Thank you chaps.

Did you happen to uninstall SU8 and install SU2013? SU2013 has a slightly different folder structure.

It also will delete faces occasionally if they are ill-formed. This happens most often when working with geometry imported from other software from what I've seen.

Thank you Charlie....that worked perfectly!

Ah! Thanks so much! Not quite there yet, but at least I know what I need to do from here! [image: DaveTake2.jpg] I'll definitely check out that plugin. I seem to be collecting plugins these days. -Fa

If you want to keep the two things separate, make sure they are components or groups. In your example, it appears that both things are identical. You could just copy the bottom one up by the thickness of the thing plus the 10mm. Use Move/Copy for that.

John, this may be a long shot but... Do you ever move or realign the model axes? Is there an option to 'Reset' when you right click on the origin? It may not be the problem in your case but I have seen models in which the user moved the model axes and didn't get them aligned accurately. The result was that many parts of the model were drawn just slightly off axis. It was difficult to identify until I found components that were drawn before the axes were moved and then found the Reset option for the axes was available.

@tig said: Look up 'weld' in a dictionary... It means to join separate pieces together to form a single object. In English it usually refers to metal things... A duuh moment for me! Arc Weld, Mig Meld, Tig weld........TIG WELD I get it now!

brilliant, thank you

hey Dave and Box, i was not expecting anyone to solve this for me and especially in 2 very elegant and 'why didn't i think of that' ways, nice work fellas many thanks now I just need to find me a metal fabricator to make it as my guy just mailed and said the job was too big for him!, turning down work in a recession... horse, water..lead... metal horse guy now dead cheers ashley

If you are thinking BIM or model sectioning with all information displayed in LO ready to be labelled, be prepared to be disappointed. Having used 3D modelling for many years and recently dropped ArchiCAD for SU I would suggest that no CAD system is capable of doing this without significant resource investment that will kill any financial return. As an example how much drawing work would be incurred just to change a lintel from PC concrete to steel & brick for each variant of window and would you show the clips, trays, stop ends, weeps, mortar beds; where do you stop? On top of that what are the implications on the size of the drawing and the amount of info the CPU has to process; your average workstation would struggle badly. The harsh truth which the CAD vendors will never admit is whilst it can be done it is impractical to model every detail and no CAD system is sufficiently intelligent to cope with that level of detail. The secret is to know when to break the link with the 3D model and how to use the SU model as a 2D base to locate a detail. You may remember the working drawing methodology of Location > Assembly > Component; it's as valid today as it ever was. At some point there will be an inevitable requirement to work on a detached 2D or even localized 3D model to show construction detail. At this end of things I now draft directly in LO to produce my 1:10 details. This is where the layout Scrapbook is your best friend. But if a 3D cutaway is required then I build a separate model which can look much like many of the common examples in manufacturer's literature. Hope that helps, Trevor

this is a quote from Dave R :"Go to Window and click on Extension Warehouse. In the top right corner of the window there'll be a search line. Type in Ruby Script Examples and you should go right to it." I haven't upgraded yet so I can't verify it, but I hope it helps

Hi. It is entirely possible that I have misinterpreted your question, but here goes: In Sketchup, the default workspace vaguely emulates a real world environment, where the ground plane at the bottom of the screen is the X(red) Y(green) plane. The Z(blue) direction is vertical. If you wish to orient all of your modelling along the z axis, the most likely thing to do is to use the Views toolbar. Go to top line menu View> Toolbars> In the flyout menu select Views. These are orthogonal camera positions Isometric view, Top, Front, Right, Back, Left. The toolbar appears and the icons are depicted as views of a house. If you select Top, you will be viewing along the Sketchup Z axis. Alternatively, if you do not want to set a toolbar, you can go to Camera> Standard Views> and the flyout is a list of the same views to select. Sketchup's mode of operation is geared toward the default workspace world environment. It may be that you have selected a template that does not provide visual cues for orienting your work. Go to Window> Preferences> Template and select in the box your preferred working environment. I have always used Simple Template, but you could select from quite a few there. I am hoping some of this helps you. If not, reply back for more information.

Just turn the passes down so that it completes a quick render in a few seconds. You could use that as a quick preview before upping the detail

Cheers for replys I will see what I come with. Theres no plans as far as I can find so will just go on dimensions that I know off. Thanks again Stu

You could write a short script to iterate all of the components in a model [or perhaps load them in turn from a folder, into an empty SKP] and then export their thumbnails into a specified folder, naming them after the component definition...

My olde TextTag and 2dTools Text tools already do this: thomthom's interface and font-list is just much better...

A common thought or relationships between scale factors for length,area,volume is conceptually difficult to understand.Its also important and has some interesting practical applications.Weighing scale unit introduces these ratios from a range of perspectives,its end up looking at some practical applications.

@box said: I may be wrong, it often happens, but I think you'll also need to group the dimension with the component or it won't stay with it if you move it. With Dave's methode, placing the dimension outside the component's context but inside a gluing component, the dimension sticks onto the parent component. It will move along with that single component instance but there will not be any nested components involved. Example, see attached model. dimension component gluing to component