Using Multiple Coordinate Systems
Users can define their own coordinate systems and include multiple coordinate systems in a 3D scene.
Every scene viewed in SpinFire™ contains the Global Coordinate System, which defines the (0,0,0) point and the direction of the x-, y-, and z-axes. Users can include additional coordinate systems with their own positions and orientations. The Markups pane of the WorkSpace component lists all the coordinate systems in a scene.
Like markups and views, coordinate systems are included when you save a model in Actify's .3D file format.
The Active Coordinate System
At all times, one of the available coordinate systems is designated as the active coordinate system. The triad for the active coordinate system appears larger in the 3D scene and its name is bold on the Markups pane. You can designate any coordinate system as the active coordinate system by right-clicking it and selecting Active Coordinate System.
The active coordinate system affects part rotations, part translations, and certain dimension measurements. By default, these commands are performed with respect to the active coordinate system.
A dimension markup takes its measurement with respect to the coordinate system that is active at the time the markup is created. When the active coordinate system changes, the dimension label will not change---it will still display the measurement with respect to the coordinate system that was active when the dimension was created. If you would like to change which coordinate system a dimension markup is measured with respect to, you may do so from the Markup Properties dialog box. (See Change a Dimension's Coordinate System for details.)
When using the Rotate or Translate command to position a part, you may select a coordinate system other than the active coordinate system from the "Relative To:" drop-down menu. (See Rotate an Object in an Assembly and Translate an Object in an Assembly for details.)
Creating and Editing a Coordinate System
To create or edit a coordinate system, you will use the Coordinate System dialog box. (See Add a Coordinate System, Position a Coordinate System, and Orient a Coordinate System for step-by-step instructions.)
The Coordinate System dialog box contains the Position and Orientation tabs which set the location and direction of the coordinate system. Both the Position and Orientation tabs offer two methods for defining position and orientation: either pick an element in the scene or enter precise figures into the dialog box.
From the Position tab, you can determine the origin point of the coordinate system either by selecting a vertex point or circle on the model or by entering the distance the origin point will be offset with respect to the origin point of another coordinate system. (See Position a Coordinate System for details.)
From the Orientation tab, you can set the x-, y-, or z-axis by clicking two vertices on the model or an axis of another coordinate system. Or you can set the axis by entering the values of a vector relative to another coordinate system. (See Orient a Coordinate System for details.)
The Global Coordinate System cannot be edited or deleted.
Related topics
Set the Active Coordinate System