Designing 3D-Printable Pendants with SketchUp

Designing 3D-Printable Pendants with SketchUp

In this tutorial I cover several approaches and techniques for creating 3D-printable pendants from SketchUp. This includes designs that need to be hanging in the balance (for pendants, earrings, mobile elements, etc.) as well as those with multiple support points (e.g. for name necklaces). Tutorial Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2W0bKW8guM Links The extensions and websites that I mention in the video are: Shapeways - A 3D printing service that lets you even create objects in precious metals. Face Centroid and Area Properties - My SketchUp extension that you need to find the centroid of faces. Solid Inspector - A SketchUp extension that is used to check for 3D printability. Did you design anything with this approach? Share it below in the comments. ...
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Making a 3D-Printable Patterned Panel (with Scale By Tools)

Making a 3D-Printable Patterned Panel (with Scale By Tools)

This video tutorial revisits a parametric 3D printable panel that I created a while ago using plain Ruby code. Since the underlying code is now included in my Scale By Tools extension, I used it to re-create the same panel. Watch the video to see how you can very easily create the same design (or whatever else you want) with it. You can then 3D print it, laser cut, CNC cut, or use a waterjet cutter to create this panel out of many materials. Tutorial Video https://youtu.be/UmvTROcPETY 3D Model You can explore the original 3D model using the viewer below. Just click the image to start it. ...
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Just Published: Two New SketchUp Extensions (Random Tools & Scale By Tools)

Just Published: Two New SketchUp Extensions (Random Tools & Scale By Tools)

I just published two new SketchUp extensions that were both based on Ruby code that was either previously posted on this site or in my book, Architectural Design with SketchUp". Random Tools Ever wanted to place large swaths of randomly-arranged grass in SketchUp as shown in the image above? Have you been frustrated by textures that repeat a bit too much on copied wood boards? Do I have an extension for you... Read the announcement Scale By Tools Using the provided tools, you can scale, move or rotate objects based on an image or a mathematical equation. For the equation, you can choose between a trigonometric function or a power function. It is also possible to use image data to push/pull faces or move vertices, which can be useful to create ripples on water or a heightfield topography. Read the announcement...
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Trimming Solid Objects

Trimming Solid Objects

In this video I use the example of a set of mitered beams to cover how to trim solid (i.e. volumetric 3D) objects in SketchUp. As always, there is more than one way to do this. In addition to what is mentioned in the video, also check out the Eneroth Solid Tools and Eneroth Slicer extensions. Tutorial Video https://youtu.be/HSOKSD4U6IM?list=PLxUo4IvucruefSR-dwEs7pHAjQZgoOhw0 This is a free sample instructional video from the book "Architectural Design with SketchUp: 3D Modeling, Extensions, BIM, Rendering, Making, and Scripting" (2nd Edition). I discuss this topic more in detail in that book's Chapter 2. Want more of these videos? If you own the book, use the password from the inside cover to gain access to all of my remaining videos on Wiley's website: http://www.wiley.com/go/schreyer2e. If you don't yet have your own copy, follow the links in the sidebar to get one. It is a great reference for SketchUp! ...
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Patterned Panel + Bending Extension = Cool Candle Holder

Patterned Panel + Bending Extension = Cool Candle Holder

A rendering of the candle holder Now that the days are getting shorter, it may be a nice home decorating idea to create a decorative candle holder. Having the powers of SketchUp and computational design methods as well as 3D printing at our fingertips, it does, of course, make sense to create something more interesting than just a boring lampshade. This brief example uses the patterned panel exercise from Chapter 7 to create the basic geometry. Of course you can replace the sinusoidal wave pattern easily now with another beautiful function, or you could even have the cutout pattern generated based on colors in an image, which allows you to make it look like a logo, landscape, etc. Since the resulting shape needed to have the pattern cut into a curved surface, there were basically two approaches: 1) create a curved surface and place the geometry onto it by arranging it radially (and then subtracting it), or 2) creating the panels flat and...
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