I have been thinking about this all week! Giles your approach follows the KISS formula. All the newbies (myself included) want a "plugin" to do everything fast and easy but sometimes you have to step back and look at what you got... and what you know. You reshaped my thinking.....thank you.

I'll have to watch that 99 times but yes!!!!!!!! Thank You!!!!!!!!

I either didn't use the correct search parameters, or else...., but how can I map a section or say a mountain using google earth into sketchup? I see the elevation numbers go up and down as I scroll with G E but i want to create an elevation map of that area. Is it possible?

@unknownuser said:

@unknownuser said:

Seems Shape Bender will be the more easy ?

except shapebender won't work on a closed curved (cylinder).. so there's more work involved then just running shapebender and that's that..

you have to take out some of the circle then calculate that gap and separate it from the flat drawing you're trying to wrap.. then fill in the gap manually..

Thats the way First make just a circle at about 40 segments, cut 1/2 of a segmant out. Use Chris's tool on a jpg anothing (have to explode the pic than re component it). It will bend. Close the Top and bottom. Grab one long side and drag it to the other to close. It fills in both ends so you can do what ever from there

@mac1 said:

@futurepast said:

Is this what you want? I use d Cris Fulmers bending tool to bend a flat impeller around the spiral from the vid above, and just rotated a few times. Oh I see you want the tube. Should bend the same way?

Just checked yes it works but you have to "explode" the spiral for Cris's tool to work

Have you looked at the link provided above? The draw metal plugin lets you draw it no time or does it not work as shown

You create just the spiral and then you have to ungroup it for cris's tool to work. The part gets bent around the spiral

I guess you are right lol I didn't play with any paramaters but I think it can do what he wants by changing the diamiters at each end

Untitled.skp

Is this what you want? I use d Cris Fulmers bending tool to bend a flat impeller around the spiral from the vid above, and just rotated a few times. Oh I see you want the tube. Should bend the same way?

Just checked yes it works but you have to "explode" the spiral for Cris's tool to work

Untitled.skp

I had the same problem and discovered that a circle having only 2 pionts snaps to plane but and arc only the first 2 pionts do that the third when you drag it can be off so as a newbe that I am, create a back ground plane (big square) an make it a component, then I create my arc on it because the 3rd piont it will say "on component face".

Your timing is spectacular!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish you had a USB Port in your ear so I could stick my finger in and download all you know! I have been at this 6 months now and still feel like I have barely scratched the surface! It feels great when you have an AH!HA! moment, but it sucks when you find you did a rooky mistake. Actually I want to thank ALL you guys for for work in here. Without you, I wouldn't know half as much as I know, and wouldn't be in a place to learn more.
Keep up the good work!!!!!
Thanx
Mike

Got ya! thanx

OK Thanks!! I haven't gotten into outliner yet guess I am going to have to! LOL I'm still muddling through but I try to do things one at a time so I don't get brain burn lol

Thanks for the answeres. I was using cutlist and it kept bringing up components that were not there. It turns out I did a rooky mistake. I hid some of the components. Then eraised sections of my modle forgrtting to unhide. After making changes to the design I came up with studs inside of studs etc. after I evenually hit the unhide button. So when I selected all Cutlist listed everything....was trying to see if there was a way to check all the components on a list against what I show on the screen (if that makes sense)

It seems that the only way to get information about a component is to click on it and then go into entity info. But I want a list of all 123 components so I can check the attributes 1 by 1 in order.

How can I see the entire component list from 1 to whatever.......whith out clicking on a particular compont and having to read it out of order

Thanks, I started over doing it a different way and the poly count went way down. The first time I did a screen layout for the holes and then used radial bending to make the pipe shape. I thought it would be easier to use a grid pattern first. It was the bending that added the extras. This time I just made the pipe and took the time to punch the holes. More time less problems

I created a simple pipe but with alot of holes in it. It has SO MANY hidden lines it takes forever to do anything... click and wait and wait. Is there a way to convert to a lower count even if the drawing is alittle "rougher"?

Does this have the same error as the original? In the original, the first spacing from the first stud to the second was entered as "outside to outside" instead of "outside to center" (that is off by 3/4" on a 2/ imperial). The rest of the wall was run on center from that, that 3/4" error throws 4' siding off (unless you want to cut the first sheet)