Sketup Question

That would limit me up a bit when designing a free-flow kidney-shaped countertop for an island then? (I'm serious here....)

Reply to
Robatoy
Loading thread data ...

In the spirit of propping up SU with work arounds, you could intersect a cylinder with a plane and extract the ellipse. More generally, use a cone to generate the ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola.

Reply to
MikeWhy

Was that a bottle of scotch or a bottle of cognac I was supposed to send you?

=3D0)

Reply to
Robatoy

That would limit me up a bit when designing a free-flow kidney-shaped countertop for an island then? (I'm serious here....)

======== No NURBS, therefore no splines of any kind, 2D or otherwise. You could approximate the shape with connected arcs, but changing it after the fact will be a miserable exercise. (Maybe draw it in ACAD and import the DXF? Or scratch one out in Photoshop and trace over it.) On the positive side, it's remarkable what they manage to do with the minimalist feature set. You could, for example, apply a one time edge treatment, such as a cove or ogee, over the shape. Keeping in mind what it isn't helps keep the frustration level down. My dogs don't do square roots, so I ask the wife instead when I need the positive root of a binomial expression. Or something like that.

Reply to
MikeWhy

Yes, and you can type in the number of segments you want. It defaults to 24, which looks smooth enough for any woodworking I've done, but I guess it depends on your monitor. Not sure if there is a limitation of the number of segments, but I would think you could enter the number of pixels on your monitor and it would draw as smooth as your monitor allows. I'm no SU expert by any means, so someone else might actually know.

Unless there is a plug in some where and please

I know you can draw this stuff smooth enough for *my* needs, and here is a tutorial on arcs and circles:

formatting link
probably are talking beyond this, but for any general wood workers that might be thinking SU doesn't draw smooth circles or arcs, this link will show you how SU handles this sort of thing.

Not sure, I have enough trouble just drawing up a work bench with all straight lines. The tutorial above shows all sorts of curves being drawn. Beyond that, not sure what I would do with them. All my work with circles I got by with a compass, a flexible metal ruler, a coffee can, or segments on graph paper by connecting the dots and tracing an outline. SU does at least as well from the looks of what the tutorial shows.

Reply to
Jack Stein

Was that a bottle of scotch or a bottle of cognac I was supposed to send you? =====================================

Cognac?? Dis you say COGNAC?? That brings back memories!! My dad brought back a bottle of cognac from WWII. I drank it. I just couldn't help myself. Mmmmm...., good.

Reply to
Lee Michaels

That would limit me up a bit when designing a free-flow kidney-shaped countertop for an island then? (I'm serious here....)

There is a free hand tool but you better be smooth. ;~)

Reply to
Leon

Hehehehe, well, I think we all know how smooth I am...LOL NOT

Is the freehand tool editable? With handles and nodes and stuff? Or should I just go take another download/look?

Reply to
Robatoy

No it isn't, and AFAIK you can't control the number of line segments sketchup approximates the path with. With arcs you can't make it default to anything above 32, but you can go in and edit it to higher number after. But you can't set it or edit that value on the freehand entities. They are basically useless.

If I had to try to do a kidney shaped counter top in sketchup I would probably start with some rectangles to rough in the shape. When you do arcs sketchup will infer that you want to make the next arc tangent to the previous one if you do them consecutively. But it won't maintain that if you move anything, and it won't pick up the tangency if you do anything in between. So you can "easily" make a free flowing curved surface, but you have to know exactly where you are going before you start. So I would lay out rectangles on one layer and then use the corners like control points for arcs on a different layer. It would only take a few seconds to draw the arcs, so you could muck around with the rectangles and then redraw the arcs. A completely backwards way of doing it, but you'd get there eventually.

-Kevin

Reply to
LEGEND65

Hehehehe, well, I think we all know how smooth I am...LOL NOT

Is the freehand tool editable? With handles and nodes and stuff? Or should I just go take another download/look?

YES! The freehand tool is editable.

You simply complete the freehand line, select it, explode it, and then divide it with constraint points. Then you can select sections and move them which will result in changing the shape of the freehand line. That may not be enough for you but yes it is editable.

Reply to
Leon

That's not ALL it does, it easily draws 3d and 2d drawings that most woodworkers can use in their shops. If a woodworker suddenly feels the need to spend mega dollars on Autocad so they can build something, then I guess you could say it would open doors to Autocad.

Like a stepping stone to real software?

SU is very real, you make little sense...

Oh, sorry, you were just, in you're tired old way, denigrating SU.

*yawn*

Is that is what is in your prospective? The anticipation to

Sorry to confuse you, I meant perspective.

When did that happen? Last I heard you bragging about it, it cost $30 grand, how much is your CNC worth now? My guess is much less since it's used? I'd bet though there are CNC machines that cost a lot more than yours, and may even make yours look like a toy, with limited capabilities, like a "stepping stone" to a "REAL" CNC machine... do ya think?

Reply to
Jack Stein

On Mar 5, 11:06=A0am, Jack Stein wrote: [snipped the usual drivel]

You just ooooze envy, Jack.

Reply to
Robatoy

This is a BS response - comparable to saying that a table saw and a set of hole saws is a complete and adequate set of cutting tools.

I'm not sure what your hang-up on CNC tooling is, unless you have some kind of anti-precision prejudice. I have two CNC routers, and the more precise - see

formatting link
- was shop built (mostly of wood!) and contains less than $1000 worth of materials. It interfaces with free-for-the-downloading control software. Your references to AutoCAD, billion dollar projects, and years of training are just plain silly.

Only if there is no need to move forward from the toolset provided by Euclid of Alexandria more than 2000 years ago.

At the risk of belaboring the obvious, the world has moved on. A software package that gives woodworkers access only to what was known two thousand years ago, however conveniently and prettily, is sadly outdated.

Agreed - if your project is sufficiently simple, a pencil can be an adequate solution. Now consider one of my projects

formatting link
would you tackle that with a pencil? And before you talk about that being too "far out" to matter to woodworkers, I'll mention that that project's web pages have been visited by woodworkers from 46 countries so far this month (according to the server report generated at 3:04 this morning).

My inescapable conclusion is that there are a lot of woodworkers whose woodworking interests go considerably beyond what can be done with 2300 year old geometry.

Goody for you. That sounds a lot like "I got what /I/ need..."

AND they can save money on pencils, too... :)

I still see it as "dumbing down".

Reply to
Morris Dovey

"Morris Dovey" wrote

I feel the same way. If you need a better pencil, then SU is a good tool. And it goes way beyond a pencil in terms of its capabilities. But there are a range of tools and capabilities out there. And to brag about rejecting them and glorify a minimalist approach is essentially rejecting anything beyond your present tools and skills.

I get in over my head all the time on my projects. If I had some more tools and skills (and/or money), my life would be much simpler. It depends not only on what you do, but what makes you happy. Or in the case of some toolphobes, what makes them unhappy.

Reply to
Lee Michaels

features. I think it comes with SUPro. (As opposed to SUPdoc?) LayOut does allow beziers and Dynamic Components makes designing Mission tables fun. Pro is not a waste of money IMO and blows the doors off the SUFreebie, but all the good stuff seems to be hanging around in LayOut. The Freebie can be fun. A fun tool, as opposed to a serious tool. Fun is good. But, NO support for BOM. (Barrel Of Monkeys). *smirks*

Reply to
Robatoy

BINGO! Give the man a prize! How about a free filling for your air- mattress? Anything off the top shelf? A free foot-journey to Gary Indiana? It is all about being happy. I didn't buy that CNC for it to make me lots of money, I bought it because it was clear that it had a huge fun- factor built right in. I go out of my way to enjoy what it is I am doing. Every day. I enjoy putting a nice finish on a Corian countertop. (Suuuure, I have to go through lot of mundane crap to get there, but hey, you have to stab an animal if you want steak, right?) As Leon, and others, will attest, it is almost FUN to sand with a Festool sander. After that, all other sanders suck... at least to me. I'm not even sure there is a snob-factor here. A good tool, is a good tool, and it is usually those who aren't willing to make the sacrifice to buy a good tool, who call guys like me a snobs. Could it be "Tool Envy??" Is it any wonder that there is a tool out there called Freud?

The art of living with a grin on my face, a grin on my Angela's face, a grin on the faces of those who enjoy their lives. Make a few million along the way. All you get is one life.

I am happy with my Makita corded drill. (Came free with my Makita mitre saw). I would never, in a million years spend the money for a Festool drill. That's just nuts. But nobody makes a better sander. (I really like the Milwaukee routers...no way am I spending Festool money ..) See, I own Festool sanders because they're the best...they're not the best /because/ I own them. That's a point that Stein seems to be missing. That is not making him happy. I feel bad now that I own Festool products, but I wonder why the colour scheme of Festool includes 'envy-green' ? Ooooweeee. the plot thickens.... Those Fein Multi-Tools are kinda phallic shaped..and they vibrate... dammit... they sure did their research...

Unhappy is not a good thing, Lee.

Ask not what your tool can do for you, but ask what you can do for your tool. (Say wot?)

Anyway, I finished my lunch...back to work....

Reply to
Robatoy

"Swingman" shared this little gem with us...

Hmmmmmmmm..., Goggle, Sketchup, tool of the devil, hmmmmmmmmm....... Somewhere in there is the gist of a great new marketing program. ;-)

Reply to
Lee Michaels

No problem with that. I have no problem telling people what I think either. Few participating in any news group have a problem telling you what they think.

I've yet to hear him say much good about SU. Once you figure out he never "wasted any time" learning it, it starts to becomes less interesting, more amusing.

Denigrate: to treat or represent as lacking in value or importance; belittle; disparage: to denigrate someone's contributions to a project.

There could be a better word for this but for someone like myself, that doesn't know the difference between "hall" and "haul", I believe I done good.

His comments are a refreshing alternative/counterweight to the SU cultists. ;_)

That's ok for you to feel that way. My feeling is when someone never misses an opportunity to point out self perceived faults with something he admittedly knows little about, it is not really refreshing, unless you are easily amused as I am. As far as "SU cultists go, I find that almost as amusing as alternative views from those unfamiliar.

That's one perspective. My perspective is blandly encouraging alternative viewpoints would boring. I guess one mans entertainment is another man's pablum. That's why I don't read every message thread, nor reply to every messenger.

I'm glad I encouraged your alternative juices...

Reply to
Jack Stein

Hardly! Unless what you are saying is comparable to saying buying a table saw is a waste of time because it is not a complete wood shop, and it only cuts straight lines like they used 1000's of years ago.

I have no problem at all with CNC tooling. But, I could care less if SU interfaces with Robotoys $30,000 CNC router.

No more silly than disparaging a piece of free software because it doesn't interface with a $30,000 CNC router.

Talk about silly?

And yet only a short time ago woodworkers had no access to a free 3D drawing program as capable as SU that they could use to draw up projects that have been made by wood workers for hundreds and even thousands of years.

No need for me to look up your specific project. Not one person has ever said SU is the perfect tool for every one, or every project. I've built enough stuff, and looked at enough stuff others have made, to know SU is more than adequate if not over kill for most of the stuff I make, and most of the stuff I see others make. Swingman found it good enough to design kitchens he's built, and $200,000 home he is building. The internet is plastered with all sorts of stuff SU was used for designing, much of it pretty dammed complex.

OK, you made me look at that, and see I've looked at it myself before. Doesn't look like something that would give SU much of a problem, and I'm not sure why a CNC machine, or much more than standard tools most wood workers have on their shop would need to build it. The Vikings built boats fancier than that with out computer software. Are you saying one can't draw that up with SU or even w/o CAD program at all? I'm no SU expert, but sure looks like straight and curved lines, same as have been used to build wood stuff for 1000's of years, with and w/o SU, computers or heaven forbid, even electricity?

I'm pretty sure SU uses a lot of techniques not available 2300 years ago and a ton not even available free to wood workers ever before in the history of mankind. Your point is unclear to say the least.

Yes, exactly. Also that SU meets and exceeds the needs of most hobbyist and small shop woodworkers most of the time. Goody for all of us.

And I still don't see how a wood worker that normally would not use any CAD program would be "dumbing down" by learning to use a free design tool. About the only problem I see is they might end up having more fun designing stuff than actually building it. This actually happened to me. I got into computing so I could use it to draw up stuff I was building. This was in the early 1980's and I got a copy of design cad, and I spent about 100 times longer figuring out how to use the program than I would have just using a pencil and paper for a shed I was building. I ended up becoming obsessed with computers and programing. Prior to that, I was obsessed with wood working. I found computing met most of my "creative" needs, I could "build" programs that did all sorts of things, mistakes along the way cost nothing, no lost material, no lost fingers and so on. Wood working slipped into the background, and is still there for the most part...

For those that use SU as a "stepping stone" to expensive CAD programs, I hope they don't get pissed off if they find SU met most of their needs as it was. For those that learn SU and find it is not suitable for all their needs, I hope they are not so dumb as to think SU is the end all, be all in CAD programing, particularly when EVERYONE has said it is not, and not meant to be a fancy expensive CAD program that interfaces with $100,000 CNC machines, yet, it still is the perfect design tool for most wood workers with a hankering for computer design.

Reply to
Jack Stein

Can we keep it clean in here please? :-)

Reply to
Steve Turner

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.