Im working with Blender, but recently started 3D CAD with SolidWorks as well, so I am confused. (Z axis in Blender is height, SolidWorks is depth) Let me know your thoughts!
I guess it depends on the program. In some, Z depicts the height of something while in other, usually Z is the depth. I think that even Unity or Unreal Engine uses Z-axis for depth
For me its always been depth when referring to 3D images, im guessing some people make the Z axis height as they will do a 2D sketch using X and Y relative axis while looking from the top down, then proceed to build up from there For people who have a preference it usually comes down to how you view yourself building a project, if it is from left to right or bottom to top
It's pretty common in game design to have z as the height axis. One exception i can think of is minecraft where y is the height axis. But in beam it is indeed Z which is the height axis, just like in Blender. It's also common to have y+ being forward and x being side to side which is how beam vehicles are setup.
Yea. It doesn't really matter which letter corresponds to which direction. But I think the reason why Z is often the height axis is that you want to combine the first two coordinates (x and y) because they are used in a 2D context and assign them to the two dimensions which are most similar to eachother. Then put the odd one out on the depth. Using Z for a horizontal axis would make more sense in like a side scroller game or fighting game. Ultimately it doesn't really matter, and Z have become the most common choice for height.
Thank you guys. As a side note, it seems that height is on the Z axis for architectural design and on the Y axis for mechanical design.