How can faces be rotated around their individual normals?

Question

In edit mode with these settings:

• Face selection
• Pivot point: individual origins
• Transformation orientation: Normal

The faces don't rotate around the normals, is there another required setting that I overlooked?

Answer 1

You need to press a key to specify the axis. (i.e. X, Y or Z)

Setting the Transform orientation aligns the XYZ coordinates to something, e.g.:

• Global aligns the axes to the world

• Local aligns the axes to the selected object(s) rotation

• Normal aligns the axes to the selected element(s) normal

etc.

Note that pressing the axis key once always snaps to the Global orientation, regardless of the setting in 3D view > Header. To use the orientation specified in 3D view > Header, press the axis key twice. (e.g. GZZ)

With your settings, (Individual origins, Normal, Face) to rotate each face around its normal we should rotate around the Z, see the wiki:

The z-axis of the manipulator will match the normal vector of the selected [element]

So by pressing RZZ:

Answer 2

Yes you can do this, all accessible from interface but included keys

1. Enter Editmode (Tab)
2. Change to face-editing (3)
3. Select all (A)
4. Mesh -> Edges -> Edge Split (CtrlE, D)
5. Change orientation to normal (,, 2)
6. Change pivot to individual origins (.,2)
7. Rotate about the Z axis `(R, ZZ) ... move mouse:

Answer 3

#python to rotate all faces 

#rotate all faces on mesh by 1 degree
import bpy, bmesh,math
from mathutils import Matrix
bm = bmesh.new()
bm.from_mesh(bpy.data.objects['Cube'].data)
for face in bm.faces:
        
            
    axis = face.normal
    rot = Matrix.Rotation(math.radians(1) , 4, axis)
    cen = face.calc_center_bounds()
    mat = bpy.data.objects['Cube'].matrix_basis
    bmesh.ops.rotate(bm, cent=cen, matrix=rot, verts=face.verts,space = mat)
    
bm.to_mesh(bpy.data.objects['Cube'].data)
bm.free()