Project outlines onto a solid

jhearcht

SketchUp8 on Windows XP

I have imported some 2D DWG line drawings that I want to use to create a 3D model. I have created a solid box of the correct size, and then applied the front, side and rear outlines. Now I need to transfer those lines to the faces of the box, so I can then push/pull the solid to carve away the excess material.

After that I will sculpt the basic outlines into a compound curving shape. But my attempts so far, to transfer/project the lines, have not been successful. They probably need to be converted into something other than DWG line segments. A little help would be appreciated. TIA

honoluludesktop

If you imported a DWG file into SU, they become translated into SU edges. If the edges are coplanar, you should easily be able to push/pull them into solids. Are the wire frames to the right of your volume, edges. To make a face from one, draw a diagonal line within the wireframe. If a surface doesn't form, the edges may not be coplanar, or there may be gaps between the line (edge) segments. If it is an image of the wire frame, you must draw over it to create edges.

dale

By the look of the blue outline on your screenshot, the object may also be in a group. Have you tried ungrouping or entering the group?

jhearcht

Dale & HDT, thanks for the replies.

I entered the group to select the lines/edges, but they are all broken into segments. I used a Repair Broken Lines script in an attempt to reconnect them, but it only works on some of the lines. My 3D CAD app has a "Compose" command to connect all selected lines into a single closed polygon. I haven't found a similar command in SU. So it looks like I will have to manually draw over the outlines, in order to create faces. Unless you have other suggestions.

In trying to reproduce the elliptical outline curve in SU, I found that the default segmentation (24) is too coarse. But I haven't found a way to add segments. Typing in the Entity Info box doesn't change anything.

I also noticed that the Help file in SU8 says the toolbar should have a Circle and an Ellipse tool. I only see the Circle tool, so I stretched it to make an ellipse. Would the missing Ellipse tool be better suited to my purposes?

Gaieus

Hi jhearcht,

When you have drawn the circle, type 48s (for instance) and hit Enter. That will double the segment count. You can type anything actually but too many will slow SU down.

Here is a weld plugin that welds all connected, selected edges that form a continuous polyline.
http://www.smustard.com/script/Weld

As for the ellipse tool; you must have read the LayOut manual, not the SketchUp one. LO is a 2d presentation tool for SU pro. Ellipses are either done by stretching a circle (as you did) or there is also another plugin (this will draw the segments with equal lengths while stretching a circle makes them unequal):
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=1529

honoluludesktop

Btw, jhearcht, The segments need only touch, they do not have to be welded together. Did you try to create a face by drawing a diagonal line inside a loop?

jhearcht

@honoluludesktop said:

Btw, jhearcht, The segments need only touch, they do not have to be welded together. Did you try to create a face by drawing a diagonal line inside a loop?

HLD, Yes, I tried the diagonal trick, and also an "add face to edges" script. Apparently the curved lines were the problem, and the "Weld
script didn't work on them. So I punted on the DWG outlines, and just traced over them with SU ellipses and edges directly on the face of the box. The box is now taking shape, but now I'm struggling with one more curved line to form the edge of a compound-curved lofted surface.

Gaieus, thanks for the circle segment tip. I knew there had to be a way to adjust them, but the Help file didn't help. As it turns out, the Entity Info dialog box works as I thought it should, but not in the order I was clicking.

Dave R

Is there any chance you could upload the SKP file with the imported DXF?

jhearcht

@dave r said:

Is there any chance you could upload the SKP file with the imported DXF?

I gave up on the idea of directly projecting the DXF lines, and instead used the Circle tool to match the curves. Even the SU curves were difficult to work with. After I clipped off the part of an ellipse I wanted, I found that sometimes the Selection tool finds individual edges, and other times it finds the whole curve. What's up with that?

Anyway I'm past the imported curve hurdle, but now I'm having difficulty skinning the curves. The SU drawing file is linked in the Curviloft post dated 12/15/10. The original imported lines are on the None layer.