WCS and UCS

Owned by Brian Carter (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jul 08, 2016
2 min read

The UCS (User Coordinate System) is the system in which you are working. By default, it is located to coincide with the WCS, but it can be moved. UCS axes can be displayed from Program Setup, and they appear wherever the origin is located.

 

The different coordinate systems in TurboCAD makes it easy to adjust to 
different drawing environments, for example if you draw round objects it may be 
easier to use polar coordinates.

The World Coordinate System (WCS) is the internal, 
high accuracy (10 digits) and absolute coordinate system. 
To display the WCS axes, select Workspace / World 
Coordinate System, and they will appear at the lower left 
corner of the screen. The WCS indicator does not represent the 
origin; it indicates orientation.
Image
WCS Indicator
The User Coordinate System (UCS) is the coordinate 
system in which you are working. By default, it is located to 
coincide with the WCS, but it can be moved and relocated by 
the user. UCS axes can be displayed by selecting Workspace / 
User Coordinate System, and they appear wherever the 
origin is located. Selecting an object using 2D Selector mode 
changes the UCS (and therefore the workplane) to the one 
attached to the selected object.
Image
UCS Indicator



In each coordinate system you also have an option to use either relative or 
absolute coordinates.

The UCS indicator is helpful if you want to see how the UCS moves. You can 
display markers for the UCS and WCS via the Workspace menu, and customize the 
markers' appearance via the Preference page of the Program Setup (Options / 
Preference). The WCS indicator is always shown at the lower left corner of the 
screen; the UCS indicator is shown at the UCS origin.

When using the 3D Selector, the selection shell local menu and Inspector Bar provide two options that relate selected objects to the UCS (see 2D - 3D Selector). 

Set UCS by Selector: Moves the UCS origin to the selection reference point. 

Set Selector by UCS: Moves the selection to the UCS origin (similar to the Place on WorkPlane option for 2D objects).

Note: The 2D Selector always moves the UCS (Workplane) to the selection.