Eploding parts of a machine

[FandZ]

Hi all, I've been using SU for a few months now and have been loving every minute. I'm currently designing a cnc machine on it. Actually I've already started to build it.

I was wondering if I could select all the parts of my machine and have every individual part move away from all the adjoining parts. Kind of each part makes its own personal space.

Say if I have a screw, a washer, and a bolt, could I make them separate from each other without selecting and moving each individual part? Basically exploding the parts. I tried the explode option and it wasn’t what I thought it was. Or maybe I’m not using it right.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance, Chris

[TaffGoch]

Chris,

SketchUp can be used to make such a model & export/print images, but you're going to have to 'manually' supply the groupings and moves. The 'explode' command in SketchUp doesn't do the work for you. (In fact, that SketchUp command is unrelated to what you're after.)

The authors over at 'Design.Click.Build' often produce exploded views.

See the online article from which the above image was copied:
Creating a Project Plan in SketchUp

Regards,
Taff

[Ecuadorian]

This is a commercial script, but it seems to be just what you're looking for:

(www.smustard.com)