SketchUp as a Front-end to CAM
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Hmm -- anyone done this?
I may have a job as part of a team building a physical model of the Burj-al-Arab for display in a company's lobby.
We were discussing using SU to model the thing floor-by-floor, and using a computer-controlled lathe to machine each floor out of MDF, or suchlike, then adding detail by hand.
Has anyone used this approach? I think we'd need .stl files to feed to a CAM lathe/router, but SU doesn't support this format. We'd have to output it to another program that does, like Cheetah.
Anyone gone down this route, got any tips/advice, etc?
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@tim danaher said:
Anyone gone down this route, got any tips/advice, etc?
I've visited a physical model shop before and observed the process they used. They were working from paper drawings, recreating elements in AutoCAD, then feeding the file to a laser cutter which did most of the work.
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Which is the process I've already outlined above -- sorry if I wasn't clear enough. I need to get some tips on file formats & transfer. I don't want to have to do the modelling in AutoCAD.
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Tim,
I have looked in to 3d printing,(Zcorp) possibly an option for you depending on the size/complexity.Company software accepts .skp
http://www.zcorp.com/Products/3D-Printers/spage.aspxOr There is a Ruby here by Didier Bur, I have not tried it.
EDIT: look for.......SU2STL
http://www.crai.archi.fr/RubyLibraryDepot/Ruby/em_fil_page.htmCharlie
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Thanks, Charlie. Stl export ruby could be promising...
We'd considered 3D printing...but I've tried 3D printing in the past...hmmm...
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Hello. I don't know if this will answer your question, but Datacad 12 ( an architectural cad program) will allow you to open skup files in datacad and export to STL format. I think v 11 will do this as well but v12 is supposed to have become more friendly with skup.
Hope this helpsHere's a link to the Datacad forum, I'm sure someone there can answer any questions you may have.
http://forum.datacad.com/Stephen
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@tim danaher said:
Thanks, Charlie. Stl export ruby could be promising...
We'd considered 3D printing...but I've tried 3D printing in the past...hmmm...
Tim.....I understand....sorry to see your results were......ummm..that's not the Burj I hope. :~)
Guess the 3d printing is still in it's infancy (considering cost/quality).
However, I'm sure it will really wow us at some time in the near future.Charlie
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@tim danaher said:
I don't want to have to do the modelling in AutoCAD.
Why not just model in SU then export the model into AutoCAD. Then in AutoCAD export the .stl file?
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Because I don't have AutoCAD?
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Tim, check out this post http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6603
solo mentions Deep Exploration, it's a bit spendy but they do offer a 30 day demo. I just downloaded it myself and it looks like you can import skp and export stl.Mike
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Thanks, Alpro, but if you re-read my original post, you'll see I already have a program that will do this...Cheetah3D.
I just wanted to know if other people have done this two-stage export process, if there are any pitfalls, or if there was a more direct method -- like didier's stl export ruby. Sorry, I should have been clearer in my OP.
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I don't know exactly, but you mentioned cutting out MDF board.
why not export a dxf and import the dxf in your cnc cad program ?Or maybe if the building is solid, use the ruby slicer, so you've got
the building in thin piece's and export these with ADO ? and import these in the cnc-programming software.what kind of cnc-machine are you talking about (how many axes ?)
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