Move, rotate, and scale

Position objects with the gizmo and snapping.

The gizmo drives all transforms. Move slides along an axis or plane, Rotate turns around the pivot, and Scale resizes. The keyboard shortcuts M/R/S switch modes without leaving the viewport. Keyboard: rotate the selection about Z with the bracket keys, or scale it by ten percent with minus and equals. In Gizmo options you can switch to the all-in-one gizmo — TinkerCAD-style move, rotate, and scale handles shown together on the bounding box, with a protractor while you rotate.

To give an object an exact size, switch the Scale row in the Properties panel from × to your unit (mm or in) and type the size you want — 3 in Z makes it exactly 3 mm tall. The size is measured along the object’s own axes, so on a rotated object it is the object’s own height, not its height in the world. Lock the scale first to keep its proportions.

Scaling a generator keeps its fits. Scale an enclosure, a hinge, a gear train or any other generated part evenly on all three axes with the gizmo and OwlCAD rebuilds it at the new outer size instead of stretching it: its clearances, walls, screw holes and standard sizes stay what they were, so the bigger part still prints and still fits. The same holds for a generator scaled together with other parts, and for Scale to fit, which re-measures the result so the scene still fits the bed. A scale typed into the Properties panel, an uneven one, or one on a generator whose sizes are all standard (a gridfinity bin, a bolt, a fan frame) stays a plain stretch; the Properties panel says so and offers Reset scale, and Apply to size when the scale is even. Scale a thread that names a standard size, such as M8, wider and it becomes a custom thread — a message tells you, and Undo puts the M8 back.

1. Select an object and press M (move), R (rotate), or S (scale).
2. Drag a gizmo handle; snapping follows the grid and angle settings.
3. Fine-tune exact values in the Properties panel.
4. Or turn on the all-in-one gizmo in Gizmo options for TinkerCAD-style handles — move, rotate, and scale at once.