System-activated and User-activated Setup Axes
If a setup axis is not activated, it usually is not considered by aPriori when evaluating operation feasibility--see Setup Axes and Operation Feasibility. Initially, only principal setup axes (see Principal Setup Axes) and setup axes appropriate for hole-making are activated (except during Semi-automated Costing, when only principal and user-activated setup axes are ever activated). If you want aPriori to use a particular part orientation for one or more operations, you should activate the setup axis that represents that orientation. As with principal setup axes, a user-activated setup axis represents the way the part is oriented on a given machine when the setup axis points in the direction from which the tool approaches (or, for machines with an axis of rotation, such as a 4-axis mill, when the setup axis is normal to the direction from which the tool approaches--see Part Orientations).
If you show inactive setup axes for a part, the component viewer displays candidate setup axes that can be activated by clicking (see Displaying Setups, Associated Operations, and GCDs and Activating Setup Axes).
Activating Setup Axes
You can activate a setup axis in two ways:
• Globally, making it available for operations on all GCDs
• Locally, making it available only for operations on a specified GCD. A setup axis activated for a specific GCD is considered inactive by aPriori when it evaluates the feasibility of operations on other GCDs. Activate a setup locally, for a specific GCD, if you want to prevent the possibility of the setup being used for operations on other GCDs.
To globally activate an inactive setup axis, follow these steps:
1 In the Viewer toolbar, Click the setup axis tool, 
, and select User-Defined Setups… from the popup menu. The User-Defined Setups dialog appears.
, and select User-Defined Setups… from the popup menu. The User-Defined Setups dialog appears.
2 Click the Add button. The cursor changes to the setup axis tool, .
. 3 In the Viewer, do one of the following:
o Click an arrowhead to activate the setup axis that the arrow represents.
o Click a planar face to activate a setup axis that is normal to the planar face.
o Click a cylindrical surface to activate a setup axis that is parallel to the cylinder’s axis.
The selected axis turns blue, and its name appears in the User-activated Axes table.
4 Click OK.
To activate a setup axis locally, for specific GCD, follow these steps:
1 In the Viewer, select a GCD (so that it turns yellow), and then right-click the GCD and select Assign Setup Axis… from the context menu. The Viewer displays all the candidate setup axes, and the Assign Setup Axis dialog appears. The cursor, while over the Viewer, changes to the setup axis tool, .
.2 In the Viewer, do one of the following:
o Click an arrowhead to activate the setup axis that the arrow represents.
o Click a planar face to activate a setup axis that is normal to the planar face.
o Click a cylindrical surface to activate a setup axis that is parallel to the cylinder’s axis..
The selected axis turns blue, and its name appears in the Assign Setup Axis dialog.
3 Click OK in the Assign Setup Axis dialog.