3skeng 2019 Mount 3D: SketchUp Extension Review

SHK, an engineering and consulting firm working for the high-tech Semiconductor industry has been developing extensions for SketchUp for a while now. Their engineering and software team work hand in hand to develop powerful extensions for professionals using SketchUp for designing engineering plans, named under ‘3skeng’.

The latest from the 3skeng group is the 3skeng Mount. It is a plugin for SketchUp 2017 and above, helping users design and document MEP and 3D support and secondary framework including ducts and pipes. It is actually a part of the 3skeng Engineering package which also contains 3skeng Pipe, 3skeng Steelwork and 3skeng Channel.

Features: 3skeng Mount is your go-to tool for drawing secondary and support steelwork models. This may or may not include proper fittings, supports, and so much more. The libraries available will let you choose from different channel types, while a memory function comes invaluable in doing repetitive work.

One of the best options available in this extension is called the “Mount Tool”. It will recognize 3skeng pipe elements by a presection method, in which you can input your choice of pipes and duct definitions. Moreover, it can automatically align rotations, positions and elevations. You can do this just by a double click - how cool is that?

The Mount Tool does more than that. It will pick up 3skeng Steelwork elements to attach supports to them. You can direct it to attach the supports to top of the beam flanges and clamps, or to the side of the flanges.


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Published By
Rajib Dey
www.sketchup4architect.com
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SketchUp Extension Review : Solid Inspector 2

One of the best things about Trimble SketchUp is that it can extend its abilities by adding plugins or extensions to it. Today, we will talk about Solid Inspector 2, one such extension that helps in preparing your 3D model for 3D printing and other volumetric operations.

What is Solid Inspector 2

Solid Inspector 2 for SketchUp 2014 or later is a plugin or extension that you can use with a registered SketchUp Pro software. It finds and highlights the issues that are preventing your model from being a complete solid.

There are three main kinds of discrepancies that Solid Inspector 2 can detect in a given object: Model not solid, Useless face in model, Inverted face, Hidden lines.

The SI2 will highlight errors in a model and jump from one error to the next, repairing as you go. This gives the extension tremendous usability in confirming and repairing a model's solid shell. For anyone making solid models or 3D printing, this is an indispensable plugin.

Technical Details

The Solid Inspector 2 (SI2) extension can be found in the Extension Warehouse. The plugin is so popular, that chances are you will see it in the very first screen in the featured or most popular sections; if not, here is the link for the plugin page. The extension is also available in the GitHub repository, you can find it here.

Being an open-source development, you can download and use it for free. The RBZ is fairly small and installs fast. You would have to have Trimble SketchUp 2014 or newer in order to use the plugin. If you are using an older version of SketchUp, you can consider downloading the first version of the tool instead.

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Published By
Rajib Dey
www.sketchup4architect.com
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What’s New in Extension Warehouse 2.0

One of the most beloved and favored 3D modeling and designing software is Trimble SketchUp. It is immensely popular not only among professionals but also with amateurs as well, thanks to its simple interface, easy-to-learn tools, comparatively cheap pricing, and great performance. However, arguably the most effective reason for SketchUp’s popularity would be its awesome flexibility and adaptiveness.

Trimble SketchUp achieves this by enabling users to attach “extensions” or “plug-ins” with the mother software, which augment its functionality to no end. These extensions can be developed by professionals as well as amateurs and change or upgrade the way you can draw in SketchUp, or improve its performance, or provide new resources to play with, or even connect to external software for additional support.

Many developers choose to host these extensions on their own site. However, the most common location to find the best SketchUp extensions is at the Extension Warehouse. The Extension Warehouse is an online resource full of plug-ins developed especially for SketchUp. The extensions are neatly categorized and presented here. When you wish to install a given plugin, just download the corresponding RBZ file and use your SketchUp’s Extension Manager tool to assimilate it.

One word of note here that support for plugins is not enabled in the Free or Shop versions of SketchUp. Only SketchUp Pro and above supports plugins, opening up a whole new world of customization for you. Whether you are an artist or an architect, the Extension Warehouse will have the right plugins, often a whole bunch of them, to set up your SketchUp in the way that best fits you, offering you the tools that you really need above and beyond SketchUp’s default toolset.

In their neverending quest to bring you the features that you need most and tools that make your designing and rendering efforts much easier, the Trimble team has just launched a few awesome improvements and enhancements that are sure to bring you a bundle of joy into your workflow. Let us see what are the new stuff in the Extension Warehouse 2.0.

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Published By

Rajib Dey

www.sketchup4architect.com

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How to import a Google Map into SketchUp

SKETCHUP: It is a three dimensional computer modeling software program that is used for architectural designing, film making, building designing, etc. Sketchup has different versions:

1. SKETCHUP MAKE(FREE): It gives free access to users. Users can login once account has been created.

2. SKETCHUP PRO($695): It is a premier version of the software containing some exclusive features like importing numerous file formats, achieving 2 documentarian software, layout tools as well as a style builder to generate convention edge styles for models.

STEPS TO IMPORT A GOOGLE MAP INTO SKETCHUP:

1. Initially, at the top screen, open GEO Location and then click on ADD LOCATION down in file tab. Here, one can identify the location according to choice similar to google map. For instance, while searching for ENGLAND, then simply type “ENGLAND” to it.

2. Any custom address can also be included. Besides, the box with white border can also be utilized to choose specific region.

3. As soon as the particular site is found, select a wider information on the site or extremely detailed information on your site.

4. Wider information is very suitable when you do not want to remodel the site or remain in a rural site without pertinent surroundings.

5. For more densely colonized site as well as modeling a site, more detailed version is preferred.

6. After getting clear idea about the type of information needed, you can then set your zoom. A close-up zoom provides complex details and zoomed out version provides a general view.

7. As soon as your region is selected, choose GRAB button to put in the map data for your model.

8. Once the map data remains in your model, it is possible to track areas, streets, locations onto it. Besides, the areas can be drawn for building. You can also obtain rough ideas and a location stand point.

9. In order to verify the angle of terrain, click terrain option in the google toolbar to tilt the terrain to specific angles according to your choice as well as get a broader view.

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Published By
Rajib Dey
www.sketchup4architect.com
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"Bending an object in SketchUp”

David Richards always works on different tools from different SketchUp extensions to create some differentiates in his models and this time he made a tutorial on Radial Bend tool.

About David Richards: He is a Biomedical Equipment Technician and provides anesthesia and Respiratory equipment for the largest medical facility in southeast Minnesota. Beside that he works in his garage woodworking shop where he has made various wooden items, he is a regular SketchUp user who uses it for designing projects, working out joinery details and solving the order of operations in time. He has made a various range of SketchUp models like tiny parts for medical equipment, large architectural and other construction projects. Most of his models are furniture and other woodworking related things, besides being a SketchUp users and woodworker; he helps other woodworkers around the world to use the program through his blogs in ‘Fine Woodworking’ which has become very popular among the woodworkers.

David Richards has drawn a SketchUp model and going to show his viewers the tip of bending any object in it; at first he drew a SketchUp model while creating plans for Michael Robbins’s Contemporary Desk that is marked in the current issue of Fine Woodworking Magazine. The desk mixes practical utility with elegant details like its slender base with turned legs and curved side profiles; the construction is divided into two parts that are top and base. The joinery for the top section is elementary mortise and tennos; the two-part desktop is part solid wood and part plywood and covered with leather to make a blotter. The base with its turned legs is a straightforward frame secured by bridle joints. This leather on the blotter surface is represented by creating a component at first that is twisted up at one corner.

The work of this bending is easily done with the help of the Radial Bend tool in the FredoScale extension and here is a little detail of that work.

Radial Bend tool: Radial Bend deforms an object by radically bending the deformation axis which is perpendicular to the base reference plane. The radial bend is applied to the selected end of the deformation axis while the opposite end stays fixed and when the mouse moves, the shape radically bends in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction as per a circular bending track that is displayed and is subdivided in degrees. The orientation of the bend may be rotated around the deformation axis and done through the rotation handle attached at the bottom of the axis. This control is activated by clicking on it and an extra rotational track is shown to assist users with the positioning of the rotation.

In this model, David started working from the base for the blotter; he took a component, copied it pasted outside the component. Next he took Push/Pull tool to give the component a little thickness; next he thought took the curve tool to start the guideline to set the arbitrary. Now it is the time to bend the object, so he took the Radial Bend tool from FredoScale extension, placed it on the object, here users can set the number of faces they want in the curved object, next he drag the cursor along the guideline click on the corner and bring that corner up to make it a bended corner.

Source:www.finewoodworking.com




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Published By
Rajib Dey
www.sketchup4architect.com
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AUGmentecture 1.0 – The newest sketchup extension

Zarik B has developed AUGmentecture, the newest sketchup extension available in extension warehouse. It is compatible with SketchUp 2016, SketchUp 2017, SketchUp 2018, SketchUp 2019.

AUGmentecture belongs to a service that allows you to observe complex 3D models on a mobile device in an Augmented Reality format. The AUGmentecture extension facilitates you to coherently and safely upload your 3D models directly from Sketchup to your AUG account to see them afterwards with your mobile device. You have to only choose the model and it is possible to view the model on your mobile device.

The purpose of AUGmentecture is to make augmented reality an indispensable design communication and collaboration tool for architects, designers, and artists.

One will be able to download the AUGmentecture app for iPhone from here (itunes.apple.com) or for Android Phone from here (play.google.com).

Go through the following video tutorial, to get more clear idea.

Video Source AUGmentecture



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Published By
Rajib Dey
www.sketchup4architect.com
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"Design parts in SketchUp to connect for 3D printing”

SketchUp models are suitable for 3D printing but it only can happen when the parts of any model are assembled together, there are different ways to assemble those parts.

In the previous tutorials of Sketch Up, Aidan and Rebecca have shown us the way to cut Sketch Up model into parts but the matter is now to assemble them in a way for printing them. There are many other strategies and features in SketchUp like mechanical or else to help in building into the model to assemble the parts together. Aidan and Rebecca are going to show the users through different processes and here is a brief discussion on it.

Tolerance in SketchUp: It is the difference between the sizes of users’ part in SketchUp and the size of the part produced by their 3D printer. Suppose a user has drawn a 10mm cube in SketchUp and printed it, none of the sizes of the printed cube will be shown exactly 10mm; though these are very small differences like a few tenths of a millimeter more r less. But they can create problems if their 3D printed parts have to connect with the parts that already exist in the real world. That’s why the manufacturer of the 3D printers gives a unique number for the machine’s tolerance which may be in either plus or minus value. This value is called the Maximum variation for that machine and users both need to be aware while working.

Tolerance in SketchUp: Clearance is like an extra space for parts to slide past one another but users may face a little difficulty while installing similar size peg in a similar sized hole as they will not go together. The peg and the hole will not fit properly with each other in SketchUp but in real world they will not react like this as there the peg needs to connect with friction. The exterior of the peg is similar as the exterior of the hole that the friction between them will keep the peg from veer going in if the fit is too perfect for them. In that case, users need to add a small amount of space called clearance which will help the two parts to slide past each other; the amount of clearance depends on the exact movement of the part.

Glue in SketchUp: Glue is the universal way to stick things but it is also the weakest and most unreliable way as it has very little strength o keep the things tighter for long.

• The plastics which are used in 3D prints defined by the names ABS, PLA, PVA, nylon and PETT; all these plastics need a special glue to stick and the glues have to order online.
• Biodegradable starch plastics consists a crystalline structure that doesn’t go well with liquid superglue which stays liquid and move unexpectedly across the surface of the part.
• Instead of glue, users can use epoxy which is though a messy stuff but will stick to anything.
• No glue can stick to the flexible materials for 3D printers so to attach parts, a process called thermal welding.

Snap fittings in SketchUp: These are properly designed to pop the models together after the parts come off the printer and as these are removable so users can change out many parts of the model as per design. In SketchUp, snap fittings are created by two general steps: 1) creating the tongue with the Line and Push/Pull tools; 2) creating a matching capture point on the opposing part.

Press Fit in SketchUp: A press fit is the very little clearance between the two parts while designing and when the parts are pressed together forcibly, friction keeps the joint together without any extra hardware or glue. To make a press fit, the Offset tool is used to create an outer lip on one side of the connection and an inner lip on other side.

Bolts, Screws and Hardware in SketchUp: The strongest connection between 3D printed parts is holding together with metal hardware and these connections are great for things that are more than just prototypes. While integrating hardware into the design, include hardware in the SketchUp model as it will take measurements of the parts users need to use and model them in SketchUp. Then save the components in the component library for using them in further models.

Source:www.sketchuphub.com

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Published By

Rajib Dey

www.sketchup4architect.com

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Learn the process for designing a walking desk with sketchup

In this exclusive sketchup video, Art Mulder shows the step-by-step process for designing treadmill desk/walking desk project with sketchup.

Initially, to start the design of the walking desk that will be developed to be arranged over a trademill, the 3d model of a trade mill is downloaded from the 3d warehouse.

Double click on the component and delete the upper portion of the treadmill desk.

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Published By

Rajib Dey

www.sketchup4architect.com

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