How to Create 3D Plot in MATLAB: Syntax and Examples

To create a 3D plot in MATLAB, use the plot3 function with vectors for X, Y, and Z coordinates. You can also use functions like mesh or surf for surface plots to visualize 3D data.

Syntax

The basic syntax for a 3D line plot is plot3(X, Y, Z), where X, Y, and Z are vectors of the same length representing coordinates in 3D space. For surface plots, use mesh(X, Y, Z) or surf(X, Y, Z) where X and Y define a grid created by meshgrid and Z contains height values.

matlab

plot3(X, Y, Z)
mesh(X, Y, Z)
surf(X, Y, Z)

Example

This example shows how to create a 3D line plot of a helix using plot3. It plots points in 3D space with X, Y, and Z coordinates.

matlab

t = linspace(0,10*pi,500);
X = sin(t);
Y = cos(t);
Z = t;
plot3(X, Y, Z, 'LineWidth', 2)
grid on
xlabel('X axis')
ylabel('Y axis')
zlabel('Z axis')
title('3D Helix Plot')

Output

A 3D line plot of a helix curve with labeled axes and grid.

Common Pitfalls

• Not using vectors of the same length for X, Y, and Z causes errors.
• For surface plots, X and Y must be matrices created by meshgrid, not vectors.
• Forgetting to label axes or enable grid can make the plot hard to read.

matlab

 % Wrong: vectors of different lengths
X = 1:10;
Y = 1:8;
Z = 1:10;
plot3(X, Y, Z) % This will error

% Right: vectors of same length
X = 1:10;
Y = linspace(1,10,10);
Z = rand(1,10);
plot3(X, Y, Z)

Quick Reference

Function	Description	Input Requirements
plot3(X,Y,Z)	3D line plot	X, Y, Z vectors of same length
mesh(X,Y,Z)	3D mesh surface plot	X, Y from meshgrid; Z matrix
surf(X,Y,Z)	3D colored surface plot	X, Y from meshgrid; Z matrix

Key Takeaways

Use plot3 with equal-length vectors X, Y, Z for 3D line plots.

Use meshgrid to create X and Y matrices for surface plots with mesh or surf.

Always label axes and enable grid for better plot readability.

Check input sizes carefully to avoid dimension mismatch errors.