Change axis orientation of sketch

BobHewson

I am fairly new to Sketchup use, and use it to make drawings of items for 3D printing.

I just completed a complex (at least for me)item. I created the requisite stl file in Sketchup, sliced it and printed it. Problem is that item is in a vertical format rather than horizontal. To simplify, my item is a planned rectangle (1.5"X x 6"Y x 3/8"Z) and is oriented vertically along the length so I am printing a thin high item (3/8"X x 6"Y x 1.5"Z) rather than a horizontal rectangle only 3/8" ("Z").

The reason for the goof is that I made drawing on the wrong axis (another lesson learned). Next time I will correct that from the start.

Rather than redraw I wonder if there is a way to move my drawing 90 deg, permanently aligning it with the proper axis?

Any help would be appreciated.

Bob

Dave R

You would just select all of the geometry and use the Rotate tool to rotate the model to the desired orientation. Note that although it is possible to move/ rotate/re-orient the model axes, that does not change the real direction of up which is the solid blue direction when the axes are in their default orientation.

TIG

TIP: before doing the Select-All then Rotation... ensure that all Layers are ON, and View > Hidden Geometry is ON.
Otherwise you might not Rotate everything...

BobHewson

Thanks for the replies.

I tied as suggested, and have no trouble rotating the object, however when I print the resulting exported stl file I still have the same vertical item to print, not horizontal as hoped for.

Seems that while the image is rotated, the actual underlying drawing is still in it's vertical alignment as drawn originally.

Any other suggestions?

Bob

Box

It sounds like you have made it a group or component.If it is a component you can right click on it and select Change Axes. Realign the axes to suit.
You can do it with a group also but from memory you need a plugin for that, easier to just make it a component.

Dave R

Another thing that might be worth checking is to see if you inadvertently changed the global axes. Right click on the origin and see if 'Reset' is black or gray. If it is black, click on it. Then move the model as needed.

BobHewson

Thanks, resolved.

Bob

cotty

@bobhewson said:

Thanks, resolved.

Bob

With which solution?