Thanks much!!

@unknownuser said: Hey thanks that was to easy This is a SketchUp forum, not Staples.

Okay. That was my first newbie lesson. The answer was in the basic Google tutorial video on dimensions. For posterity...go to Window>Model Info>Dimensions.

My pleasure.

Thanks for your help everybody! With the ruby console and the posted command everything is fine now! Still much for us to discover with Google SketchUp...

@bladestar said: taanks a lot guys here's the end result.. got the faces down for the whole rifle by about 50% hope u like it [image: 8we5_f5.jpg] [image: IouN_f3.jpg] [image: XR0t_f7.jpg] [image: 1bny_f6.jpg] [image: 05qs_f8.jpg]

The shape bender technique will ensure that the text projects radially, such that the side faces of the 3d text will flare out from the central axis of the cylinder. However, if this is not a requirement, another method is to modify the depth of some 3d text, move it to the cylinder so that the back faces are within that volume and intersect. Then use a larger radius cylinder to intersect the text again. Remove the outer cylinder. The side faces of the 3d text will be orthogonal with the global axes, however. Just thought I would mention this.

Ah, thank you both. Setting the guidelines and pasting from the library did it in about 3 seconds.

Thanks a lot! SKP Magicians : )

That's a great idea Alan - it never even occured to me to do it that way. Thanks! Will be trying both methods in a little while.

The only comment I can add, is to open both SU sessions BEFORE you do the Clipboard Copy. Sometimes, opening another app can corrupt the clipboard area. Rare, but has happened to me more than once.

[image: fNX8_frigus.jpg]

Hi Greenbelt and welcome! Components are just simple, ordinary skp files. If you download one anywhere, you can open them or you can import them into your existing model from File > Import - where you need to select the proper file type (skp). Or simply drag and drop it from your file list into your open SU window... You can find the components that your component browser uses here: C:\Program Files\Google\Google SketchUp 8\Components They are organised into folders. You can add as many folder and into them, as many skp files as you want.

Ok, so...i had not checked the box for Utilities Tools under Preferences>Extensions? How embarrassing, problem solved though. Thanks very much!

It's also very easy to use Ruby script to get the two pieces to scissor every time you give them the finger. If you are new to Ruby, you can see that the RotZ command rotates around the Z (blue axis) I've made the top tube a dynamic component and placed its axes right on the pivot point, directly above the origin. The function that is displayed, simply rotates the tube anti-clockwise by 60* every every time it's clicked. The subsequent click rotates it back to zero again. scissors.skp

@mistro11 said: The follow me tool would not explode my curves when I use it fresh; it's when I try to continue using it after the initial operation. I experienced this when I was installing crown moldings which would not follow all the way around the room in one shot.(complex ceiling) I tried using the existing profile at the end of the extrude and that's where the curves exploded on the new segments. I was just wondering why that happens and was concerned about poly count. Yes, that's it. The curve of the profile gets exploded during the Follow me operation and when you want to use it for another extrusion, it already leaves those edges unsoftened. Just like with an easy example: draw a circle > right click > Explode - and now use the PushPull tool to extrude it to a cylinder. See the same thing. If you select all these edges (just triple click on the geometry - or single click on a component/group) then right click y soften edges, a dialog pops up. There move the slider a little bit to the right to see your edges softened again. You can also see (and edit) these softened edges (and the facets in between) if you turn on hidden geometry under the View menu.

s... All I drink now is Stella after being "Boulderized" in Sept. And, of course, they sell it Costco now. Thanks, Rich

It would help if you could post at the very least a screen shot. Better, the SKP file. Without seeing it, I'm guessing you are seeing what is referred to as Z-fighting in which two faces occupy the same place in space and the graphics card is trying to resolve which one to show. In a case like that, you probably don't have any problem with co-planarity of lines.

@jim said: The biggest limitation is that SketchUp does not have true arcs or circles. Everything is exported as line segments, and unless you used a lot of them, the segments could be visible on the finished part. Of course, this does depend on other factors such as the radius of the curve and precision of the machine. A small radius will probably not have visible segments, for example. The shop is going to take the .dxf and generate gcode to run on the cutting machine. The gcode ironically does support true arcs, but again Sketchup exports only line segments so that is what the machine will cut. The more segments you model with, the smoother the finished part. CNC machines and 3d printing have become affordable at a hobbyists budget. It's really too bad because Sketchup seems like a perfect fit otherwise, but this lack of curves makes it hard to recommend Sketchup for applications like cnc and 3d printing. Wrong! The plugin Phlatscript (sketchup to gcode) can transform the segments of an arc in instructions that specify a radius in the gcode.

This one? http://gaieus.hu/ hehe. Thanks. Nice but first of all, simple! Does not need too much maintenance. Maybe a gallery would spice it up though... ?)