SketchUp and 3D printing – FineWoodworking

In recent times “excessive tech” instruments like CNC routers and 3D printers have grow to be far more accessible for the common woodworker. I’ve been discovering that having a 3D printer makes it simple to create fixtures and jigs for woodworking and modeling the objects in SketchUp is de facto easy.

A buddy of mine who is just not a woodworker, requested me if I might make some low-profile cams for them to make use of as clamps on a venture. My first inclination would have been to exit to the store and search for some appropriate scraps from which to make these items however proper now my store is just not out there as a result of it’s packed in a storage unit. So the second choice out there to me is to print them. On this video I’ll present how I modeled the cam for printing.

There’re a couple of issues to remember when modeling for 3D printing. First, to ensure that an object to be 3D printable it should be what is named a”manifold strong” That’s, there should be no holes within the surfaces. In easy phrases, SketchUp must establish the group or part as “strong”. In an effort to be thought of strong each edge should be shared by precisely two faces. So no stray edges, no holes in surfaces, and no inside faces.

Second, since SketchUp was designed primarily as a device for architects and is de facto supposed for modeling bigger objects, it has a short-edge limitation. That’s, endpoints should be at the least 0.001 in. aside so that SketchUp acknowledges them as separate factors. If they’re too shut collectively SketchUp will contemplate them coincident and delete one which generally ends in lacking faces. The easy solution to keep away from that is to mannequin at a bigger dimension. On this video I do the modeling with models set to meters and enter inches as if they’re meters. This makes it attainable to create a excessive stage of element with out operating into the short-edge limitation.

The slicer I take advantage of solely imports .stl information utilizing millimeters for the models so for fashions the I create as inches, I scale them up by an element of 25.4 earlier than exporting the .stl file. So long as the export models are set accurately this works simply high quality. There’s no must scale the objects all the way down to actual world dimensions earlier than exporting.

On this video I used a few extensions. Listed here are the hyperlinks to them.

Curve Maker for drawing the spiral. The Extension Warehouse compatibility record reveals this one is just not suitable with SketchUp variations past 2018 but it surely works simply high quality in newer variations.

PathCopy for distributing the “drills” I used to make the holes. This one additionally reveals compatibility up by means of 2018 but it surely additionally works high quality in later variations.

I didn’t want it for this mannequin however Strong Inspector² may be very helpful for figuring out points together with your elements in the event that they aren’t strong.

Hopefully you’ll find one thing to use to your modeling or your 3D printing.

-Dave