Changing the Orientation of an Object

Each object has an Orientation property that specifies whether the coordinate system it uses is Global or a user-defined orientation relative to the Global coordinate system.

This property is useful in dealing with anisotropic materials. The properties of anisotropic materials are specified relative to each object's orientation. Changing the orientation of an object provides a way for objects made of the same material to have the material axes orientated differently.

To change an object's orientation:

1. Define the coordinate systems you want to have available.
2. Open the Properties dialog box for the object, or select the object and use the docked Properties window.
3. Click on the Orientation property and select the coordinate system from the drop-down menu. If no orientations other than Global have been defined, none appear on the list.
4. Click OK to close the dialog box and apply the changes.
   Note:

   The object will translate and rotate to make the geometry conform to the new coordinate system. If your intention was to change the material orientation, but the object had already been drawn in the correct physical orientation, you will have to redefine it's properties. The coordinates and dimensions used to define the object geometry must be based on the same coordinate system that is needed for proper material orientation. To avoid this problem, it is best to choose the correct coordinate system for material orientation before drawing the object.