Select Operation | Graphic Display Window | Rotate to display the Rotate dialog box.
Rotate dialog box
This dialog box allows you to rotate a part drawing in three dimensions. You can rotate up to 45 degrees per rotation for each view of the part. You can also activate this option from the 3D Rotate mode button () on the Graphic Modes toolbar.
To rotate the drawing using the Rotate dialog box, do the following:
Select the view to be altered (1-4).
Determine the amount of rotation by selecting the degree increment (1, 5, 10, or 45).
Click on the desired axis button to rotate the drawing in the indicated direction.
An icon shows the point of rotation. For information, see "Center of Rotation Icon" below.
Click the Reset button to snap the rotation of the drawing in the Rotate dialog box and in the Graphic Display window to the closest axis.
If you select the Animate check box, PC-DMIS dynamically re-draws the part in the Graphic Display window as it is rotated.
For additional information on rotating, see "3D Rotate Mode".
To quickly rotate your part with or without the Rotate dialog box open, press Ctrl + right-click and drag the mouse. If your mouse has a center wheel button, hold the wheel button and drag the mouse. Also, you can double-click the wheel button at any time to perform the same action as the Reset button on the Rotate dialog box: it snaps the rotation to the closest axis. (Note however, that if you have a Vista operating system and you click the wheel button, it instead activates the Switch Between Windows scrolling functionality.)
Determining the Point of Rotation with a CAD Model
If you have a CAD model in the Graphic Display window, there are two ways to determine the point of rotation. Which way to use depends on where your pointer is when you first click the right mouse button. Either your pointer is over the Graphic Display window background, or it is over the part's CAD.
If the pointer is over the Graphic Display background, the part rotates about the part's origin.
If the pointer is over the part, the part rotates about the point on the part directly below the pointer.
Determining the Point of Rotation without a CAD Model
If you don't have a CAD model in the Graphic Display window, PC-DMIS can rotate about a user-defined point instead. This may be useful when there are relatively large distances between measured objects or CAD objects.
If the Rotate dialog box is active, PC-DMIS treats the screen center position as if you clicked there.
If PC-DMIS cannot find a pierced point, it instead uses the closest display object (pixel) and rotates about that point. If the closest object is a CAD object, then the point PC-DMIS uses is the closest point on the closest CAD object.
A colored, spherical, wire-frame icon indicates the current center of rotation:
Center of rotation icon
Graphics window with center of rotation icon (A) on the part
Graphics Display window with center of rotation icon in space (A) and Rotation Widget (B)
Like the Rotation Widget, the center of rotation icon uses the same colors as the trihedron. For information, see "Changing Trihedron Settings".
The size of the center of rotation icon matches the size of the Rotation Widget. For information, see "Using the Rotation Widget".