Thanks so much I will look into those plugins and work on drawing the contours and smoothing them out to see how that looks, I don't quite need the mesh you have in the bottom pic because that's all supposed to be a flat concrete pad but the idea and methods helped me a lot and I will work on them in the area I need them at.

SUp v8 Pro has 'Layout' which allows 2d/3d sheet-creation using live-links into SKPs and other documents... with 2d drawing and text tools too...

Replace this: return if not sel if sel.class==Sketchup::SectionPlane With this: if sel && sel.class==Sketchup::SectionPlane

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=8784#p52793 Haven't try it.

Thank you, very useful as always.

I was aware that su is not a 64 bit application and therfore not able to benifit easily from the extra ram. I do believe that my sysyem is a bit of a pig in using ram and may only leave about 2.5gb of the 4.0gb available for su to run on. The additional ram will bring me to 8 total (sorry I was not clear on that). I know this will help with certain portions of the rendering process in podium and my hope is that it will allow su to take and use all it can. Since I determined that I had two things causing my system to run slowly...1. overheating 2. I did not have the use hardware accelerator box checked. and now both those items have been fixed, I am running as smoothly as I ever have and that is not bad at all. So, my hope is that the additional ram will make things just a bit better than they ever were. Can't hurt. Tig you were right to end that last bit with a confused emot. I was, I am, and I will be even more confused if I dig into those threads. Thanks p

Thanks Jim

@unknownuser said: ... i ended up tracing it in layout while i was at the playground with the girls.. made it 1024 for future use Nice

Yes, the computer is otherwise operating normally. Other apps don't show this, but SU will seem as if there is no input from the keyboard. But as I noted above (and this may vary), while the cursor moves fine it sometimes won't change the tool either, via icon. Seeing hardware acceleration mentioned in another thread-- I checked and I found it to be ON. Wonder when that changed. It may not be related but I'll report if I see a change. It will take a while to assess.

Not so rustic! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzMybOh__pU

great help---- i love Sketchucation......

@mac1 said: Maybe some thing here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922708. Not as far as I can tell, but thank you.

You're welcome. I quite agree - I experimented with the demo's of quite a few CAD packages when we first started making our own hardware at work. IMHO, the speed and simplicity of modelling in SU more than compensates for the hassle of export "tweaking". (plus we have the friendliest and most helpful user forum, and all those incredible Ruby guys "upgrading" the software on a daily basis! Hint, hint ) Here's a few other little tips that may help when designing for laser... The 'underside' of parts will have a slightly wider kerf due to the way that the laser is focused. So export your outlines looking towards the side where the dimensions are most critical, especially for thick materials (> ~3mm). If cutting or engraving text, always convert to vector outlines, as fonts often do not translate well. Don't be tempted to butt parts up against each other to save space; leave a gap of a mm or two. 'Shared' cut lines will often get cut twice, and can spoil the edge of the first part if it moves slightly after being 'released' from the sheet. Many small laser firms these days are using cheaper imported Chinese machines, and the software for these is often rather arcane and works in non-standard ways - for example our "LaserCut" software treats colours as different 'layers' but doesn't recognise genuine layers within the source file. As a designer, how are you supposed to know this? So it seems odd to me that the guys who program the machines do not offer to optimise files at their end - a reasonable fee for an 'expert' to do this could be cheaper than paying the designer to spend hours revising their files until they hit on something usable! Hope your project comes out well, Trog.

For decimation maybe Meshlab can make the trick and other things

Try making another user who is also 'you' and with 'full' admin rights. Login as that new user... Now try Sketchup and plugins... any better? If so then your user account is foobar - move everything over to the new one and forget/delete the other one - rename the new [working] one to a needed... This is weird...

I think Zorro 2 might help...

I think best case scenerio would be for Fredo to add a function to Offset on Surface which will perform multiple offsets at once on all "hard" edges in an organic shape. Perhaps a request is in order.

@dave r said: You would find it much easier to use SketchUp if you drop to the track pad and start using a standard 3-button mouse with scroll wheel. You'll use the wheel for zoom and have much better control over it. i use my trackpad with sketchup a lot.. as in, i'll do entire drawings with no mouse .. dunno, it's ok now and will only get better in the future.. a n y w a y s……. you can use the ZOOm tool for fixed rate of zoom.. it's *cmmd- * or via the menus, Camera -> Zoom (though it will only zoom to the center of the window instead of where your pointer is) likewise, you can adjust your tracking speed (globally) via System Preferences -> Trackpad -> Point & Click -> Tracking speed.. but all that aside, sketchup is more or less content aware when it comes to zooming/navigating.. so you're better off becoming familiar with it as that's the way it is.. i think if you did a survey, you'd find very few complaints amongst the more seasoned users regarding navigation in sketchup.. it's pretty darn good.

Jeff, Thanks a bunch. Perfect answer. Exactly what I was asking about/needed. Thanks again, Chappy