@leedeetee said: Thanks for the reply - I have tried to model everything and not worry about the parts of the model that will be below the ground, but my contact was adamant. Think I need to set up a meeting with him as it would save a lot of messing about! Please the adamant one by all means! I think I will be doing that until I die.

Try the Split Tools by TIG or Add faces by TIG ?

thanks all for your fast and clear reply's, it's fixed now!!

Thanks Rich! Worked indeed!

or a funny one very rich in functions! LSS Toolbar! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nv0lV94O5Y

@unknownuser said: This Bounding Box includes rotation, so X, Y , Z sizes are not object sizes. Is there a way to get exact sizes of objects (or groups,entities.. any kind of selection)according to local ("objects") or world coordinate system? (Sorry if my terminology is wrong). Here is my solution: b = instance.definition.bounds t = instance.transformation x = ((b.max.x-b.min.x) * t.xscale) y = ((b.max.y-b.min.y) * t.yscale) z = ((b.max.z-b.min.z) * t.zscale) Hope it helps Have fun!

There's no uploaded example Tom! Welcome by the way!

Yosemite changed the way osx handles fonts, this compounds many font issues with SU versions prior to v16... v16 includes a fix for most of the font issues... if you are actually using v16, then it may be your .plist pointing to that old 'Mavericks' system font that's causing the issue... john

Hard to really tell what your problem is but: When you scale a component you don't change it's original instance saved in the model. That specific component effectivelly displays as scaled but it is actually different from what you see in it's original state. If you insert it from component browser (wich you seem to have open) it will be inserted at it's original scale. The same thing might happen in some other situations but what you have to be always sure of, is if your component is at a scaled size or the actual scale. For being sure of this you can use "reset scale" on the component in the rightclick context menu. Also you can insert a component at original scale, scale it to a new scale and them make it save that scale as if it was the original scale. You have to use "scale definition" from the rightclick context menu to do this.

Here is something that can drastically affect model size. I used CabMaker 3 extension and inserted 14 cabinets into the model. Most of the parts are components. I then saved the file as kitchen_1 size 6,369 K. I then opened the Component Inspector and chose In Model. It took just under 3 minutes to display all the components in the inspector. For these 14 cabinets there are a total of 745 entries in the inspector. I then save the file as kitchen_2 size 18,512 K. There were 745 thumbnails - 1 for each component. I then chose Components instead of In Model and closed the Inspector window. I then opened the first file kitchen_1. In this case I left the Component Inspector closed. I created a simple cube and turned it into a component. After about 3 minutes I regained control. I then saved the file as kitchen_3. It is 18,518 K. I opened the component Inspector, chose in Model and within a second all 746 thumbnails appear. It appears that Sketchup doesn't update the images when creating components within a script. Instead it does so after creating a component using the UI or when displaying the components in model. [image: jbh6_kitchenascomponents.png] I then installed a new version of CabMaker 3 which uses groups instead of components. I opened kitchen_2, selected all cabinets and ran the editor after which I purged. Then I opened the Component Inspector in Model which displayed a single component - the handle. I then saved the file as kitchen_4 size 3,521 K. Sketchup is also more responsive and there are no apparent wait times when creating a component using the UI. I would recommend to anyone working on very large projects to at least consider using groups - especially with nested containers that contain groups or components and no geometry. Of course there are situations where components make sense. Especially with geometry having high poly counts and where you want to make a change and have all copies change. Too bad we don't have a way to tell Sketchup not to create an entry for components in the component inspector on a component basis. [image: h14z_kitchenasgroups.png]

Here you go ! ForForum1.skp

@dave r said: Probably just turn off Hidden Geometry under the view menu. If that doesn't get rid of them, Soften them using Smooth/Soften. Your image is such low resolution, I can't tell if those are Softened edges showing because Hidden Geometry is on or if the edges need to be softened. It was Hiddem Geometry, thanks!

@airwindsolar said: I should have been more clear on altitude; I mean in the sense of aligning an alt/az mount, so it would actually be pitch. The vertical angle(pitch?) measured from the +Z axis would be Math::acos(nrm.z)

Dave R, Thanks,That helped.

@panixia said: ...can you elaborate this? what is this supposed to do? it opens a 'fresh' version of SU with an empty skp attached... this eliminates corrupt materials, model definitions, etc... If it still crashes, then Plugins or Graphics issues can be looked at next... john

Inside Sketchup you have the wonderful one Slicer by TIG Outthere The fabulous free 123D MAKE & last free MeshMixer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo5TxtKLmjM

Kellen, you can try rotating the spoon 90 degrees so it's laying on its edge, but shallow curves are always hard to print on an FFF (filament) printer. You could also try using Meshmixer (it's free!) to generate the supports and see if that helps.

Rich, I can fully understand your position. I was just struggling to try to find some way to make it easier to find the tips and tricks that people post. Sometimes I remember seeing something but cannot find it. The search facility is OK but many times it does not get me to what I am looking for. The other thing is that many times the search engine will point to a thread but what you are looing for is buried in the middle of a big string of posts. I know there is no perfect solution but I was trying to find a way to organize the many great pieces of information people share in this forum. My original post was trying to find a mechanism, like a flag, that would maybe provide a more efficient way to find/retrieve information. I do not know how the backend of the forum engine works but I assume it is a database. Again, in the back of my mind, I was thinking about a facility that would allow someone (moderator or poster) to add the flag which would popup a dropdown list of categories (SU Tools and Plugin names) that could be associated with the post. Then the search engine would allow you to select by those flags so the individual post could be retrieved without having to find it buried in the middle of a long thread. I like your thought of putting together some way (like a vote) to get feedback on whether people would be interested in a facility like that.

You did it! You've cut the sandbox thank you, buddy! And you have no idea how many people will benefit from it! Thank you x1000!