How to get a better looking circle? (higher polygon count?)

betacrash · 3 Dec 2007, 02:24

I am wanting to use Sketchup as a modeling tool to export as DXF or DWG to my CNC software. Right now I am trying to make a concave radiused dish for ukulele making. I want to make a variety of radii but I just started with 12'. So I made a profile in corel draw of a 12' radius then exported it as a dwg. It looked good when I imported into sketchup but when I drew the circle (which looked blocky) and used the follow me tool to make the dish complete. the exported file is just too blocky (the polygon count is too low?) I know that is part of the sketchup charm but is there any way to make this look better? Here is an idea of the type of dish I am trying to make. I will also attach the sketchup file.

12 foot.skp

Bill Wilson · 3 Dec 2007, 06:47

Hi betacrash and welcome to the forum. Your problem is an easy one to solve, that is why I can help, I can only do the easy ones. When you select the 'circle' tool and before you do anything else type in the number of sides you desire your circle to have. This number will appear in the VCB box at the right hand bottom corner of your screen, just above the clock if you are set up like me. The default is 24 (I think) which can be blocky so therefore type a larger number and you will get a smoother circle. I did one with 60 sides and it was very smooth even when magnified.
Have fun and always remember, if all else fails read the directions! If you go to the first or is it the second? post in the Newbie Forum you will find where to download the SU Users Guide in PDF format, you will find it to be your best friend.
Cheers, Bill.

Gaieus · 3 Dec 2007, 08:02

Yes, something like what Bill says. But with the number, type "s" also (meaning "segments"). So this would look like 48s (+Enter) for a 48 segmented circle. Then if you type a number (say 12') and hit Enter again, that will be the radius (I think this would be quite a big ukulele though - a whole orchestra could be playing it at the same time )

You can also right click on an already created arc or circle (right click the edge only) and select "Entity info". Until you modify the circle in any way, you can still overwrite the segment number in there (after modifying it, it will be greyed out).

Be careful though with very high poly counts - if your system is not prepared for it, SU can slow down considerably.

Jean Lemire · 3 Dec 2007, 21:05

Hi foilks.

See attached SU file for ideas.

Yukulele.skp