was told sketchup is bad for 3d printing

[syburn]

Hi,

Was just talking to the 3d printing workshop and when they did not mention sketchup as a software to use, I asked why and they said it causes a lot of problems. I have not 3d printed anything let, but if I do it woud be with sketchup as thats what I'm more comfortable with.

But is Sketchup problematic for 3d printers? Another person said there is a lot of issues with faces.

Look forward to any feedback you might have.

Regards

Simon

[Hieru]

I'd be interested in an answer to this too.

As long as your modelling is watertight and prepared properly for printing, I wouldn't have thought that there would be an issue.

Box seems to get some great results from SUp, so it might just be that this company isn't used to working with good quality SUp models.

[kaas]

I made a few models for 3d printing (even for a HQ expensive 3d printer) with SketchUp and it works fine. I don't see any problems there.

Maybe the shop ran into people that didn't have much experience and made 'bad' 3d models?!

What kind of models do you intend to 3d print? Why not just try making your model in SketchUp, 3d print and analyze problems if they occur?

[Hieru]

Let’s face it, if the Warehouse is anything to go by, there are a lot of people making ‘bad’ SUp models.

I’m often sent models by clients and it’s rare that I don’t have to rebuild everything from scratch.

[JQL]

Sketchup has all kinds of users, that's the beauty of it. People who know what they're doing will have good results, people who don't... well, they can always learn how to do it.

[Box]

Basically anyone saying Sketchup is no good for 3d printing simply hasn't learnt to use Sketchup effectively.

Some other software can be less likely to cause problems because they are solid modellers whereas sketchup is a surface modeller. Solid modellers make everything out of solid lumps, but sketchup needs you to understand how to make a manifold solid.

[Hieru]

A nice ‘solid’ confirmation from box .

[syburn]

The guy was expecting me to use Solid works, but as im an Interior Designer its more natural that I come from the Sketchup or 3D Max direction.

I cant say if I am a good modeler though. But I do expect to be creating more curvey free form models when I do to 3D printing, which i dont have any experience in doing actually. Bit scared of leaving my world of boxes behind.

Cheers

[d12dozr]

Box nailed it - I totally agree that anyone who learns how to use Sketchup "properly" with good modeling practices will be just fine. Keep in mind that plugins are virtually a necessity for making great models for 3D printing.

Every CAD program has limitations, Sketchup included. Solid modeling programs can be easier to make a solid model, often providing a warning if the modeling operation will make a non-manifold model. The level of complexity certainly takes some of the "fun" out of the modeling that Sketchup is known for.

I'm a big fan of using the right tool for the job. Sketchup is fantastic for making architectural-type models - no big surprise. Solidworks is great for mechanical engineering models. Blender is good for artistic purposes, and Zbrush for character modeling.

Can any of the programs be used for making other models than what they're best known for? Sure! Half the battle is knowing how to use the program, and great users can perform magic in their tool of choice. However, you're not going to win any character-modeling awards using Solidworks.

Personally I still use Sketchup for some projects, but I've mostly outgrown it for Fusion 360. Parametric modeling is a major time saver when iterating a product, and it's much easier to make complex organic objects.

So now @syburn - the question is, what are you modeling for 3D printing? If the models are similar to what you already use Sketchup for, then you'll be just fine.

[syburn]

I want to explore 3d printing in interiors so i expect I will be looking for freeform and organic forms as conventional construction is alread doing square types of designs very well.

So its more organic, curvy, with patterns on the surface.

Regards

[cotty]

I've printed a lot of models in 3D and all of them were modeled with SketchUp. Maybe you should have a look at an online printing service instead?

[d12dozr]

So its more organic, curvy, with patterns on the surface.

You can use Sketchup with plugins like Curviloft and Subdivide and Smooth for a while, but you will run into limitations pretty quickly, especially with patterns on curved surfaces.

You may want to look into using Rhino then. I believe our resident skate park designer Jeff graduated to Rhino for those kind of shapes. Many architects use Rhino as well. It's more accurate and much easier to use for organic shapes. It is still a surface modeler (vs a solid modeler), so you'll want to keep good modeling practices for 3D printing in mind. It'll be much easier for texture mapping your shapes as well.

Fusion360 could work as well, but I haven't seen many architectural projects made with it.

@cotty, I think he's asking more about modeling, than printing.

[pbacot]

How do you use 3d printing in the interior design business?

[smithnovel]

Not actually the problem but it has issues. Sketchup is not too bad. allthat3d can help you in getting a detail idea of it.

[Glenn at home]

Basically anyone saying <insert software> is no good for <insert task> simply hasn't learnt to use <insert software> effectively.

- FTFY

[falk]

I've used SU to design sewing machine parts and toys, and they all 3-d printed just fine. You'll need one of the plugins that write STL files, and then you're good to go.

One trick: if it's a small part and there's fine detail, design it at 1000x scale, then shrink it down before you generate the STL file. SU doesn't like fine details.

[KadirSket]

Bence çok iyi.

[Dave R]

I've used SU to design sewing machine parts and toys, and they all 3-d printed just fine. You'll need one of the plugins that write STL files, and then you're good to go.

One trick: if it's a small part and there's fine detail, design it at 1000x scale, then shrink it down before you generate the STL file. SU doesn't like fine details.

STL export has been a native thing in SketchUp for some time now. No need for a plugin for that.

Modeling at 1000x is good but no need to scale the model down before exporting the STL. Model with units set to meters but tell the slicer that the units are millimeters. The STL file is unitless, after all.

Here's something I did in SketchUp this evening. It's 3D printable. The image is from the slicer.

Screenshot - 9_23_2019 , 8_17_54 PM.png

[PhilLeGall]

Good morning to all of you.
Is SketchUp performing well to produce STL gear files?

[Dave R]

It can perform well for that sort of thing but it depends on how well the model is made.

[Dave R]

Screenshot - 9_12_2020 , 4_31_24 PM.png