Architectural_Design_with_SketchUp

Chapter 4 Using Plugins Effectively
Manifold
By TIG—Free [5, 6]
To be able to 3D-print an object in SketchUp (or use any of SketchUp’s Solid Tools), it is important
that the object consist of manifold geometry. This means it cannot have gaps or disconnected
geometry. This plugin tries to fix grouped geometry and gives you errors if it can’t do so.
You can easily check whether SketchUp sees your group or component as a “watertight”
manifold by looking for the volume entry in the Entity Info window. If there is no such
entry, then you may have gaps in your object.
TIP
Outer Shell and Solid Tools
By SketchUp—Included with software
Technically, this is not a plugin, since all the tools are included in SketchUp. They do, however,
need to be included in this list.
Outer Shell takes several intersecting solids and deletes all interior geometry (creating
a “watertight” manifold shape). It also produces clean intersections. You can use this tool
(which is included in the free SketchUp version) to preprocess your geometry for 3D printing.
The other Solid Tools (Intersect, Union, Subtract, Trim, and Split) are also very useful in
modeling for fabrication; however, they are included only in the Pro version of SketchUp.
Phlatscript
By Phlatboyz—Free [www.phlatboyz.com, 9]
This plugin allows you to preprocess geometry in SketchUp and export it to G-Code for CNC
(Computer Numerically Controlled) milling. It was developed by the makers of the Phlatprinter
for that machine, but the code might work with other CNC mills as well.
Polyreducer
By Whaat—Free [5, 6]
Although the author claims that this plugin is not perfect, it is a good tool to have if you
need to reduce face count in any polyface mesh.
Slicer
By TIG—Free [5, 6]
When you have an object that encloses a volume (such as a blimp or a sculpture), then one
manufacturing method is the egg-crate approach, whereby the object is sliced up into evenly
spaced thin sheets in two main directions. You can then cut the 2D sheets and reassemble
them into the “core” of the original shape by sliding each one into overlapping slots.
This plugin allows you to egg-crate any geometry. Its options let you specify dimensions
and spacing of the slices as well as other parameters. After the slicing operation, all slices can
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