Interface Overview
A detailed guide to every panel, toolbar, and control in the BlastCAD workspace.
Table of contents
Top Bar
The top bar is the command center of BlastCAD. It is always visible and provides access to file operations, data exchange, and global settings.
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| BlastCAD logo | Returns to the home/landing page |
| New | Creates a new empty project (clears all data) |
| Open | Opens a .bcp project file from disk |
| Save | Saves the current project as a .bcp file |
| Import | Opens the Import Center modal |
| Export | Opens the Export Center modal |
| Statistics | Opens the Blast Analytics dashboard |
| Hole Table | Opens a tabular view of all drill holes |
| Database | Opens the Engineering Database manager (Rigs, Explosives, Templates) |
| Settings | Opens Project Settings (global origin, units) |
| Theme toggle | Switches between Dark and Light mode |
| User menu | Profile settings, 2FA management, password change, logout |
| Admin Panel | (Admin accounts only) User management and audit logs |
Explorer Panel
The Explorer Panel (left sidebar) provides a hierarchical view of all project data.
Layer Tree
Layers organize all CAD entities, holes, and surfaces. Every entity belongs to a layer.
- Create layer — Click the
+icon to add a new layer. - Rename — Double-click a layer name to rename it inline.
- Visibility toggle — Click the eye icon to show/hide all entities on a layer.
- Isolate — Right-click → Isolate to hide all other layers temporarily.
- Delete — Right-click → Delete layer (also removes all entities on it).
- Color — Each layer has a display color applied to its entities.
Layer types:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
custom | General-purpose drawing layer |
csv | Auto-created when importing drill hole data |
dtm | Auto-created when importing a DTM surface |
Drill Design Tree
Below the layer tree, all drill holes are listed by Ring → Hole hierarchy. Clicking a hole:
- Highlights the hole in the 3D viewport.
- Populates the Properties Panel with that hole’s parameters.
- Scrolls the canvas to center on the hole.
Right-click a hole to delete it or go to ring view.
DTM Block Browser
When Datamine block models are loaded, each model appears with its attribute columns (Grade, Lithology, Lode, Geocat). Use the toggles to:
- Show/hide individual block model layers.
- Filter blocks by attribute range (grade thresholds, lithology codes).
- Control slice plane thickness for sectional visualization.
3D Canvas
The canvas is a WebGL2 viewport powered by React Three Fiber. It supports both 2D (orthographic, top-down) and 3D (perspective, orbit) modes.
Navigation Controls
| Action | Mouse / Keyboard |
|---|---|
| Orbit (3D only) | Left-click drag |
| Pan | Middle-click drag |
| Zoom | Scroll wheel |
| Fit all to view | Ctrl + Shift + F |
| Fit selected entity | F |
| Switch 2D / 3D | Toggle in Canvas Toolbar |
| Top / Front / Right views | Click View Cube face |
For a detailed breakdown of 2D mode vs 3D mode, the section plane tool, and blast animation controls, see Navigation & Viewport.
Coordinate Display
The bottom of the canvas continuously shows the cursor’s world coordinates (X, Y, Z in local space). The origin 0,0,0 corresponds to the Global Origin set in Project Settings. All coordinates are displayed in the project’s active unit system (meters by default).
UCS Indicator
The UCS (User Coordinate System) icon in the bottom-left corner shows the orientation of the current working plane. In 2D mode, the working plane is always the XY plane. In 3D mode, you can set a custom UCS to work on ring planes or angled surfaces.
View Cube
The view cube (top-right corner) shows the current camera orientation. Click any face or corner to snap to standard views (Top, Front, Right, Isometric).
Canvas Toolbar
The floating toolbar to the left of the 3D canvas organizes all tools into collapsible groups.
Drawing Tools
| Group | Tools |
|---|---|
| Lines | Line, Polyline, X-Line (infinite line), Ray |
| Curves | Arc, Circle, Spline, Donut |
| Shapes | Rectangle, Polygon |
| 3D Primitives | Box, Sphere, Cylinder, Cone, Torus |
| Solid Operations | Extrude, Revolve, Loft |
| Points | Point, Point Cloud |
Modification Tools
| Tool | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move | MOVE |
| Rotate | ROTATE |
| Scale | SCALE |
| Mirror | MIRROR |
| Stretch | STRETCH |
| Trim | TRIM |
| Extend | EXTEND |
| Offset | OFFSET |
| Fillet | FILLET |
| Chamfer | CHAMFER |
| Break | BREAK |
| Join | JOIN |
| Explode | EXPLODE |
| Array (Linear) | ARRAY |
| Array (Polar) | PARRAY |
Annotation Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Text | Place single-line text in the viewport |
| Leader | Annotated leader line with text |
| Linear Dimension | Horizontal or vertical dimension line |
| Aligned Dimension | Dimension parallel to a selected edge |
| Angular Dimension | Angle between two lines |
| Radius Dimension | Radius annotation for arcs and circles |
| Diameter Dimension | Diameter annotation for circles |
Measurement Tools
- Distance — Click two points to measure the 3D distance between them. Result appears in the Command Terminal.
- Angle — Click three points (vertex at second click) to measure the included angle.
Blast Design Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Draw Baseline | Places the 3D polyline used as the drilling reference axis |
| Create Hole | Manually places a drill hole by clicking collar and toe |
| Tie-up Workflow | Activates the delay assignment workflow |
| Section Plane | Defines a volumetric cutting plane for cross-section visualization. Click two points to define the plane normal; the Active Slice panel appears in the canvas for thickness control and can be dragged to avoid overlapping other UI. See Navigation & Viewport. |
| Blast Animation | Plays a time-based simulation of the firing sequence. Each hole fires at its assigned delay. See Navigation & Viewport. |
View & Display Settings
Accessible via the gear icon in the toolbar:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| 2D / 3D | Toggle viewport dimensionality |
| Ortho / Perspective | Switch projection mode |
| Grid | Toggle grid display and set grid size |
| Grid Snap | Snap cursor to grid intersections |
| Polar Tracking | Constrain drawing to specific angles (15°, 30°, 45°, 90°, custom) |
| Ortho Mode | Constrain drawing to horizontal/vertical only |
| Show Holes | Toggle hole solid geometry |
| Show Hole Lines | Toggle collar-to-toe lines |
| Show Collars | Toggle collar marker geometry |
| Show Labels | Toggle hole ID / delay labels |
| Show Ring Lines | Toggle ring plane boundary display |
| Show Ring Labels | Toggle ring name labels |
| Show Detonators | Toggle detonator symbols |
| Show Delay Labels | Toggle delay time annotations |
| Anti-aliasing | Toggle MSAA for smoother rendering |
| Pixel Ratio | Adjust device pixel ratio (1× / 1.5× / 2×) |
| Zoom Speed | Adjust mouse wheel zoom sensitivity |
| Pan Speed | Adjust pan drag sensitivity |
Properties Panel
The Properties Panel (right sidebar) is context-sensitive — its content changes based on what is selected in the viewport.
When a Hole is Selected
Displays and allows editing of all hole parameters:
- Collar / Toe coordinates (X, Y, Z)
- Hole length, diameter, dip, azimuth, dump angle
- Ring and hole number
- Explosive type, delay (ms)
- Charge summary (total kg, column length)
- Comments field
When a CAD Entity is Selected
- Entity type (line, polyline, circle, arc, etc.)
- Layer assignment
- Color and lineweight
- Length / radius / area (computed)
- Vertex count (for polylines)
Command Terminal
The Command Terminal sits at the bottom of the workspace. It serves two purposes:
-
System Log — Displays real-time messages from all operations: imports, exports, calculations, errors, and user actions. Messages are color-coded by type:
Color Type White info— general statusGreen success— completed operationRed error— failed operationYellow warning— requires attentionBlue system— internal engine messagesCyan cmd— user-typed commands -
Command Input — Type AutoCAD-compatible commands directly (e.g.,
TRIM,OFFSET 2.5,LINE). Relative coordinates use the@prefix:@10,5moves 10 units East and 5 North from the last point. Absolute coordinates are typed without prefix:100,50.
The terminal retains the last 50 messages. Older messages are automatically pruned. Use the filter buttons above the log to show only specific message types.