Need to Export drawing to STL file in sketchup 8, HELP!

tabliv · 30 Sept 2010, 15:22

hello all, I'm new to sketchup... using version 8, about to buy pro v8... im using Mac os10 snow leopard....i need to do a 3d print from my drawing, my 3d printer is asking for STL format only. sketchup dosn't support STL export... can somebody walk me through what i need to do to turn this sketchup drawing to an STL file?...are there plug-ins for mac users for STL import/export? where can i find? how do i install? is it worth it for me to buy pro since i will need to export to STL? thanks for your help...Thom

Gaieus · 1 Oct 2010, 01:58

Hi Thomas,

See if this STL Importer/Exporter would do the job:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=24515

jeff hammond · 1 Oct 2010, 02:26

confirmed.. that plugin works well with mac/su8

download & unzip... open the folder then find the file called su2stl.rbs

place that file at the following location

Macintosh HD/ Library/ Application Support/ Google SketchUp 8/ SketchUp/ plugins

launch or relaunch sketchup then the exporter will appear under the plugin menu

Gaieus · 1 Oct 2010, 02:37

Thanks Jeff, I have never used it so did not really know if it was good.

@Thomas; I guess you can make a good use of Solids now in SU 8. If a component or group does not "report" as solid, have a look at ThomThom's solid inspector plugin to make sure that what you send to the stl exporter is perfectly "watertight" (as I understand, this is essential for this kind of job)..

tabliv · 3 Oct 2010, 17:37

hey guys thanks a lot! i will give it a go....