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    Can Sketchup 15 demo tell me what size workpiece to start on

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    • B Offline
      BarrySumpter
      last edited by

      Super nubby struggling.

      I'm playing around with one of the 5 pointed stars you see on one of the uTube Sketchup instruction videos.

      I've broken the 5 point star down to a single point.
      The single point has has a left side and a right side.
      So 5 left sides and 5 right sides make up the 5 points to the star.

      Since all the sides are angled in some way I'd like Sketchup to tell me the maximum height, width and depth of a single side.

      Is there a way to do this in Sketchup 15?

      Thanks in advance.

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      • Dave RD Offline
        Dave R
        last edited by

        Do you mean something like this?
        Screenshot - 1_19_2015 , 4_18_40 AM.png

        Yes, there is the Dimension tool. Look under the Tools menu or you can bring up the Large Tool Set.

        If you are drawing the star as I did making the segments a component (or you could use a group), there's a plugin that would generate a cut list. That's probably overkill for a project like this, though.

        Etaoin Shrdlu

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        • B Offline
          BarrySumpter
          last edited by

          Thanks heaps for the great reply.
          I'e already used the dimension tool to document the lengths of all angles.

          My angles are quite a bit more complex and compound.
          The project does not contain a single right angle anywhere.

          I pretty much need Sketchup to block out every angle as if it was a group/object/segment/component/group being highlighted in Sketchup.
          And show me the dimensions.

          I'll see what I can find on the cut list topic.

          I could just start with a work piece considerably oversized to be sure I'm covered.
          But I want Sketchup to calculate it for me and give me the smallest workpiece size.

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          • Dave RD Offline
            Dave R
            last edited by

            Sorry, your first post didn't say anything about angles so I didn't address them.

            @barrysumpter said:

            I pretty much need Sketchup to block out every angle as if it was a group/object/segment/component/group being highlighted in Sketchup.
            And show me the dimensions.

            SketchUp doesn't have a native angular dimension tool although LayOut does. There is a plugin that can add angular dimensions. Look in the Sketchucation Plugin Store under TIG's plugins. No matter how you get those, you'll have to put them in manually.

            As for the smallest possible block, that's going to have a lot to do with how you draw the elements. I use components and can then adjust the component's axes as needed so the bounding box fits as tight as possible to the geometry when needed. The bounding box is always going to be set aligned to the model axes whether the geometry is aligned or not. It is the dimensions of the bounding box that is reported in the cut list.

            You have to make the individual parts as components to be able to pull them apart and "highlight" the individual parts. SketchUp doesn't do that automatically.

            Remember, this is a computer program. GIGO applies. The info you get out is only as good as the modeling you draw.

            Etaoin Shrdlu

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            • B Offline
              BarrySumpter
              last edited by

              Another excellent reply.

              Many thanks.

              I'll have to get a good night sleep n have a fair go tomorrow to see what trouble I can get into.

              Thanks again and all my best,
              Barry G. Sumpter

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              • TIGT Offline
                TIG Moderator
                last edited by

                I am flattered, BUT I do NOT have an 'Angular Dimension' plugin, but SLBaumgartner does...
                http://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?listtype=1%26amp;author=0%26amp;category=0%26amp;search=angular+dimension%26amp;submit=%3F
                Choose PC/MAC to suit...
                When the RBZ has been installed, it appears under the Tools menu and I can confirm that it works in SketchUp v2015 [and earlier].

                TIG

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                • Dave RD Offline
                  Dave R
                  last edited by

                  My error on the authorship of the plugin. Thanks for the correction, TIG. 😉

                  Etaoin Shrdlu

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                  • Wo3DanW Offline
                    Wo3Dan
                    last edited by

                    @barrysumpter said:

                    ...My angles are quite a bit more complex and compound.
                    The project does not contain a single right angle anywhere.

                    I pretty much need Sketchup to block out every angle as if it was a group/object/segment/component/group being highlighted in Sketchup.
                    And show me the dimensions....

                    Another plugin (that I vaguely remembered and found again via SketchUp's Extention Warehouse / last icon in SketchUp's toolbar 'Warehouse') is the plugin 'Angle Between Faces' by daiku.
                    The tool works more or less like the 'Query' tool. Here you right click on an edge between (max!) two intersecting faces in the same contect and read the angle <=90 degrees in the context menu. Fast and simple.

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                    • B Offline
                      BarrySumpter
                      last edited by

                      Angle Between Faces worked for me.
                      Many thanks.
                      Cut List worked but didn't give the results I expected.
                      None of the other extensions worked.

                      Looks like I'll just have to stick with Making components and using the Measuring tape on the block outline.

                      Many thanks,
                      Barry G. Sumpter

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                      • Dave RD Offline
                        Dave R
                        last edited by

                        I'm not sure what you were expecting but CutList only reports the dimensions of the bounding box. You'll have to do any other dimensions manually.

                        Etaoin Shrdlu

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                        • S Offline
                          slbaumgartner
                          last edited by

                          What Dave said: CutList is intended to help you with lumber and sheet goods planning, not with laying out all the detail measurements of a complicated shape. Also, because it works with the bounding box, you can get misleading info from CutList if the axes of your components are not aligned nicely with the shape.

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                          • S Offline
                            slbaumgartner
                            last edited by

                            @barrysumpter said:

                            Angle Between Faces worked for me.
                            Many thanks.
                            Cut List worked but didn't give the results I expected.
                            None of the other extensions worked.

                            Looks like I'll just have to stick with Making components and using the Measuring tape on the block outline.

                            Many thanks,
                            Barry G. Sumpter

                            Since mine was one of the extensions mentioned, could you please expand on "none of the other extensions worked"? Do you mean it failed to run, or that you couldn't use it for what you wanted? If there are bugs I will try to fix them.

                            Steve

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                            • BoxB Offline
                              Box
                              last edited by

                              I might be missing something here, but wouldn't Jim's Get Dimension give you the block sizes via the bounding boxes.

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                              • Dave RD Offline
                                Dave R
                                last edited by

                                It would and I would have suggested it but it sounds like that's not good enough for Barry's application.

                                Etaoin Shrdlu

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                                • S Offline
                                  slbaumgartner
                                  last edited by

                                  Barry, it would help the discussion if you could present a use case better describing what you are trying to do. It seems clear that all of us who responded aren't quite getting it...

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                                  • B Offline
                                    BarrySumpter
                                    last edited by

                                    Hi all,
                                    Thanks to all for the interest.

                                    Sorry its taken so long to get back to clarifying my query.

                                    I went for a 2hr bike sprint yesterday. Ran into an old riding mate. Ended up on an 8 hour ride. Too much coffee. Too much food. Way too much exercise. And way too much sun. Left my metabolics in an uproar. Although completely exhausted, only got about 3 hours sleep. So might be a bit ditzy.

                                    When I post, I post only about whats happening to me based upon my limited knowledge at that time.
                                    I wouldn't dream of posting about anyone else or how something is working or not working for them.

                                    My post of " didn't work" should have clarified as "did't work for me" or "being a newbie, in a constant state of confusion and aw, I didn't understand how it works".

                                    Being my first venture into Sketchup, SketchUcation and extensions I could have gotten mixed up on where to download the latest versions from and how to install and how to use each of the extensions.

                                    The one extensions I was after was the one that would popup a new small window and list the dimensions.
                                    The small window never appeared.

                                    Blast! Now testing again, after an iMac boot, and start from scratch, it does work. Nice!
                                    Might have been the triple left click to select all, then right click to Make Component (my first), then Extensions | Get Dimensions.

                                    Am I supposed to restart Sketchup after Extension Installation? Or reboot?

                                    The cut list returned one proper measurement. The other was considerably larger.

                                    Reading posts regarding the axis having to be just right might be another reason.

                                    Again reading posts regarding Sketchup Extension folder not existing in my iMac HD folder structure lends to the research as well.

                                    On Sketchup restart I was getting some sort of debug / error message popping up after I had attempted my newbie extension installs.
                                    Removing the extension folder and starting again cleared that up.

                                    I have a couple of extensions: Select all Dimensions and Move Dimensions to Layer that I don't know how to work yet bit will sort out as soon as my mind clears.

                                    I hope this addresses queries regarding my post and will allow us all to continue in a positive constructive collaboration.

                                    Again, many thanks to all interested parties and your patience regarding my newbie status is much appreciated.

                                    Barry G. Sumpter

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