3D Printing Archives | SketchUp for Design

Compound (Boolean) Geometry in SketchUp with Solid Tools

February 29, 2024February 28, 2024 by Alex SchreyerNo Comments

When you need to create complex geometry in SketchUp, it is often better to break an item into positive (solid) parts and negative (void) parts that you can then subtract from each other with SketchUp's Pro's Solid Tools. In this example, I am showing this process for a cast steel structural connector, but the principle applies to many other shapes as well. Because this process uses solid geometry from beginning to end, the result is also a solid and therefore easily 3D printable. Side view My model doesn't replicate the geometry of this piece exactly, but this is an example of such geometry Tutorial Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrhfJjT8YBQ Links Some of the tools I used here are: SketchUp's built-in tools: Solid Tools (specifically the Subtract tool) Parallel-projection camera view Hide / show FredoCorner Extension - One of Fredo6's excellent extensions that allows you to round corners...

Making SketchUp Objects 3D Printable

November 15, 2023February 23, 2024 by Alex SchreyerNo Comments

In this video tutorial I show my basic approach for making SketchUp objects (like the revolved vase from my last tutorial) 3D printable. In essence, the process involves checking whether a SketchUp model is considered a "solid" by the software and then fixing any issues that may prevent it from becoming a solid. Interested in more detail? This video covers only some of the basic techniques - I explain the process in much more detail in Chapter 6 of my book "Architectural Design with SketchUp." Tutorial Video https://youtu.be/UXFUrHTZ-k8 Links ThomThom's Solid Inspector - The main extension/tool for fixing solid-ness of an object. I hope you find this technique useful and create some cool items. Feel free to post those in the discussion area below....

Turn yourself (or a loved one) into a (Rubin-)vase (Video)

November 6, 2023December 9, 2024 by Alex SchreyerNo Comments

In this video tutorial I show how you can take a portrait of a loved one (or yourself) and - using SketchUp - turn it into a revolved object that you can then use as a vase, cup, candle holder etc. This technique is simple and makes for a great gift (e.g. by 3D printing). As a bonus, I show how you can create a face-morphing shape with two portraits. Keen readers of this blog may know that I covered this technique in a step-by-step tutorial in one of my earliest posts. I had never done a video tutorial on this technique, however, which is hereby remedied. Tutorial Video https://youtu.be/d5y5f965YAs Links While the basic technique uses only SketchUp's built-in tools, I also demonstrate some of Fredo6's extensions here: Joint PushPull - An extension that lets you thicken any surface. FredoSpline - This is useful for creating smooth curves and converting between different curve types. Curviloft - This lets you "morph" between two outlines. Rubin Vase - Apparently this effect...

Just Released: Third Edition of “Architectural Design with SketchUp”

July 5, 2023July 5, 2023 by Alex SchreyerNo Comments

I am very excited to be announcing the release of the third edition of my book “Architectural Design with SketchUp”! You can as of now find this new edition on Amazon, Wiley and everywhere else where books are sold. It is available as full-color paperback and e-book editions. Since the publication of the second edition in 2015, many changes have happened to SketchUp and in the larger realm of architectural software: Trimble introduced a web version of SketchUp as well as an iPad version that has proven very popular. Real-time rendering options have increased in availability, and point cloud modeling is now often used on renovation projects. Beyond that, many new extensions have been published, others have gone away or have been replaced with built-in functionality, and their underlying Ruby engine has received new and updated capabilities. All of these changes made an update to the second edition necessary, which led to me thoroughly editing and rewriting the entire text. I updated screenshots...

Patterned Panels from Images and Formulas

October 16, 2022February 23, 2024 by Alex SchreyerNo Comments

In this video tutorial I show how you can use my Scale By Tools SketchUp extension to create various designs for patterned panels. We start with sine and power equations and then use images to form intricate screen designs. This video follows a presentation that I gave at SketchUp's 3D Basecamp in 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu-8x8Y1dnw I had covered some of these techniques in an earlier video, included below for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmvTROcPETY I hope you are enjoying this extension. Let me know in the comments how you are using it....