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Transform Tab

Transform commands let you translate and rotate alignments, and explode actors.

This page discusses:

See Also
Aligning Actors
Transforming Actors
Translating and Rotating Actors

Align Commands

Align commands help you position geometry actors in your models.

For example, you can move an actor so an edge aligns with the edge of another actor. You can also copy the location or transformation of one actor to another.

Icon Command Name Description
Align Point to Point

Moves actors by aligning two points.
Align Line/Axis to Line/Axis

Moves actors by aligning a line or axis with a line or axis.
Align Point to Plane

Moves actors by aligning a point and a plane.

Align Line/Axis to Plane

Moves actors by aligning a line or axis with a plane.

Align Plane to Plane

Moves actors by aligning two planes.

Lock Pivot Position Mode

Changes actor orientation (rotation) but not position (x-, y-, and z-coordinates) during alignment operations. Example:

Starting location before aligning the cubes plane-to-plane.
With Lock Pivot Position Mode disabled, the red cube changes both orientation and position.
With Lock Pivot Position Mode enabled, the red cube changes orientation but not position.

Copy Transformation in World Coordinate System Copies actor translation and rotation changes relative to its neutral position. To copy transformations, select one or more actors, activate this tool, and then click the actor whose transformation you are copying.

For a comparison of Copy Transformation and Copy Location commands, see Copy Location and Copy Transformation Examples.

Copy Transformation in Parent Copies actor translation and rotation changes relative to its parent. To copy transformations, select one or more actors, activate this tool, and then click the actor whose transformation you are copying.

For a comparison of Copy Transformation and Copy Location commands, see Copy Location and Copy Transformation Examples.

Copy Transformation Between 2 Actors Transforms the selected geometry actors based on the transformation represented by the starting and ending coordinate systems you select. This command cannot transform collaborative actors. To specify the coordinate systems, you can select geometry actors (to use their local coordinate systems) or coordinate system collaborative actors.
Copy Location in World Coordinate System Copies actor location (position and rotation) in the world coordinate system. To copy locations, select one or more actors, activate this tool, and then click the actor whose location you are copying.

For a comparison of Copy Transformation and Copy Location commands, see Copy Location and Copy Transformation Examples.

Copy Location in Parent Copies actor location (position and rotation) in the parent coordinate system. To copy locations, select one or more actors, activate this tool, and then click the actor whose location you are copying.

For a comparison of Copy Transformation and Copy Location commands, see Copy Location and Copy Transformation Examples.

Explode Commands

Explode commands add space between two or more actors.



Tip: Use associative paths or polylines to create explode lines. See Paths Commands and Markups Commands.

Icon Command Name Description
Linear Explode Mode

Creates an exploded view along an axis. Select actors and a gizmo appears.

Drag a gizmo axis to explode actors in the desired direction. The mouse pointer changes to when positioned for explosion.

Tips:
  • Press Alt to enable curve detection.
  • Instead of dragging the gizmo, you can type the explode distance. Click a gizmo arrow, and then type a value for Length in the Properties pane. The value is divided between the exploded actors. For example, when you explode four actors and specify 300 mm, the three gaps between the actors are 100 mm each.
  • To simply move one or more actors along an axis, use Transform > Move > Translate instead of linear explosion. See Move Commands below.
Part-by-Part Linear Explode Mode (Available in animation mode only.) Creates a linear explode by moving parts one at a time. Location keys for each part are uniformly positioned in the time period between the current time and the first key set prior to that time.
Spherical Explode Mode

Creates an exploded view around a point. Select actors and a gizmo appears.

Drag the gizmo to explode actors in the desired direction. The mouse pointer changes to when positioned for explosion.
Part-by-Part Spherical Explode Mode (Available in animation mode only.) Creates a spherical explode by moving parts one at a time. Location keys for each part are uniformly positioned in the time period between the current time and the first key set prior to that time.
Cylindrical Explode Mode

Creates a cylinder exploded view around an axis. Select actors and a gizmo appears.



Drag a gizmo axis to explode actors in the desired direction. The mouse pointer changes to when positioned for explosion.

Tip: Press Alt to enable curve detection.
Part-by-Part Cylindrical Explode Mode (Available in animation mode only.) Creates a cylindrical explode by moving parts one at a time. Location keys for each part are uniformly positioned in the time period between the current time and the first key set prior to that time.

Move Commands

Move commands translate and rotate actors in the scene.

Tip: When Free Dragging Mode is disabled, you can move or rotate actors only by dragging the gizmo. When Free Dragging Mode is enabled, you also drag actor.

Icon Command Name Description
Free Dragging Mode Lets you move geometry actors in 2D space. Select and drag actors anywhere in the viewport. The mouse pointer changes to when positioned for free dragging.
Tips:
  • This mode is not required to drag collaborative actors.
  • To resize polyline segments, press Alt and drag the adjacent segment.
Translation Mode Lets you move actors in 3D space. Select one or more actors and a triad gizmo appears.

Note: The mouse pointer changes to when positioned for translating.
Rotation Mode Lets you rotate actors in 3D space. Select one or more actors and a spherical gizmo appears.

Note: The mouse pointer changes to when positioned for rotating.
No Transformations Mode Disables all transformations. This is the default mode so you do not move actors unintentionally.
Curve Detection Mode Toggles the interactive recognition of transformation axes on CAD models. Select an actor, click this tool, select an edge or a face of a geometry actor, then drag. The edge or face does not have to touch or be near the actor you want to move. The selected actor moves along, or rotates about, the direction indicated by the detected curve or edge. Alternatively, you can hold down the Alt key and then select the edge or face of a geometry actor.
Restore Neutral Position Returns actors to their original (default) locations, both position (x-, y-, and z-coordinates) and rotation.
Tip: To set a new default position, click Set as Neutral Properties (Properties toolbar).

Align Pivots Commands

Pivot alignment commands let you manipulate actor pivots.

A pivot is an actor property that defines a transformation point, such as the point about which an actor rotates or where kinematic constraints are applied. Gizmos appear at actor pivot coordinates unless one pivot is displayed for multiple actors.

Icon Command Name Description
Pivot Transform Mode

Enables pivot transformation mode. Translation and rotation tools move actor pivots instead of actors themselves. Use this mode and the pivot alignment commands to precisely position pivots.
Multiple Gizmos Mode

Enables multiple gizmos display mode. Each selected actor has its own gizmo instead of one gizmo for the entire selection.

Disabled Enabled
Note: To illustrate the effect of this mode, Composer switches to Translation Mode or Rotation Mode, whichever was used last, when you are not already in a transformation mode other than Free Dragging Mode. (Gizmos are not displayed in Free Dragging Mode.)

Local Transformations Mode

Selected actors (or pivots when in Pivot Transformations Mode) move relative to their own coordinate systems. To have all actors (or pivots) move relative to the gizmo you drag, clear Local Transform Mode.

Example:

With both actors selected, translate the sphere along its y-axis.
Without Local Transform Mode, the cube moves along the sphere's y-axis. Relative spacing between the actors is maintained.
With Local Transform Mode, the cube moves along its own y-axis, causing a collision in this example.

Show Pivot on Parent Axis Mode

Displays pivots according to the pivot orientation of the parent.
Align Pivots with Given Pivot

Aligns pivot axes of the selected actors with the pivot of an actor you select.
Align Pivots with Local Axis

Aligns pivot axes of the selected actors with the local coordinate system of each actor.
Align Pivots with World Axis

Aligns pivot axes of the selected actors to the world coordinate system.
Align Pivots with Line/Axis

Aligns pivot axes of the selected actors to a line or axis you select.

Set Pivots on Local Coordinate System Moves pivots of the selected actors to the local coordinate system origin of each actor.
Set Pivots on Bounding Box Centers Moves pivots of the selected actors to the bounding box center of each actor.
Set Pivot on Point Moves pivots of the selected actors to a point you select.
Set Pivot on Line/Axis Moves pivots of the selected actors to a line or axis you select.

Kinematic Commands

Kinematic commands let you manage the assembly tree structure and animate assemblies using kinematic constraints. You can apply kinematic links to parts and assemblies.

Kinematics is the branch of mechanics that deals with the motion of a body or a system of bodies without considering the effect of mass or forces acting on the system.

For more information, see Creating Kinematic Links Between Actors.

Icon Command Name Description
Interactive Inverse Kinematics Mode Enables interactive inverse kinematics (IK) mode. All transformations consider kinematic links. Whereas forward kinematics (FK) evaluates how moving a parent affects its children, IK evaluates how moving a child affects its parents. When you move an actor, the linked actors move according to their link constraints, and the root parent remains stationary.
Kinematic Free Dragging Enables both Free Dragging Mode and Interactive IK Mode so you can move actors while obeying kinematics.
Show/Hide Degrees of Freedom Shows the degrees of freedom (DOF) allowed by the kinematic links for the selected actors. When nothing is selected, shows the DOF of all actors.

Link Child to Parent Creates child-parent links between actors. Any current selection is ignored. Click the child first and then the parent. Set kinematic link properties in the Properties pane.
Note: Actors with kinematic links have 'K' overlays (for example, ) in the Assembly tree.
Link Selection to Parent Links the selected actors as children of the parent you select. Set kinematic link properties in the Properties pane.
Add Rigid Parent Level Adds a rigid parent link to a parent level. Add rigid parents when you are otherwise unable to align the coordinate systems of a parent and child.
Delete Child-Parent Links Deletes the child-parent links of the selected assembly groups or actors.
Kinematic Rigidity Mode Enables kinematic rigid mode, which lets you freeze some levels.
Add Current Links to Rigid Set (Available in Kinematic Rigidity Mode.) Adds the current selection to a set of rigid modes.
Remove Current Links from Rigid Set (Available in Kinematic Rigidity Mode.) Removes a selection from a set of rigid modes.
Clear Rigid Links Set (Available in Kinematic Rigidity Mode.) Clear all rigid links.


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