Bake a mesh pivot

Write the current pivot offset into the static mesh asset. After baking, every instance of that mesh in every level uses the updated origin. Use this when a mesh pivot is wrong and needs a permanent fix.

Baking modifies the source asset

Baking edits the static mesh asset on disk. The operation cannot be undone with Ctrl+Z. Save your project before baking, or use Duplicate and Bake to create a copy first.

Nanite Assembly support (UE 5.7+)

Pivot Tool can bake the pivot of Static Mesh Nanite Assemblies. Two transform combinations are blocked — the asset is not modified and a warning is shown:

• Non-uniform scale with a rotated assembly node — use uniform scale, or remove the node rotation first.
• Keep Actors In Place with instanced-component references — disable Keep in Place, use Duplicate and Bake, or remove the instanced references before baking.

See Nanite Assembly baking for details.

Bake the pivot

1. Select the static mesh actor whose pivot you have already adjusted (using a preset or manual offset).
2. In the Bake Pivot area, click Bake.

The mesh asset is updated. A notification confirms how many meshes were baked. The actor's pivot offset resets to zero because the mesh origin now matches the position you set.

When multiple actors are selected, each unique static mesh is baked once. If two actors reference the same mesh, that mesh is baked on the first actor and the second actor's offset is reset automatically.

Duplicate and bake

To preserve the original mesh, click Duplicate and Bake. Pivot Tool creates a new static mesh asset and switches the selected actor to that duplicate.

Use this when other actors or levels still depend on the original mesh origin.

Bake options

Freeze Rotation

Enable Freeze Rotation to bake the actor's current rotation into the mesh vertices and reset the actor's rotation to zero.

Use this when you have rotated an actor in the level and want the mesh's "forward" direction to match the current placement.

Freeze Scale

Enable Freeze Scale to bake the actor's current scale into the mesh vertices and reset the actor's scale to (1, 1, 1).

Bake Scale Into Sockets

Enable Bake Scale Into Sockets to rescale socket positions along with the mesh when Freeze Scale is active. Sockets stay at the same relative location on the resized mesh.

This option has no effect when Freeze Scale is off.

Keep actors in place

Enable Keep in Place to keep other actors that reference the same static mesh at their current world position after the bake.

Enable this when multiple instances of the same mesh exist in your levels.

Bake by actor

Use Bake by Actor to match a mesh pivot to another actor's transform. The last selected actor becomes the reference.

1. Select the static mesh actors you want to bake.
2. Hold Ctrl and click the reference actor last (it becomes the last selected).
3. Enable Bake by Actor in the Bake Pivot options.
4. Choose what to match:
5. Match Location — moves the mesh pivot to the reference actor's world position.
6. Match Rotation — rotates the mesh to match the reference actor's rotation.
7. Click Bake.

The selected meshes are baked so their pivots match the reference actor's transform.

Combine with Duplicate and Bake

Use Bake by Actor with Duplicate and Bake when you want a new mesh variant with a different origin but need to keep the original asset unchanged.

---

Next: Align Actors to line up actors by reference actor or by bounding-box extents.

Related concept: Nanite Assembly baking — why certain transforms are blocked and what to do instead.