How to smooth Arc Tool and Snap object?

[mingjae]

hello, I'm a beginner in sketch up and hope somebody can give me/us
an explanation to improve the skill of using this software (sorry bad english)

1.this is a basic model of Glass using Rec and Arc Tool

why arc line B is smooth-er than arc line A?
Is it a trick to make it smooth? Coz the blueprint need very complex line( arc+arc+arc, etc)
It will affect my model after I use "follow Me" Tool.

2.How to snap my cursor to center of a circle? (moved/Copied cirle)

thanks very much

[TIG]

'B' are still Arcs - you only see the end-markers as you have end-points set to be 'on' in your Style.
'A' has been exploded [somehow] so that is is no longer an Arc but now a series of Edges that used to be the 'segments' of the original Arc.
You could simply erase 'A' and re-draw a new Arc ? [use some guides to mark parts to snap to before erasing it, if needed]
You will still get the same number of facets should you use either version with FollowMe. However, the exploded-Arc 'A' will show Edges at each segment. This is not a disaster - you can use the Erase tool +Ctrl to smooth any such lines later or perhaps easier use 'weld.rb' [available free from Smustard.com ] to recreate a Curve from the parts of 'A' - it won't be an Arc, although it will look like one, but a welded Curve will extrude a smooth surface. You could also 'weld' the parts of 'B' into a single Curve and then you won't get a 'seam' where the Arcs meet when you make an extrusion...

To get the center of a Circle or Arc hover your cursor over it and then move to near where the center should be and you should get an inference snap point. There are also several tools that place a guide-point [cpoint] at an Arc/Circle center - search Plugins for them... IF you have an exploded Arc you can even find the original 'center' for that - Chris Fullmer made a tool to so that - again search the Plugins forum index for it...

[Gaieus]

Hi Joe,

It seems that your inner arc is simply exploded while bigger chunks of the outer curve are still arc entities. If you right click on the outer curve and select "Explode" from the context menu, it will be as dotted as the inner one.

Now how to "cure" it... There is a plugin "Weld " which can - well, what it says; weld those segments back to a curve and then you will not see the endpoints. However curves are always made up of segments... The more segments you have, the smoother they appear.

As for the centerpoint of a circle...
One way is to first hover over an endpont on the Circle's perimeter with the Move tool and then move it towards the center. It will give you a "center" inference.

Another way is to activate the Ruby script examples under Window > Preferences > Extensions (you will need to restart SU) and now when you right click on the perimeter of a circle, there will be a menu item: "Point at enter". It will insert a guide point there.

This will only work if your circle is still a circle (and not exploded yet).

---

TIG was faster...

[mingjae]

firstly, thanks for your fast reply.

" 'B' are still Arcs - you only see the end-markers as you have end-points set to be 'on' in your Style. "

is it something on my style that mark every end points? Can I turn it off?

" 'A' has been exploded [somehow] so that is is no longer an Arc but now a series of Edges that used to be the 'segments' of the original Arc.
You could simply erase 'A' and re-draw a new Arc ? [use some guides to mark parts to snap to before erasing it, if needed]"

hmm..that's hard to draw a new arc line, coz it is created from arc+arc+arc, and will not get this "nearly perfect" line, by the way of trying to draw new arc line, how to draw a mark?
I usually use "T" key to mark but it's a line

@Gaieus : thanks for the snap trick, It Works!

[Gaieus]

Endpoints are a style setting. Go to Window > Styles > In model > Edit > Edge settings and there you can turn them off. (update the style and save an empty file this way under File > Save as template then under Window > Preferences > Templates, select this template if you always want SU to load with no endpoints visible).

You can weld those segments into a single curve with the plugin I linked above.

[mitcorb]

Gaieus:
Also find the Sketchup Default Style in Window>Styles, second from top left is Default Style, which looks like the Sketchup6 environment.

[Jean Lemire]

Hi folks.

To redraw an arc or a serie of arcs that have been exploded, try this:

1 - Group the exploded arc(s) to avoid upcoming geometry from merging with existing one.

2 - Use the endpoints and midpoints of exploded arcs to draw new arcs. This will be easier if the endpoint are showing (use Styles to control this setup).

3 - When done, delete the group that acted as a guide.

Just ideas.

[mingjae]

Its WooW...

thanks to Gaieus for the Welding Tools link
my model looks more tidy and clean now

thanks everyone

Hope this info will help another beginner to improve SketchUp skill.

[Gaieus]

It's not just looking more tidy but once a set of segments are welded into a single polyline/curve, it can be selected with a single click while you need to select the segments individually until it is welded.

[mingjae]

@gaieus said:

It's not just looking more tidy but once a set of segments are welded into a single polyline/curve, it can be selected with a single click while you need to select the segments individually until it is welded.

yes, I almost forget that,
but if I weld the blueprint line with double click and weld it, it always appear a bug splat message, so what I do is select 3-5 lines and weld it, and so on

and thanks for remind me for the style in SU,
I have tried use default style and that give more tidy in line meet line,
but after I use follow me tool, the un-welded line still appear, so the weld plugin is
very usefull. thanks

[Gaieus]

Unfortunately the Follow me tool - unlike the PushPull tool - explodes polylines (any kind of curves). So indeed, the weld plugin is always good to be at hand.