edges, as in a dovetail slide.

TangentsLines and arcs that touch circles and splines, as in a link between two bosses.

Arcs from referencesArcs on given circles and between given edges.

Choosing between solutionsChoosing between two tangents or fillets with reverse= or a point given with the target.

Construction elements and pointsElements and points that carry the design but stay out of the part.

Automatic idsEvery element and point has an id, as in CAD sketchers.

## Editing - [Fillets and chamfers](fillets-chamfers.md) - [Extending edges](extending.md) - [Offsets](offsets.md) - [Trimming and splitting](trimming.md) - [Symmetry](symmetry.md)

Fillets and chamfersRounded and cut corners on faces and in sketches, with the radius as a dimension.

Extending edgesA line continued on the carrier of another line, up to a theoretical sharp.

OffsetsBands, loops and one-sided offsets of lines, arcs and splines, as in a seal groove.

Trimming and splittingElements drawn past each other and cut back, as in a keyhole.

SymmetryHalf of a part drawn and mirrored, as in a lifting lug.

## Placement - [Placing a sketch](placement.md)

Placing a sketchSketching on a plane or a face of a solid, against its edges, and cutting the result back into it.

## Design - [Parametric design](parametric.md)

Parametric designA motor lamination as a function of its slots and magnets.

## Everything at a glance | | | |---|---| | **Sketches** | `px.QuickSketch()` places every element once, without a solver; `px.Sketch()` takes the same calls and adds constraints and dimensions; `px.Move((h, v))` starts a QuickSketch at a point. | | **Draw** | `Line`, `Arc`, `Spline`, `Circle`, `Rectangle`, `RectangleC`, `Slot`, `ArcSlot`, `Keyhole`, `Polygon`, `Hexagon`, `Close`, `Finish` | | **Move the pen** | `Move((h, v))`, `Move(id)`, `Move(dh, dv)`, `Move(l)`, `Turn(angle)`, `Direction((dh, dv))` | | **Lines** | `Line(l)`, `Line(dh, dv)`, `Line(to)`, `Line(from, to)`; helpers `until=`, `parallel=`, `distance=`, `perpendicular=`, `angle=`, `congruent=`, `tangent=`, `through=`, `reverse=` | | **Arcs** | `Arc(r, sweep)`, `Arc(to)`, `Arc(to, r)`, `Arc(from, to, r)`; helpers `sweep=`, `center=`, `concentric=`, `congruent=`, `tangent=`, `through=`, `until=`, `reverse=` | | **Circles** | `Circle(r)`, `Circle(h, v, r)`, `Circle(r, center=, concentric=, congruent=, through=, tangent=, reverse=)`. A full circle is one exact edge with no vertices. | | **Rectangles** | `Rectangle(l, w)` from the pen, `Rectangle(p0, p1)` from two corners, `Rectangle(p0, p1, p2)` from a side and a point on the opposite side, `RectangleC(l, w)` around the pen or a center | | **Ready-made shapes** | `Slot(l, w)`, `ArcSlot(r, sweep, w)`, `Keyhole(l, w, r)`, `Polygon(r, n)`, `Hexagon(af)`; see [Slots, keyholes and polygons](slots-polygons.md). | | **Targets** | Ids, `px.H`, `px.V`, edges, wires, faces, OpenCASCADE shapes, or `(target, point)`, where the point decides that target's choice; `until=px.first` / `px.last`. | | **Ids** | Automatic ids such as `Line.1`, `Arc.2`, `Point.3` and `Chain.1` for every element, point and chain, or your own with `id=`. `"id.start"`, `"id.end"`, `"id.mid"` and `"id.center"` refer to an element's points, `Chain.-1` counts from the end, and selections accept globs such as `"w.**.corner"`. | | **Construction** | `construction=True`, `Vertex(id, point)`, `points`, `Location(id)`, `Edge(id)`, `Construction()` | | **Offsets** | `Offset(source, d, both_sides=)`, or `(d, point)` for one side; the two sides are `.left` and `.right`. In a constraint sketch, `".d"` is its distance. | | **Edit** | `Trim(a, b, reverse=)`, `Split(a, b)`, `Fillet(at, r)`, `Chamfer(at, d, d2=, angle=)` (see [Fillets and chamfers](fillets-chamfers.md)), `SymmetryLine(a, b)`, `Mirror(axis)`, `Mirrored(ids, axis)`, `LinearPattern(ids, dir, count, spacing)`, `CircularPattern(ids, center, count)`, `Remove(id)` | | **Motions** | `Translate`, `Rotate`, `Scale`, `Mirror` and their copies `Translated`, `Rotated`, `Scaled`, `Mirrored`, on the whole sketch or, for `Mirror`, on chosen elements; see [Moving, rotating, mirroring, scaling](../basics/motions.md). | | **3D geometry** | `Project(shape)`, `Intersect3d(shape)`; see [Projecting 3D geometry](../../integrations/occ/projecting.md). | | **Properties** | `name`, `col`, `maxh`, `minh`, `hpref`, `layer` and `partition` on every drawing call; `id_wire=` on `Close` and `Finish`. | | **Plane** | `px.QuickSketch(face)` on a face of a solid, with the global origin and x axis projected onto it; also a `px.Plane`, netgen axes or another planex2d object as the first argument, `copy=True` to take over its geometry. `px.Plane(face, origin=, axis=)` projects another origin or axis; `SetOrigin(point)`, `Copy()`. See [The plane in 3D](../basics/plane.md). | | **Results** | `Wire()`, `Wires()`, `Face()`, `Shape()`, `Edge(id)` (a wire), `ToOCCShape()`, `Plot()` |