Posts made by Chopper Greg

Can SU scale using a ratio, rather than selecting a line / surface and then having to independently calculate the size that you want it scaled to?

Not confusing things at all - it was mentioned a page or two back, and part of the same subset of problems.

Their server must be down - I have tried 3-4 different sites and they all point back to the same flawed address.

Edit - not being able to download minimagics, doesn't appear to be a issue as the only 3D export file types alowed is dae & kmz.

x-ray?

I have looked and looked, and I am not seeing anything labled "x-ray".

There is no doubt that it can be done with the move tool - the problem is being able to tell if it will fit in real life rather than just being imposed on the objects in SU.

An extream example of one object being imposed on the other:

Here is what I have so far:

I'm looking to mate the slots, without shoving one part into or through another.

I have been expramenting with sketchyphysics, but have no idea what I'm doing with it.

I must be stupid - all I can find is the option to watch it on YouTube.

@d12dozr said:

Oh, and have you seen Aidan Chopra's website? http://www.aidanchopra.com/tableofcontents There are many excellent videos here, and he's got a great sense of humor

I wonder if there is anyway to download the video's to go over while offline.......

Anyway, I just ordered the book - I think at least part of the problem was that I was getting components and groups mixed up.

@unknownuser said:

thing is, everything you're asking for (well, except for the solids thing) is possible in sketchup.. i do it often with some weird stuff so i know it works.. it might just be a simple change of mindset to accomplish what you want.. don't fight the software.. realize what it can do for you and go with that..

That's just it, I am trying, but because the object are not acting as solid individual pieces, they end up shoved through another piece or worse - they stick to each other and when I test fit I end up pulling the parts totally out of shape.

I have heard that making each part a group, would help in this regard, but the tutorial about groups is less than crystal clear and I find my self getting more and more frustrated with it.

@unknownuser said:

[fwiw, i've built a lot of stuff like this in the past and this drawing is the first time i'm actually drawing the entire frame.. i usually only get this detailed on very specific complex sections and the rest is done out of the head.. i'm only drawing this for a big promo print... if you're new to carpentry, welcome!.. pre-visualization is a great thing for successful projects and i suggest practicing it mentally as well as electronically]

Yes, I'm fairly new to carpentry - and as such, while I know what I would like to accomplish, I do not know how to do it, and as such I tend to end up wasting a fair amount of material. Thus the reason I would like to be able to cut and fit with electrons rather than the real stuff.

@gruff said:

I do not think you realize what a complex thing it is you ask Greg.
I have many years of Solidmodeling under my belt with most of the popular true solid modelers (Solidworks, Inventor, Intergraph, Unigraphics, Etc...) I can tell you that none of them implement what you describe in any usable way.

Solidworks can do motion. You can add 'Mates' between solid parts. This allows them to pivot, slide, hinge and quite a bit more. They even added virtual motors both radial and linear. With some fancy footwork they can simulate belts and gears, in the latter case it doesn't work by virtual friction or surfaces impacting other surfaces. The point I'm getting at is that with all this parts can still intersect and pass through each other.

I think that there is some misunderstanding - I don't have allot of need for automation within the program - I can move a part myself were I want it to go, I just need to know when one part will not fit another, without being pushed into or through the surface and I have not been able to achieve that with SU..

@gruff said:

Perhaps Simple alignment mates could be added to Sketch up. I can see that working. You would select a face on each of two parts then apply a coincident mate. The loose part moves to that position.
Three Mates and your parts are locked where you want them to be.

If I am understanding it correctly - this might work from my purposes.

@xrok1 said:

you could try booltools and just build with dimensional lumber and then use the difference tool to trim away anything that laps or intersects. that way when you measure the resulting parts they can't possibly not fit together properly.

booltools?

I have not heard of it - I tried looking it up and I'm finding allot of references ( about 4,600 hits ), but not hard data about what it actually does, it could be that I'm just missing it among all the references.

I would think that a little more than a warning dialog would be of greater use - like highlighting the area ( or area's ) that has intersection occurring, even then that might be less functional than allowing full contact but no penetration of an object on another object - like a 5mm OD peg not quite fitting into a 5mm ID hole.

@xrok1 said:

excuse my opinion but if you need to place all studs then drywall ... in SU before you build it you have no business building anything! if you need to build machined parts and put them together for something like a pump for example, then use Solidworks or something similiar. besides inferencing and careful design work should be totally capable of keeping you out of trouble. IMHO

With due respect, that is not very nice.

No one starts off as a Norm Abram, nor can everyone afford the likes of solidworks or do they have the skill to use it.

Pre-building, even basic items, will point out any problems and allow people to properly plan. As such the ability to cut and test fit everything beforehand would be of great use to make sure that the design they hand in mind is valid, but to do that, your objects need to act as solids. We have heard from another poster, that even professionals do not always get their designs so that it will work in real life, until after the cutting has begun.

Such pre-building would allow, all the cutting and fitting to be done long before anyone putts their hand on a saw, thus would be of use to anyone including non-professionals, allowing any object that could be made with SketchUp's simple push-pull system to be test built, with inexpensive electrons and not expensive real world materials.

I just see it as an extension ( granted extreme simplification of the idea ) of being able to make and test fit parts together electronically, before they are actually made in real life.

@unknownuser said:

maybe i'm missing something but what you're describing you want to do in this post is fully possible using only SU and it's most basic tools.

I don't think it is - I have tried to, but always end up pushing an object through another or one object sticks to the other.

@unknownuser said:

Seems you can make that with SketchyPhysics3
But with some add little part of coding from you

I know next to nothing about programing - especially anything more than old fashion Basic, and I have forgotten almost all of that ( last time I did any programming was ~25 yrs ago ) .

I think that is what I'm looking for - the ability to move an object, until it is no longer able to move due to the physical limit of the object, as it would in real world objects.

In other words, to be able to slide the slot of one piece into the slot of another piece, until both slots are at their limit, and the pieces are in the position.

A more elaborate way of using this application might be to build, piece by piece - such as taking SketchUp 2x4 studs, "cut them to length", and then "nail" them in place, to build a wall, and then cover that wall with SketchUp pieces of drywall.

With something like this, a construction project can be built a piece at a time, until project completion and one could see where problems in construction would occur before actual building started, due to the "electronic" pieces having actual physical limits to which they have to adhere to.

While stickiness is one of the issues, pushing one part into and pass the boundaries of another part is probably a bigger issue.

I am truly a noob with SketchUp and still figuring out everything.

What I'm trying to do is design a A/V center, based on plywood, that fit's together by a series of matching slots, making it easy to put together and take apart - thus the reason I need the objects to act as solids.

One would think that it might be possible to designate a surface ( or an entire object ) as inviolate - that is to say, that once designated, it can not be intruded on ( the shape can not be changed ), until the property of being inviolate is removed, and in that way the object would act as if it were actually solid.

Did that make sense?

How does one make objects behave as if they were really solid?

I'm trying to make a bunch of parts in order to test fit them together without pushing one into or through another, and not having much luck.