Reference
PYRAMID in AutoCAD
How AutoCAD's PYRAMID (PYR) draws a 3D solid pyramid, prompt by prompt: sides, base, height, Edge, Inscribed and Top radius for a frustum. Try it free online.
PYRAMID draws a 3D solid pyramid: its first line says how many sides the base has and how its radius is read, then it asks for the centre of the base, the radius and the height. The base is a regular polygon, as POLYGON draws one, of 4 sides at first: a typed radius turns it towards the cursor, a point towards itself. The height rises along the UCS's Z, a negative one goes down, and a point gives it by how far it is from the base. The sides and how the radius is read are kept for the next PYRAMID; the radius and the height are the primitives' shared defaults. The pyramid lies on the current layer, and Undo takes it back in one step.
LIST shows its position, both radii of the base and of the top, its height, rotation and number of sides, and the Properties palette lets you type the radii, the sides and the height. Its grips move it, set its height, and size the base from a corner or the middle of a side. It is a 3D solid for UNION, SUBTRACT and the rest of MellowCAD's 3D, which is solids only and still partial; EXPLODE turns it into a region per face.
- Command:
PYRAMID - Aliases:
PYR - Panel: Draw
- Try it: Open the editor, type
PYRand press Enter.
At the command line
The engine draws it and writes its history as you would type it: the prompts in AutoCAD 2027's order, with the same option letters.
- Command: PYRAMID
- 4 sides Circumscribed
- Specify center point of base or [Edge/Sides]: S
- Enter number of sides <4>: 6
- Specify center point of base or [Edge/Sides]: 0,0
- Specify base radius or [Inscribed]: 25
- Specify height or [2Point/Axis endpoint/Top radius]: 40
- Command: -VIEW
- Enter an option [Orthographic]: SEI
- Command: ZOOM
- Specify corner of window, enter a scale factor (nX or nXP), or [All/Extents/Previous/Scale/Window/Object]: 0.8x
Options
Edge (E)
At the base's centre: asks for both ends of one side of the base, which is drawn to that side's left.
Sides (S)
At the base's centre: asks for the number of sides, 3 to 32, then the centre again.
Inscribed (I)
At the radius: reads the radius to a corner of the base, the polygon inscribed in that circle, and asks it again.
Circumscribed (C)
At the radius, once Inscribed is chosen: reads the radius to the middle of a side, the polygon round that circle, as at first, and asks it again.
2Point (2P)
At the height: asks for two points, and the height is the distance between them.
Axis endpoint (A)
At the height: asks for the apex. The pyramid runs from the base's centre to that point in any direction, its base square to the axis.
Top radius (T)
At the height: asks for the top radius, read as the base's, then the height again. The pyramid ends in a smaller polygon instead of a point, a frustum; a top as large as the base makes a prism.
What it does not do yet
BOX's: Move, Rotate, Scale and Mirror from a hot grip, the 3D commands of its own, and the visual styles VSCURRENT lacks. Its type, inscribed or circumscribed, typed in the Properties palette. The dotted dimensions AutoCAD draws while you give the radius and an edge.
What it does and still lacks, in detail (in English)
Questions
What is the shortcut for PYRAMID in AutoCAD?
PYR. Type it and press Enter or Space, then give the centre of the base, the radius and the height.
How do I draw a hexagonal pyramid?
Choose Sides before the base's centre and type 6, then give the centre, the radius and the height: 0,0, 25 and 40 draw the session's pyramid. The next PYRAMID keeps six sides.
How do I draw a pyramid with a given base side?
Choose Edge and give both ends of one side: a side from 0,0 to 50,0 makes a square base of 50, with the default 4 sides.
How do I draw a truncated pyramid?
At the height, choose Top, type the top radius, then the height. The pyramid ends in a smaller polygon, its sides as many as the base's.