2008-09-06 03:02:05 UTC
Rotation and translation are, in general, completely independent of one another. Thus a formulation that describes rotation does not "take into account any translation". If there are constraints and/or a mechanism that couples rotation and translation, then the two are related. For example, when an airplane rotates in pitch, the angle of attack changes which increases or decreases the lift and the airplane translates up or down; this is a coupling factor. In the absence of such a factor or constraint, there is no relationship between rotation and translation.
You say you are trying to come up with an axis angle. What are you starting with and what do you mean by an axis angle?
I am a spacecraft attitude maneuver and control engineer and have worked in the realm of rotations and their mathematics for 30 years. I may be able to help if I can understand your problem.
