Create 3D Plots in MATLAB

Three-dimensional plots visualize functions of two variables, surfaces, volumes, or point clouds. Key functions: surf, mesh, plot3, scatter3, contour3.

Common 3D Plot Types

• Surface Plot: surf(X,Y,Z) – colored surface.

Peaks function surface plot.

• Mesh Plot: mesh(X,Y,Z) – wireframe grid.

Example mesh plot.

• Line Plot: plot3(x,y,z) – 3D curves (e.g., helix).
• Scatter: scatter3(x,y,z,s,c) – colored points.
• With Lighting: surfl(Z) or shading interp; light;.

Basic Steps

1. Generate Grid: [X,Y] = meshgrid(-3:0.1:3); (for domain).
2. Compute Z: Z = sin(sqrt(X.^2 + Y.^2)); or Z = peaks;.
3. Plot: surf(X,Y,Z); or mesh(X,Y,Z);.
4. Customize:
   • colormap(parula); or jet, hot.
   • shading interp; (smooth).
   • colorbar; (scale).
   • xlabel('X'); ylabel('Y'); zlabel('Z'); title('My 3D Plot');.
   • view(az,el); or rotate interactively.
   • axis tight; grid on;.

Quick Example Code

% Classic peaks surface  [X,Y] = meshgrid(-3:0.1:3);  Z = peaks(X,Y);  figure;  surf(X,Y,Z);  colormap(parula);  shading interp;  colorbar;  title('3D Surface Plot: peaks()');  xlabel('X'); ylabel('Y'); zlabel('Z');

% Helix line plot  t = 0:pi/50:10*pi;  plot3(sin(t), cos(t), t);  grid on;  title('3D Helix');

Tips

• Use figure; hold on; for multiple plots.
• For better visuals: camlight; material shiny;.
• Export: saveas(gcf,'plot.png');.

Ideal for data visualization, mathematical functions, and engineering surfaces.