Sketchup questions...

[lancer525]

I'm getting to the point where I am going to have to let the cat out of the bag, even though my better judgment tells me not to say exactly what I am doing.

Let me explain that first, before I go on to my problem.

I have this fear of saying I am working on a project, only to have something come up and the project not coming to fruition. I'm afraid I'll disappoint a lot of people who were looking forward to it, and embarrass myself for making claims and promises that are seen as grandiose, that never get finished. That's why I don't want to say what I'm working on.

Now, I have Sketchup, and I've drawn one of the first parts in the project. (Let's call it Design Study #8) I have this shape, and I have parts of it split into smaller component parts. I've tried the "unfold" plugin, but it does not give me the pieces I'm looking for. Imagine an octagon that is 1 inch thick. Sketchup is giving me the flat face of the octagon, with the flat sides of the octagon folded out like tabs, when I need the shape of the 1 inch "strip" that would go around the edge.

What would be the best way to show this over a very complex and complicated shape? Does anyone have any experience with Sketchup that would enable me to manage the unfold in a way that it unfolds the EDGE in a continuous strip and not like the face with tabs?

I can email images to anyone who is willing to help.

[Lex]

I have no idea how sketchup's unfold function works, but wouldn't it be simple to rather move those unfolded faces around and align them with the edges they should be aligning instead.

--I hope sketchup do have a proper align function and don't have to be done by hand...

[lancer525]

I don't know Sketchup well enough to be certain that I am aligning the flat faces in the perpendicular plane. There are also curves and angles in the edge, so it is too complex to move the "edge band" around. There has to be a way to flatten out this band. I just don't know what it is.

[Paperbeam]

Have you tried saving the file (Export - 3D Model) and opening/unfolding it in Pepakura?

Terry

[airdave]

if you can unfold the shape (top face and surrounding sides) into any flat shape
and then transfer that layout to a vector art program.
You could redraw or trace the shapes and then move them, reposition them into any pattern for printing, measuring, add tabs, etc

[lancer525]

Terry: I'm not working with Pepakura... ;)

Dave: The problem with trying that is, there's a very large number of really odd angles, and I can't be sure that the maneuvering of the pieces will maintain enough accuracy for them to fit properly. There's something I don't know about this, but I don't know what it is.

I think the overall problem is one of the program deciding what the "face" as opposed to the "side" is. It unfolds the sides, and not the face.

[APA-168]

I think I can help, I'll send you an e-mail. I'm writing a tutorial on working with sketchup, and I can send you the bits that are related to unfolding.

[Paperbeam]

"Terry: I'm not working with Pepakura..."

Yes, I'm aware of that. The basic version of Pepakura is free to use and I've had problems sometimes using the unfold feature in Sketchup myself. All you have to do is export/save the file, turn on Pepakura, then open it (the file) and press on the unfold button.

I find it helps sometimes to work with multiple programs to get a different outcome for unfolding that works. I also use Siatki as well, as one of its excellent features is the unfolding of cones in rings instead of the awkward looking shapes in Pepakura.

To each their own, however.

Terry

[RyanShort1]

Are you using an automatic unfold tool like Waybe, or a manual unfold tool? There are several unfolding tools available, and frankly I use whichever is giving me the best results. It sounds like you need to use the manual unfold tool and keep to the faces on the sides of the object.
I could probably help if needed.

Ryan

[lancer525]

I have the free plugin.rb from Jim.

He and I are discussing it in email exchange, but it's not looking all that good. I've sent a couple of emails to Jakub Zamirowski about getting a version of Siatki that works, (all the ones I've been able to download have a weird error message in Polish) and I think that a combination of the two might be the way to go.

Oh, and I'm still looking for a good rotating widget design that can be used to mount a small object on a larger one that allows for rotation, (like a record on a turntable) and fastens the two together... ;)

[RyanShort1]

I have the free plugin.rb from Jim.

He and I are discussing it in email exchange, but it's not looking all that good. I've sent a couple of emails to Jakub Zamirowski about getting a version of Siatki that works, (all the ones I've been able to download have a weird error message in Polish) and I think that a combination of the two might be the way to go.

Oh, and I'm still looking for a good rotating widget design that can be used to mount a small object on a larger one that allows for rotation, (like a record on a turntable) and fastens the two together... ;)
Would you want to email me the file so I can take a look at it and see if I can unfold it and send it back?

Ryan

[lancer525]

Sure. We can give that a try.

Also, Jim suggested that I try working at full size (1:1) instead of 1/200. He says that the proggie has problems working in smaller scales sometimes.

Shoot me an email, and I'll give you a copy of the file.

lancer 525 at g mail dot com

[Paperbeam]

I've already designed and printed out two designs which I'm trying out today.

I can send you the complete files when I'm finished.

I was thinking of texturing in marble and wood - would you like that?

Terry