Axes and Origin Points

SketchUp, by default, uses the lower left corner of the selection bounding box to set the component’s axis origin. This default point may not be the best in all cases. The axes origin is shown in SketchUp as red, green, and blue lines intersecting at their “origin.”

The axes origin serves two purposes in SketchUp:

1. It is the point used to place a component when it is downloaded from 3D Warehouse. For products installed at a specific point, consider using that point. For example, lamps would use their center line at their base, faucets would use the center of flow line at their base midpoint.
2. It is the point used as reference when a component is replaced or reloaded. For example, a light fixture might use a point on a wall that it will grow outward from.

Choose a point that is on the ‘ground plane’ of the object, and one that corresponds to a governing point in the object like a center point, a common field installation point, or a reference point. Make sure that placement will feel intuitive to anyone downloading the model.