Use Instance Transformation to define placements of a subproject in its parent project. Each row identifies an instance and its translation and rotation. This allows the same source subproject to be represented at different positions without changing the coordinates of the original items.
Open the window
Open Project Info for the parent project. In the subproject list, select the required subproject and click the transformation button marked with an arrow (->). The window lists instances for that selected subproject in the current parent project. Select a subproject before using the button. Save a newly created project before configuring its subprojects and instances.
When you return to Project Info, the subproject list displays the number of registered instances in parentheses. Check that you opened the intended parent and subproject before editing placements.
Define an instance
Use the empty row to add an instance and finish the cell edit to store the value. Instance ID must be unique for this combination of parent project and subproject. Use a descriptive Name to distinguish placements, for example Port module and Starboard module. Different parent projects can define their own placements of the same subproject.
Translation X, Translation Y and Translation Z specify the offsets along the longitudinal, transverse and vertical axes respectively. In ShipWeight these axes correspond to LCG, TCG and VCG. Positive and negative offsets must follow the project coordinate directions. A zero offset leaves that coordinate unchanged after rotation.
Rotation X, Rotation Y and Rotation Z specify angles in degrees about the corresponding axes. Zero means no rotation around that axis. The transformation applies rotation about X first, then Y, then Z, and finally adds the translation. Rotations act about the source coordinate origin; translation positions the rotated result in the parent project. Rotation order matters when more than one angle is nonzero.
A 90-degree rotation about Z turns a point on the positive X axis towards positive Y in the transformation coordinate system. Check the project axis directions and the resulting centre of gravity before using a placement in a model.
Translation units
Enter translations in the units shown in the column headings. The program converts each axis to metres for storage and converts stored values back to the selected display units when the list is shown. This applies to editing, adding instances and pasting rows. For example, 10 ft is stored as 3.048 m; after changing the project to metric units it is displayed as 3.048 m. Rotation values remain in degrees. Values entered before this unit-conversion correction are not automatically repaired: check existing placements if translations were previously entered in units other than metres.
Example: two placements of a subproject
For a source subproject with a suitable local origin, create two rows with distinct Instance IDs and names. Leave all rotations at zero when both copies have the same orientation. Set the translations to the required offsets. With metric length units set to metres, for example, Y = -5 and Y = 5 place the two instances ten metres apart transversely. Set X and Z explicitly to zero if no longitudinal or vertical offset is required.
If the source origin is not at the intended reference point, account for that origin when choosing translations and rotations. A rotation is not a reflection: a mirrored or handed version of an asymmetric assembly cannot generally be created by changing only the rotation angles.
Effects on project data
An instance changes how the source subproject is positioned when represented in the parent project. It does not rewrite the source item coordinates. The instance-aware item calculations rotate and translate centres of gravity and transform complete minimum/maximum extents into bounding boxes in the parent coordinate system. Weight is carried through without geometric scaling.
Review instance counts, total weights and centres of gravity in the parent project after adding or changing instances. Additional instances represent additional occurrences of the source subproject; check that repeated equipment or modules are intended to be counted.
Editing, printing and closing
The right-click menu offers Copy, Cut, Paste, Delete and Select All. Check the selected rows before cutting or deleting an instance. Paste transfers tab-separated values in the column order shown in the window. Editing requires ProjectInfo Edit permission; bulk paste and delete operations may require MultipleEdit permission. Copy and Print require Output permission.
Print prints the instance list. Close returns to Project Info. Edits and row operations are stored as they are performed; Close is not a separate Save command and closing the window does not undo the changes. Help and F1 open this topic.