@mike lucey said:

...But if Trimble SketchUp were to be non operable on older OS systems this might then be a possibility....

Ah yes, this makes sense.

I think its naive to believe that stripping out features from the free version will convince free users pay up, especially if the price will be increased from ~$500. I'm all for a bigger and better Sketchup, and am willing to pay the upgrade (I want the SU team to eat too!), but how will taking away features that are already there benefit anybody?

I used SU free for about a year until I needed Layout, when I happily purchased. I am grateful for the (nearly) full use of the program and may never have learned and eventually purchased it if not for the opportunity. If the program is going to be crippled by taking features away, new users may just migrate to other free alternatives (of which there are many!)

So IMO: add features, increase price some if necessary, but don't take anything away from the free version.

That looks like it may be a geodesic structure. I'd take a look at Taffgoch's collection in the 3D warehouse for some ideas.

@cotty said:

You can toggle the "active cut" setting of a section plane with a double click...

!!!

Great plugin when mapped to a shortcut. Thanks Clark!

FYI everybody, Clark just headed up a local meetup about ruby programming.

You should be able to save as DWG/DXF and import that into Sketchup.

Thank you for these, Nick. I learned some excellent tips!

Yeah, that's common.

I'd love to come to the Pop-up store, but its a bit out of my range

@liam887 said:

That wasn't done on a makerbot it was shipped to a studio in soho I think with a pro machine.

Yeah, it looks like laser-sintered polyamide (Shapeways calls it Strong and Flexible plastic) made on a ~$200K machine.

Did the model take much work to convert from render-ready to print-optimized?

Your jetpack in the window - awesome! How'd that turn out for you? I recall you mentioning that you were going to have it printed and am curious about your experience.

I've used a couple personal 3D printers (Makerbot cupcake and a Reprap)at a local makerspace. With 3D print services like Shapeways and i.materialise, I don't think it makes sense for most people to buy a 3D printer. With a print service, you get far more & better materials and you don't have the maintenance headaches. You don't have to worry about the machine being obsolete in a year, either.

If you insist on a home printer, the UP! (marketed as the Afinia brand in the U.S.) may be your best bet. It comes fully assembled (many 3D printers do now), and gives very good results out of the box. Afinia placed #1 in Make Magazine's recent 3D printer roundup for "Best Overall Experience." That guide, on sale for $10, reviews 15 of the latest 3D printers and makes a great read for anyone thinking about buying a home 3D printer.

Thomthom's Selection Toys and Cleanup plugins may also be useful here.

@thomthom said:

...I have it on my list to implement a soft-selection that acts upon connected distance that would have solved your problems in this particular case...

I was also wishing for this a few days ago.

Here you go Andy: http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=287&t=47786&p=428356&hilit=+list#p428356

The easiest way would be to use the Follow-me tool on a 90 degree corner path.

I like it

Twilight for Mac is still in beta, I believe.

Oh, I misunderstood your original post.

You're looking for a good rendering plugin for your designs for 3D printing, correct? Are the renders to be used for promotion, or your own use?

If for promotion, personally I like to just order prints and take photos of the real thing. Photos are more realistic, and you get to test the prints for any problems before promoting them.

As far as a render plugin for product design, I prefer Twilight for its simplicity. Thea would be my next choice as I've seen excellent renders from it. Twilight is good if you're beginning, and Thea excellent for more advanced users.

I don't think such a plugin exists, but it would be useful!

What do you mean by "rendering"? Do you mean a photorealistic render plugin like Twilight?

What would the plugin do, besides telling the price of the model?