[Plugin] Shape Bender Beta

alio

Thanks for the information.

panda_ska8er

Thank you very much!

JLspeeddragon

Great Plugin! I cant get enuf of how easy and fun it is.. Dont forget to DL the weld and Progress plugin if you are trying this for the first time

Vic12

Hi -
I've downloaded and installed both shape bender and progressbar.rb

I can see shape bender checked in my extensions folder - so it should be active
I can also see progressbar.rb in my plugins folder - although can't find it anywhere on screen - but assume it is there (is there a way to check that?)

but I cannot find shape bender (or Chris Fullmer's tools) anywhere in my toolbar

any suggestions on how to activate/use?

thanks

TIG

Progressbar.rb is the helper that adds a progress-bar to the status-bar when you are using ShapeBender plugin.
That 'script' doesn't 'appear' anywhere else otherwise...

You haven't completed your User-profile details so we don't know your OS or SUp version...

If you can see the ShapeBender plugin's Extension and check it, then it should add the Toolbar option to the View > Toolbars list
Unless perhaps you have somehow mis-installed the plugin's files and moved some of them from their subfolder into the main Plugins folder?
How did you install the plugin?
There are several 'foolproof' ways of doing this - with 'AutoInstallers' etc...
Manual installs are prone to have problems...
Do you have FULL security permissions to your Plugins folder?
Is there a 'Compatibility Files...' link/button on the Explorer window's top bars - a sure sign of limited rights...
Fix the permissions to be FULL for all users etc...

Vic12

Help-

I've downloaded and installed both progressbar.rb and shape bender - progressbar is in my plug-in folder and shape bender shows up as checked in my extensions -
but I cannot find it in my toolbar anywhere
what am I doing wrong-
what am I not activating?

thanks

Vic12

Hi TIG - sorry missed your first post-

I installed both shape bender and progressbar manually
library - applications support - sketchup 8 - plugins

but I think I might have moved the shape bender rb out of the folder it came in - when it first wasn't showing up -

maybe that's the problem- just moved back in and I'll restart and see if that helps?

I'm on MAC OS 10.7.5 and running SU 8

or do I need to uninstall and re-install?

Vic12

when I unzip the file - I get a folder
clf_shape_bender_v055
inside the folder is another folder w/ clf_shape_bender and the ruby script clf_shape_bender_loader.rb
I took the ruby out of the folder and placed it in my plugins folder
HD-library-applications support-google8-SU-plugins
then shape bender showed up in my extensions - checked-

but nowhere in my toolbar -

when I put the rb back in the folder it came in then the extension went away-

thanks - Victoria

Screen Shot 2013-07-13 at 9.25.20 AM.png

Dave R

Victoria, your screen shot shows you haven't installed Shape Bender correctly. Move the two files in the far right column into the Plugins folder directly. Then restart SketchUp. If you installed it with the SCF Plugin Store you wouldn't have this problem.

Vic12

got it working thanks - but it hasn't solved my problem like I thought it would

I'm trying to create a curved ramp and cannot solve the complex curve

I'm uploading the file - with the desired curve - and the desired ramp
I'm thinking there's a drape tool?
or??

thanks

(macos su8)

complex curved ramp.skp

TIG

This is not the plugin for that as the starting form.

There are several other approaches...

Look at Fredo's CurviLoft to extrude the profile along the paths
Or say my Extrude tool's EEbyRails.
Or FredoScale on a simple PushPulled slab?

It's an 'extrusion of a bent form' issue, not really a 'bending of an extruded form' issue...
[mod=:160kk3hv]EDIT: TIG
I see you have posted this in another thread and got similar answers from others.
Use their examples...[/mod:160kk3hv]

Burkhard

You can simple do it with shape bender.
For better results, you' need some better preparations.

complex curved ramp.skp

smganeles

after using the shape bender plugin to bend a fairly complex shape to a specified curve, some random edges of the rendering were left out and dissapeared
otherwise it seemed to work fine (besides making sketchup not respond for a while because i am on a slow and old computer)
these were not in the original rendering before the object was bent
what could have gone wrong and is there any way to fix this
pictures of both before and after the bending are attached

before

after

TIG

SketchUp [and OpenGL] have problems creating facets if they are very very tiny.
Your steel-beam has some very small segments to its rounded edges.
You could probably make a much simpler version with far fewer facets.
When ShapeBender [or other tools like FollowMe etc] try to 'extrude' these tiny facets they can fail to form some faces simply because they are now so very tiny.
To overcome this...
Scale the steel/curve/line x100.
Do the ShapeBending etc...
Then Scale down x0.01.
These tiny facets can exist, BUT it's the creating them that is an issue...
This is the known problem and it's fix.
Depending on the facets' "tininess" you can scale x10, x100 or x1000 and then back...

smganeles

thank u
i will try this

draftprint3d

When I am bending a shape, it goes a lot faster when Netflix is playing fullscreen in front. I have no explanation but that is what I observe.

thomthom

Odd... but it might be that the full screen app in front disable UI functions in SketchUp that would otherwise slow things down.

Z Donk

Hey, I just loaded this up and am trying to use it for the first time. Got it in my Plugin folder etc.. I'm trying to do exactly what chris did in his first example video and running into a wall: Once i have the simple group selected, as commanded, the "select a single line on the red axis" is the next command. Try as I might, I can't get the selection to take. It highlights blue, It's on the red axis, its a single line. The next command for selecting a curve does not come.... Tried it as a group, as an exploded group, etc. -The line is selected then the grid doesn't show and the commands stop there.. Bear in mind, I'm an intermediate sketchup user but even recreating Chris's simple example I hit a wall.

(Ultimately, I'm trying to bend a 3d geometric rectangle plate along 3 different angles)

Z Donk

Hi moderator, I found the problem, I didn't know I had to have the entire file in my plugins folder.. Off and running.

Dave R

@z donk said:

Hi moderator, I found the problem, I didn't know I had to have the entire file in my plugins folder.. Off and running.

So we can put your problem down to incorrect installation? That seems to be the most common reason plugins don't work for folks. It's one of the reasons for the Sketchucation Plugin Store. If you haven't got it and installed it, you should.