Posts made by gordon_smith

I haven't tried the plugin yet, but it is very exciting. This could make sketchup much more useful for me. Where I work the mechanical engineers use Catia, and it would be awseome to be able to send them my drawings in a format that they can use.
I also want to second the FreeCad & MeshLabs method as a great way to get IGES files into sketchup.

I was using the SVG import plugin, but my PC died and when I tried to get the plugin to work on the new PC, it just wouldn't work, so now I export from inkscape as a DXF.

I have an interesting workflow that invloves sketchup. Sometimes at work we get sent 2d CAD drawings in PDF format. Somtimes they don't have all the dimensions I need. Inkscape can open the PDF. I remove any borders etc then save it as an SVG. Then I import the file to sketchup. If it's scaled 1:1 I can start pulling dimensions off, other wise I have to rescale it first.

Would anyone be interested in writing this script? I don't have the skills to do it myself, but I think the results could be very useful.

The idea is to take the contents of an excel file or csv file and turn that in to a 3d bar chart / pie chart / line chart in sketchup

the data in the excel / csv file would need to contain titles and figures like this

hour, qty;
hour 1, 15;
hour 2, 16;
hour 3, 33;
hour 4, 24;
hour 5, 34;
number of bubbles counted per hour;

the LAST row should contain the heder only
the first row should contain the x and y axis titles.
the first column should contain the x axis data and can be alphanumeric
the second column should contain the y axis data and should be numerical

the ruby script needs to figure out how many rows of data there are (n)
the ruby script needs to figure out the largest number (negative numbers should be treated as positive numbers for this step) (z)
it needs to check that for each row there is data in columns 1 and 2, except for the last row which contains only the header
it needs to check that the data in column 2, from the 2nd row onwards is numerical
it probably needs to check some other things I haven't considered

then the script should then create (n) squares in sketchup, placed in a line along the red axis moving from left to right
the size of these squares should be (z0.1) = (p)
the pitch between squares should be (p1.25) = (s)
starting with the first sqare, push / pull the face by the value of the row in column 2 of the excel / csv file
group each cubiod, then group all cuboids together
for the x axis
starting with the first cuboid place insert the value of column 1 of the csv / excel file as 3d text centred underneath the cuboid
(for negative numbers, place above)
for the y axis
produce a y axis with appropriately spaced values (will need some clever algorithm to work this out - see http://stackoverflow.com/questions/361681/algorithm-for-nice-grid-line-intervals-on-a-graph )
stick the header in as screen text.

Hello, my name is Gordon and I thought I'd just introduce myself. I use sketchup all the time in my job as a Production Engineer. It's the perfect tool for quickly conceptualising jigs and fixtures, or benches, or other production equipment like that.
I've attached a PDF to show an example of how I use sketchup. My normal workflow is: model in sketchup, use the Smustard ortho plugin to generate orthographic projections, dimension the model in sketchup, export as 2d PNG, open up a Word template that has the border details I require, fill in the border details, import the PNG, create a PDF, print and supply to machine shop for fabrication.
I've tried Layout, wasn't a huge fan, but I'm not massively keen on the way sketchup dimensions in general, especially the lack of native support for dimensioning angles.
It's also a shame that there isn't a dead simple way to import models from Pro/Engineer, which is what our Mechanical Engineers use to model up parts. I've had some success with using the STL import plugin. Being able to import the CAD data they work on means I can build jigs and fixtures etc whilst getting dimensions straight off the modelled part, rather than from a drawing that never seems to show the dimensions I'm interested in.
Anyway, that's how I use sketchup. Is there anyone else out there that uses it in a similar way? Any tips on how I can improve workflow and get the best out of sketchup?

example