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Basic 3D Plotting

Summary

In Origin, most 3D plots -- including 3D surface, wire frame/wire surface, 3D bar plot and 2D contour -- are created from an Origin matrix. In most cases, the raw data is XYZ data and you should convert it to a matrix first, using one of Origin's built-in gridding routines.

Minimum Origin Version Required: Origin 8.0 SR6

What you will learn

This tutorial will show you how to:

Steps

  1. Import the file \Samples\Matrix Conversion and Gridding\XYZ Random Gaussian.dat.

  2. Highlight the 3rd column, right-click, and select Set As: Z from the context fly-out menu.

  3. To convert the worksheet XYZ data into a matrix, select Worksheet: Convert to Matrix: XYZ Gridding to bring up the XYZ Gridding dialog. Select Mean from the drop-down list of the Replace Duplicates with item as below:
    Image:Tutorial_3D_Plot_002new.png
  4. After that, you can see the right preview panel as below.As you can see, the XY data are randomly distributed, so a random gridding method should be used.

    Image:Tutorial_3D_Plot_001.png
  5. Use the following settings and click OK to convert the XYZ columns of data into a matrix of data. The TPS gridding method will generate a smooth surface.

    Image:Tutorial 3D Plot 003New.png

  6. Set the new generated matrix as the active window and select Plot: 3D Wire/Bar/Symbol: Wire Frame from the menu to plot a 3D mesh:

    Image:Tutorial_3D_Plot_004.png

  7. In order to plot the original data points on the graph, you can use the Layer Contents. Right-click on the layer icon and select Layer Contents.

    Image:Tutorial_3D_Plot_005.png

    In the Layer Contents dialog, select Worksheets in Folder from the available data box (in the upper left corner of the dialog). Then select the worksheet Z column and click -> button to add it into the right panel list.

    Image:Tutorial_3D_Plot_006.png

    After you click Apply button, the source data will be added to the layer.

    Image:Tutorial_3D_Plot_007.png

  8. You can now use the Plot Details dialog to modify the appearance. Double-click on the graph to bring up the Plot Details dialog. On the left panel, select the 3D scatter data:

    Image:Tutorial_3D_Plot_008.png

    And then go to the Symbol tab on the right panel, adjust the symbol type, size and color, etc.

    Image:Tutorial_3D_Plot_009.png

    Remove the drop lines on the Drop Lines panel:

    Image:Tutorial_3D_Plot_010.png

  9. When done, click OK to accept the modifications:

    Image:Tutorial_3D_Plot_011.png