Orient by Angles

The orient by angles method orients a coordinate system with respect to another coordinate system using Euler’s angles. The Euler angles are entered into the text boxes and the reference coordinate system is specified with the Ref Marker collector. The three Euler angles are labeled Z, X’, and Z’’. They are used to perform a series of three simple rotations from the reference coordinate frame.

1. Select Orient by angles from the orientation method drop-down menu.
2. Click the Ref Marker collector and select the reference coordinate system from the modeling window, or double click the collector to open the Model Tree (from which the desired marker can be selected).
3. Double-click the ZX'Z" collector.
   The Euler Angles dialog is displayed.
4. Rotate the coordinate system Z degrees around the mutual Z axis.
5. Rotate the coordinate system X' degrees around its new X axis.
6. Rotate the coordinate system Z" degrees around its new Z axis.
   Note: To make the two coordinate systems align, enter 0, 0, 0 for the Euler angles. Your coordinate system remains parallel to the reference coordinate system as changes are made to the model.