JavaFX - 3D Shapes

In the earlier chapters, we have seen how to draw 2D shapes on an XY plane in a JavaFX application. In addition to these 2D shapes, we can draw several other 3D shapes as well using JavaFX.

3D Shape

In general, a 3D shape is a geometrical figure that can be drawn on the XYZ plane. They are defined by two or more dimensions, commonly length, width and depth. 3D shapes supported by JavaFX include a Cylinder, Sphere and a Box.

Each of the above mentioned 3D shape is represented by a class and all these classes belong to the package javafx.scene.shape. The class named Shape3D is the base class of all the 3-Dimensional shapes in JavaFX.

Creating a 3D Shape

To create a 3-Dimensional shape, you need to −

  • Instantiate the respective class of the required 3D shape.

  • Set the properties of the 3D shape.

  • Add the 3D shape object to the group.

Instantiating the Respective Class

To create a 3-Dimensional shape, first of all you need to instantiate its respective class. For example, if you want to create a 3D box, you need to instantiate the class named Box as follows −

Box box = new Box();

Setting the Properties of the Shape

After instantiating the class, you need to set the properties for the shape using the setter methods.

For example, to draw a 3D box you need to pass its Width, Height, Depth. You can specify these values using their respective setter methods as follows −

//Setting the properties of the Box 
box.setWidth(200.0); 
box.setHeight(400.0);   
box.setDepth(200.0);

Adding the Shape Object to the Group

Finally, you need to add the object of the shape to the group by passing it as a parameter of the constructor as shown below.

//Creating a Group object  
Group root = new Group(box);

The following table gives you the list of various 3D shapes provided by JavaFX.

S.No Shape & Description
1 Box

A cuboid is a three-dimensional shape with a length (depth), width, and a height.

In JavaFX a three-dimensional box is represented by a class named Box. This class belongs to the package javafx.scene.shape.

By instantiating this class, you can create a Box node in JavaFX.

This class has 3 properties of the double datatype namely −

  • width − The width of the box.

  • height − The height of the box.

  • depth − The depth of the box.
2 Cylinder

A cylinder is a closed solid that has two parallel (mostly circular) bases connected by a curved surface.

It is described by two parameters, namely, the radius of its circular base and the height of the cylinder.

In JavaFX, a cylinder is represented by a class named Cylinder. This class belongs to the package javafx.scene.shape.

By instantiating this class, you can create a cylinder node in JavaFX. This class has 2 properties of the double datatype namely −

  • height − The height of the Cylinder.

  • radius − The radius of the Cylinder.
3 Sphere

A sphere is defined as the set of points that are all at the same distance r from a given point in a 3D space. This distance r is the radius of the sphere and the given point is the centre of the sphere.

In JavaFX, a sphere is represented by a class named Sphere. This class belongs to the package javafx.scene.shape.

By instantiating this class, you can create a sphere node in JavaFX.

This class has a property named radius of double datatype. It represents the radius of a Sphere.

Properties of 3D Objects

For all the 3 Dimensional objects, you can set various properties in JavaFX. They are listed below −

We will discuss the properties of 3D objects in further chapters of this tutorial.

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