📍 Project Context
In CAD drafting, creating full and half section views is a critical step for revealing internal part geometry. However, traditional workflows demand pixel-perfect clicking, rigid step sequences, and a solid grasp of geometric constraints—making it especially error-prone for beginners and frustrating for advanced users under time pressure.
This project set out to redesign section view creation so that it is:
More forgiving of user precision
Faster to complete
Clearer in system feedback
Easier to recover from mistakes
🔍 Problem - Why is Section View Creation so Frustrating?
From user interviews and screen recordings, four key pain points emerged:
High precision required – Users must snap to geometry edges when defining the section line, or the system refuses to proceed.
Multi-step process – Multiple clicks and mode changes just to start the cut.
Weak feedback – No clear preview line or visual confirmation until the end.
Low tolerance for mistakes – One wrong click means restarting the whole process.
💬 “I always miss the snap point the first time.”
💬 “I can’t tell if I’m doing it right until it’s too late.”
📊 Market Research
To benchmark automated section creation patterns, I tested feature sets in several leading CAD platforms. Despite being industry leaders, most CAD tools treat section creation as a mode-based, rigid operation that demands:
Prior technical knowledge (e.g., “half section” ≠ “mirror of full”)
Highly accurate mouse positioning
Linear, irreversible workflows
This makes section view creation—especially half sections—unfriendly to beginners and error-prone for everyone.
✍ Interaction Redesign
How might we provide a better user experience than Solidworks?
In SolidWorks, users must navigate between tabs and read instructional text before choosing between full or half section modes—often slowing down first-time actions. Zixel CAD simplifies this by unifying both options in a single, visually clear entry point. With one click, users can directly choose the section type without confusion or context switching.
This shift turns a tool-heavy decision into a fast, intuitive interaction—letting users focus on drawing, not searching.
When users choose “Half Section” in SolidWorks, they’re not done yet. They must then pick from eight fixed cutting directions—vertical, horizontal, quarter-right, quarter-left, etc. This step assumes the user already understands the geometry’s symmetry. The system forces a decision before offering any visual feedback.
During research, we asked a simple question:
“What if users could just draw the cutting line, like using the Pen Tool?”
Instead of selecting a direction first, what if the user simply started drawing, and the system figured out what type of section view they meant? This became the core of our redesign.
✨ The Design Shift
Inspired by drawing tools like Figma and Illustrator, we flipped the logic:
Users draw a line across the geometry freely, without needing to snap to centerlines or choose a mode
The system then analyzes the geometry and direction of the line
If the line appears symmetrical, the system automatically applies half-section logic
Visual guides (color and direction hints) provide real-time feedback
📊 Outcome & Impact
After usability testing with 10 beginners and 5 intermediate users:
After implementing the redesign, usability tests showed clear and measurable improvements — from faster completion times to higher user satisfaction. More importantly, the qualitative feedback revealed why it worked: progressive feedback built confidence at every step, delayed constraints kept the flow natural without sacrificing precision, and subtle micro-interactions like guide line colors made the process feel effortless. Together, these changes transformed section view creation from a rigid, error-prone task into a smooth and intuitive experience.