Build the slotted bar

The three views below show a bar with a slot cut straight across it, from front face to back face. Build it from the full block. Because the slot runs the whole depth, the top view shows it as a plain opening rather than as hidden detail.

The part, in three views

First angle projection. Each square is one unit: count them to read the sizes off the views.

corner 1 of 4

Click a face to cut that block away. Right-click to put a block back. Use Turn left/right to walk around the part: a feature on the far side cannot be reached from here.

Reading three views: hints

Read all three views before you cut anything
A single view is a shadow: many different parts cast it. What fixes the shape is the three together, and a feature you can only see in one of them is the one most often missed. Look at all three, decide what the part is, and only then start removing material.
A dashed line means material you cannot see from there
A hidden line marks an edge that is really in the part but is blocked from that direction by material in front of it. It is not decoration and it is not optional — for many parts the dashed lines are the only thing distinguishing the real shape from a different part with the same outline.
Line up the views to place a feature
The front and top views share their left-to-right positions, and the front and side views share their heights. A feature's position in one view therefore tells you where to look for it in another, which is how you work out its depth without guessing.
Start from the whole block and take material away
The part begins as the solid block its three views enclose. Every step after that removes material, exactly as it would be machined. If you cut too far you can put material back, but thinking of it as carving keeps the shape you are aiming at in view.

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