Book Image

3D Printing with SketchUp - Second Edition

By : Aaron Dietzen Aka 'the Sketchup Guy'
Book Image

3D Printing with SketchUp - Second Edition

By: Aaron Dietzen Aka 'the Sketchup Guy'

Overview of this book

Working with the amazing 3D printing technology and getting access to the printing hardware is now easier than ever before. While there are many other resources that cover the general process of 3D printing, this book is the ultimate guide to creating models for 3D printing using SketchUp. You’ll start with a basic understanding of how SketchUp is used in the 3D printing workflow and jump into the steps to create a print-ready model using only SketchUp. This 3D printing book will guide you in using SketchUp to modify existing 3D files and cover additional tools that make SketchUp an even more powerful modeling tool. As you advance, you’ll learn how to transform 2D images into 3D printable solids, how to create multi-part prints that can be assembled without the use of fasteners or glue, and how to make sure your model, whether designed from scratch or assembled from preexisting geometry, is ready to be made real via your 3D printer. By the end of this book, you’ll have the confidence to bring your design ideas to life by generating your own 3D print-ready models with SketchUp.
Table of Contents (13 chapters)
1
Part 1: Getting Prepared to Print
6
Part 2: Modeling for 3D Printing

Deciding which version of SketchUp to use

One of the great things about SketchUp is that it is available in several different versions. From the free version to a high-end package that includes things such as rendering software and some advanced construction tools, SketchUp has a version that works for most workflows. While we do not need to go too deep into the SketchUp offerings, I do want to take just a moment to look at the different ways that you can get SketchUp running and the functionality available in each version. Before we look at actually using SketchUp, let’s cover the different ways you can get hold of SketchUp.

Applications versus plans

There was a day, not too long ago, when getting SketchUp on your computer was a pretty simple process. Today, it is not difficult, but you will need to think about the version that you want before you start downloading software or subscribing to anything. For this reason, I want to spend just a few minutes explaining how...