Coordinate Systems

Coordinate Systems#

Coordinate systems allow you to define local reference frames for geometric transformations of entities.

Overview#

By default, Flow360 uses a global Cartesian coordinate system. However, for complex geometries or specific analysis requirements, you may need to define custom coordinate systems. These local coordinate systems enable:

  • Translation

  • Rotation

  • Scaling

Creating Coordinate Systems#

To create a coordinate system:

  1. Navigate to the Coordinate systems section in the Entities browser

  2. Click the “+” button to add a new coordinate system

  3. Define the parameters for the coordinate system

  4. Confirm to add the coordinate system to your project

Coordinate System Parameters#

Parameter

Description

Name

A descriptive name for the coordinate system

Parent

The parent coordinate system (e.g., Global) that this system is defined relative to

Translation

The origin offset (X, Y, Z) of the local coordinate system relative to the parent

Rotation axis

The axis (X, Y, Z components) about which the coordinate system is rotated

Rotation angle

The angle of rotation about the rotation axis (in degrees)

Scale

Scale factors (X, Y, Z) for the coordinate system axes

Reference point for rotation and scale

The point (X, Y, Z) used as the center for rotation and scaling operations
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