Print is upside down in Repetier

I've loaded an stl from a part I modelled in SolidWorks. When I import it into Repetier it lands upside down. If I try rotating it in the x,y,z windows it ends up rotated but underneath the print bed and can't be moved above it without it flipping on me.

Why doesn't it land the way it's oriented and how can I rotate it?

Thanks.

 

in Pro E (not sure about solid works) you usually build by establishing normals first. This gives your model a reference to work from in other software. However, sometimes we get a model that for whatever reason (i have found a lot of these on thingiverse), just is plain uncooperative on repetier. Here's what you do:

flip the model until you get the orientation you like. Then hit the "center object" on the object placement tab (it is the 6th button over). Your model should now be centered in the middle of your build cube, oriented properly.

 

The answer is different CAD programs define X,Y and Z differently. The two most common versions is Z being height or Y being height. I ran into this problem with MeshMixer and one just rotates it in Repetier and moves on. =)

 

Thanks. Ben that is correct, I noticed (but didn't connect it to this) that Repetier referred to the axis differently than Solidworks. For some reason it won't rotate around the axis I want in Repetier (manually or via the alignment windows) so I will try orienting it in Solidworks to conform to the Repetier axis and then re-import. Cheers.

 

Thanks. This file landed on it's back (Z axis vertical), which is fine in this case.