The Component GCD represents the whole part. Many of its important properties are listed in the aPriori Professional User Guide—see Compoenent GCD in the Geometric Cost Drivers chapter.

Among the important properties are Length Direction, Width Direction, and Height Direction. Each of these is a unit vector, two of whose components are 0 (the other component is 1 or -1). These vectors can be compared with the Direction vector of another GCD (such as a Perimeter or Setup Axis) in order to determine whether the GCD’s direction is aligned with the part’s length, width, or height.