Translation, Rotation, and Other Transformations
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Last updated
Last updated
Certain geometry objects can be created by explicitly stating x, y, and z coordinates in three-dimensional space. More often, however, geometry is moved into its final position using geometric transformations on the object itself or on its underlying CoordinateSystem.
The simplest geometric transformation is a translation, which moves an object a specified number of units in the x, y, and z directions.
While all objects in Dynamo can be translated by appending the .Translate method to the end of the object’s name, more complex transformations require transforming the object from one underlying CoordinateSystem to a new CoordinateSystem. For instance, to rotate an object 45 degrees around the x axis, we would transform the object from its existing CoordinateSystem with no rotation, to a CoordinateSystem which had been rotated 45 degrees around the x axis with the .Transform method:
In addition to being translated and rotated, CoordinateSystems can also be created scaled or sheared. A CoordinateSystem can be scaled with the .Scale method:
Sheared CoordinateSystems are created by inputting non-orthogonal vectors into the CoordinateSystem constructor.
Scaling and shearing are comparatively more complex geometric transformations than rotation and translation, so not every Dynamo object can undergo these transformations. The following table outlines which Dynamo objects can have non-uniformly scaled CoordinateSystems, and sheared CoordinateSystems.
Arc
No
No
NurbsCurve
Yes
Yes
NurbsSurface
No
No
Circle
No
No
Line
Yes
Yes
Plane
No
No
Point
Yes
Yes
Polygon
No
No
Solid
No
No
Surface
No
No
Text
No
No
