SketchUp Extension Review: TrueBend

Arguably the most popular 3D modeling and design software on earth, Trimble SketchUp gathers its immense following and customer base due to the user-friendliness and flexibility of the application. The flexibility comes from the enabling of adding external code, called “extensions” or “plugins”, into SketchUp. These extensions enhance the way SketchUp tools behave, add new tools or new content to enrich and ease your usage of the software.

One of the points to remember while intending to use SketchUp extensions is that only the SketchUp Pro version or above allows the users to import extensions within it. The Free, Make or Shop versions do not have this ability.

Most extensions for SketchUp are found in the Extension Warehouse from Trimble, which has released the 2.0 version of it recently with new and improved features. Other third-party web sites also host SketchUp extensions. One of these Extensions is called TrueBend, and it is that of which we will talk about today.

What is TrueBend

TrueBend from Thom Thom is a quite popular Trimble SketchUp extension found in the Extension Warehouse. When integrated with SketchUp, it enables the user to bend a given object for a certain degree. It will retain the original length of the object instance. The plugin uses the bottom front of the bounding box edge, therefore the user needs to line up the instant axis line up with the bend.

How TrueBend Works

The TrueBend plugin helps the user in bending an object within SketchUp for a given radius. It will also help you to bend the instance while maintaining the length of the object. Let us take an example to understand this better. Consider that the user wishes to bow a shape 60 inches long and the curvature of the bend is 180 degrees. To do this, the user needs to select ‘TrueBend’ in the menus or toolbar, and then click and drag the red bar on the SketchUp design screen to bend the object. Alternatively, you can click the red bar and enter the curvature value in degrees in the VCB for a precise manual curving. After finishing the dragging, or hitting enter after giving the value, you will see that the object instance has bowed to form the expected shape yet it still retains the original length.
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Published By
Rajib Dey
www.sketchup4architect.com
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