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[gattispilot]

I hm working on a door that should open along the x axis but because the door and wall are slanted forward along the z axis.  the door does open right.  Not sure which direction and which axis I need to turn.  On the image the left and back are the starting position and the other view i moved the door to set it where it should be.
 

[Kubajzz]

To be honest, I don't entirely understand what movement you need... But if you're going to make an animation, I think you don't have to care of the origin and all the axis stuff in Object mode...
If you want to animate it, I recommend making a figure and then the axis of rotation depends on how you set the bone position...

[RudySchneider]

OK, so you've got a sloped wall, but you want the door to "swing" open and closed, just like it was strictly vertical right?  You don't need bones for this, but what I'd suggest is that you start out with a vertical wall and a vertical door in Object mode, parent the wall to the door, and slope the wall to your liking in Scene mode.  That way, the axis of the door hinges will be "local" to the door itself. With the door parented to the wall, you can move and/or slope the wall however you like and the door will "follow it."

Like this (CLICK on the GIF image):

[Roygee]

Nice explanation, RudySchneider, as always.  This is the second reference I have seen from you regarding movement without bones.  Could you please elaborate - would be much appreciated.  I have made a model using cogs, but am battling to get them to turn in a synchronized way using bones.

[RudySchneider]

Bones are great if you've actually got linkages that must go through some fairly wild articulation.  But, bones are usually associated with orgainc objects, whose surfaces (skin) must move and/or fold, "following" the bone(s), like arms joints, knee joints, and clothing.  Bones should never be necessary with mechanical objects.

However, since Anim8or doesn't have the means to change the pivot point for an object like many 3D modeling programs (such as LightWave 3D, which I also use), you must always remember to model each individual rotating part with its pivot point located at the origin (0,0,0).  Then, you'll need to locate the object where it rightly belongs on the overall model.  Just be certain that you "parent" the object to what it may be attached, so it will "follow" its parent when the parent moves.  This is referred to as model hierarchy.  Of course, if the object will only be translating in X, Y, or Z, and not rotating, then, you don't need to worry about placing it at the origin (complicated, huh?).

That's all I've ever done with all of the mechanisms I've modeled that appear on my website, www.rudyschneider.com , even with complex, multi-axis motion objects, like www.rudyschneider.com/AntPos.wmv

[Roygee]

Thanks a lot - this has opened a whole new vista for me - got the gear rotating great, now need to work on using the key position editor instead of the mouse to define smoother rotation.