# How do I rotate around an ellipse? **URL:** \ **Category:** Modeling Questions\ **Created:** [April 6, 2026, 11:53am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-rotate-around-an-ellipse/40616 "2026-04-06T11:53:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1

**Author:** ![Nkohrn3D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@Nkohrn3D](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Nkohrn3D)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 11:53am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-rotate-around-an-ellipse/40616/1 "2026-04-06T11:53:03Z")

I am attempting to creating a pendulum rack, where the spools move around the ellipse, but don’t rotate. I expect you understand, a center point through the spools would follow the track in the ellipse. I greatly appreciate all you have done with Shapr3D over the years, it really is a wonderful tool. Neil ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/shapr3d/original/3X/c/c/cc87fe84744656a33636968721be4887572e9675.jpeg) [https://support.shapr3d.com/hc/en-us/requests/new](https://support.shapr3d.com/hc/en-us/requests/new) ---

**Author:** ![Xdrakosha](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/xdrakosha/32/24881_2.png) [@Xdrakosha](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Xdrakosha)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 12:03pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-rotate-around-an-ellipse/40616/2 "2026-04-06T12:03:16Z")

> [@Nkohrn3D](#): > > I am attempting to creating a pendulum rack, where the spools move around the ellipse, but don’t rotate. I understand what you’re trying to model, but I don’t understand what exactly you’re asking. Do you want to animate the model? Or do you want to attach spools so they follow the sketch movements? Or are you looking for some kind of constraints? ---

**Author:** ![Xdrakosha](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/xdrakosha/32/24881_2.png) [@Xdrakosha](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Xdrakosha)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 12:37pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-rotate-around-an-ellipse/40616/3 "2026-04-06T12:37:29Z")

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**Author:** ![Nkohrn3D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@Nkohrn3D](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Nkohrn3D)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 5:15pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-rotate-around-an-ellipse/40616/4 "2026-04-06T17:15:22Z")

Yes, I’m attempting to animate the model. What I am trying to do involves movement along two axis, at the same time, in opposite directions. It’s a pivot point through the spool, the spool rotates around,similar to your example, but the center point has two different objects. Using your example, the spool and the pipe move simultaneously, as the pipe moves the spool around the ellipse, the spool spins at the same rate, opposite direction. It’s a moving pendulum. Easier to build, it’s creating a functioning design. Take a pencil and put it through a round object (wedding ring, washer…etc). Hold The pencil horizontal and move it along an ellipse. Ring stays in the same position as the pencil follows the path. Simple, but can it be animated? Too complex? ---

**Author:** ![Xdrakosha](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/xdrakosha/32/24881_2.png) [@Xdrakosha](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Xdrakosha)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-rotate-around-an-ellipse/40616/5 "2026-04-06T17:34:12Z")

> [@Nkohrn3D](#): > > Simple, but can it be animated? Too complex? What I showed in the video can’t even be called a hint of animation 🙂 To make this work, you’d need animation and joints — and Shapr3D doesn’t have either. It would be much easier to do this in Blender — you can simply set up rotation and motion along a path. ---

**Author:** ![Nkohrn3D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@Nkohrn3D](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Nkohrn3D)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-rotate-around-an-ellipse/40616/6 "2026-04-06T17:37:35Z")

I have just downloaded Blender, but I have never used it and need to figure it out. ---

**Author:** ![Oregonerd](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/oregonerd/32/8012_2.png) [@Oregonerd](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Oregonerd)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 9:07pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-rotate-around-an-ellipse/40616/7 "2026-04-06T21:07:55Z")

Lots of online resources for that ---

**Author:** ![Xdrakosha](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/xdrakosha/32/24881_2.png) [@Xdrakosha](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Xdrakosha)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 11:09pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-rotate-around-an-ellipse/40616/8 "2026-04-06T23:09:42Z")

Here’s what I was able to achieve with zero Blender knowledge. The model was exported from Shapr3D. It could be much better, but it’s not so bad for the first time 🙂 ---

**Author:** ![Nkohrn3D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@Nkohrn3D](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Nkohrn3D)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 5:18pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-rotate-around-an-ellipse/40616/9 "2026-04-08T17:18:01Z")

thank you, I’ll try that, the big issue is that the spools do not actually rotate. Think pendulum or ferris wheel. ---

**Author:** ![Xdrakosha](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/xdrakosha/32/24881_2.png) [@Xdrakosha](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Xdrakosha)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-rotate-around-an-ellipse/40616/10 "2026-04-08T18:00:17Z")

> [@Nkohrn3D](#): > > the big issue is that the spools do not actually rotate That doesn’t really matter what is rotating and in which direction. It’s totally up to you how to animate all that.