Rotating Objects

Icon:

Command: Rotate
Description: Rotates the design or selected objects in the 3D environment around a selected cartesian or object axis.

The Rotation Dialog

On selecting the Rotate command the 'Rotate Objects' dialog box open for selection of the parts to be rotated and the rotation axis and rotation origin to be made.

Rotate All - Rotate all objects in the design.

Rotate Selected - Rotate only the selected objects in the design. This option is only available where either (1) the selected objects are not linked to any other object in the design, or (2) where the selected objects are connected to other objects in the design by only a single point. This means there must be no more than a single node connection, and therefore a single pivot point. Where there is a connection the selection is also unavailable if the connected nodes are not at a coincident point. In some case connected nodes can be offset (i.e. as in using the 'Offset' command). In these cases the if the selection set is to be rotated it must first be unlinked from the rest of the design (see: 'Unlinking objects'), rotated and then linked back in (if required).

Rotate Linked - Rotate the selected objects together with all objects connected to the selected objects. This option therefore preserves the relative orientations of all objects in the connection chain /s of the selected objects.

X-Axis, Y-Axis, Z-Axis - Selects one of the cartesian axes to use as the axis of rotation. If a cartesian axis is used the selection of the 'Axis Origin' is also important in determining exactly what axis is used for the rotation (see below).

Selected Axis - The selected axis option is only available where there is a single selected object in the design. The axis of this object is used as the axis of rotation. In this case the 'Axis Origin' option becomes irrelevant because the rotation axis is fully defined by the object. It is therefore disabled when 'Selected Axis' is selected in the dialog. A common use of the 'Selected Axis' option is to place a temporary construction line in the design connected to a node and select it to use it as the rotation axis. All object connected to it in the connection chain are carried in the rotation. If there are section of the design that are not linked into the connection chain a construction line can be used to make a temporary connection as a bridge to the unconnected objects (ie. other connection chain).

This option is only relevant where a cartesian axis is chosen as the axis of rotation and there is not pivot point defined as in the case of and Objects selection of 'Rotated Selected' (see above). This option therefore provides alternatives to rotating the objects around the World axes.

World - Rotates the objects around the world axes.

Mid Design - Rotates the objects around the selected axis but using the mid point of the design as the origin. This can be useful to keep the objects in view when they are not in close proximity to the world origin. It should generally be used in cases where the final orientation of the objects are all that matters and not their world position, usually because the objects are to be moved into position after the rotation.

Mid Selected - Rotates the objects around the selected axis but using the mid point of the selected objects as the origin. It is usually used for the same reason described in the 'Mid Design' option (see above).

Mid Rotated Parts - Rotates the objects around the selected axis but using the mid point of the all the objects involved in the rotation as the origin (See Objects option above). It is usually used for the same reason described in the 'Mid Design' option (see above).

The direction of rotation is always anti-clockwise when looking in the opposite direction to the direction of the rotation axis. For example rotation around the Z-Axis is positive in an anti-clockwise direction when looking down the Z-Axis from a positive Z location back down to the world origin (as in the XY view). The same is true for object axes - the rotation is anti-clockwise when looking from end 2 of its axis back to end 1.