Hi,
I'm using SU13, and trying to export a 3D model as a 2D line drawing which will be pasted into a word (or powerpoint) document. I've been doing this via File>Export>2D graphic, choosing an image format (tif, png, jpeg), and exporting

The problem I'm having is one of line width - the lines resulting images are too fine. I've tried playing with the Styles options, but this is of limited help.

Could anyone suggest a way forward? Layout isn't an option, sadly, because I'm using SU Make. I guess in essence what I'm seeking is the ability to either alter the line thickness in SU (this seesm hard/impossible, as they are actually Edges), OR export as a vector line drawing?

Thanks in advance for any help

Fantastic - all my questions answered (well, until I encounter the next problem). Once again, and with feeling, thank you so much to all of you for taking a lot of time and effort to help me out (and apologies to Pilou and others for not uploading the v6 version of the model earlier).

Back again, just had a read thro all your comments and a play in SU. First up, a big THANK YOU to everyone - I finally get it (well, some of it some of the time, anyway).

Predictably, it turned out to be user error - thanks Dave for having the patience to step through the procedure, and jeff H for the video which rammed the point home. For the sake of other newbies like me, the error I was making was not intersecting the faces. So in Daves skp file (see upthread), I extruded the cutouts down past the model and assumed that this act alone created the intersection - it doesn't. You have to select everything, then right click - intersect faces (this puts the 2 elements, cutout and main model, into the same context, yes?) and NOW its easy (see Daves pics & Jeffs video). You have edges where you need them to delete the outside stuff you don't want. It takes seconds to clean it up. Jeffs method is kinda the inverse of this, and it also works really well. I've spent hours trying to do this, when in reality it should only take seconds - if you know how.

So now I know 4 seperate ways of doing this, 2 with inbuilt tools and 2 with plugins. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to offer help and advice.

I have a related question, prompted by some stuff upthread - if the mods think it better to make it a seperate thread, no problem.

Gilles said "When you proceed to deleting unwanted geometries, make the part soft and smooth", and Box mentioned welding the segments of the curves together. It got me thinking, because the ultimate aim is to print a real clip on a 3D printer (I'm new to that, too.....).

Now I know that SU draws circles as a series of straight lines, and I wanted the final 3D printed object to be circular not blocky, so I increased the segment count on the half circles to 100. Is this sensible, or just way too much? Gilles mentioned smoothing - does that just improve the visuals aspect of the image in SU, or does it have a real impact on a 3D printed object?

And Box mentioned welding the lines/segments of the curves together (presumably because the model was exploded at some stage in its history). I googled about this, and got rather confused. I understand that welding the lines together creates a polyline (polygonal curve), but I'm not clear how that actually differs from a regular line, and whether the arc/circle tools in SU create a series of regular lines or a polyline. And in the context of 3D printing, is it better that the curves be default SU arc/circles, or polylines?

Phew, another whole bunch of questions. I would like to finish with another, very sincere thanks for all the help you guys have given.

Hi all,

Just logged in and must apologise to Pilou and others - attached is the model saved as SU version 6, hope this helps.

Wanted to post the v6 model up quick, then I'm going to read all the help proferred and see where I am! Will be back in an hour or so

Thanks all

Test Outline_SU6 100x v3.2.skp

ADDENDUM to my post above - thanks Box, missed your post when I first replied.

Your comments re segments rings a loud bell with me, because I did increase the segment count in the circular sections. I assume that (1 of) the Tig-weld, Recurve, curvizard plugins should be applied to the 2D outline before it is extruded? Do the above differ from the "weld" plugin?
I guess this is also what Giles was saying with his comment "make the part soft and smooth and turn hidden geometry off"

Hi All, and thanks to everyone for helping out - its much appreciated.

First some info requested upthread: I am using Sketchup 2013 v13.0.4812

Now some Updates on my progress:
I downloaded Dave R's skp file to try out, and had some difficulties....you guys must find it annoying explaining basics, but it really helps me. Anyway I have posted both a pic and my updates to Daves skp to show what I mean. The RHS of the pic, numbered (1), is the central model in Daves skp. As he described, I selected the cutouts (from R to L - why is that important?) and hit delete, which removed all but the curved face from the cutout box, and left the clip sticking thro. However, I can't delete those remaining bits of the clip - as you can see, if I select an edge and delete, it simply removes the face along the whole of the clip. What am I doing wrong?

So I then thought the problem might lie with groups. I went back to the LHS model in Daves skp, made the clip a group then extruded one of the 2D cutouts and made that a group too. I then intersected the cutout group with the model group, and finally selected and deleted the cutout group. This left an outline of the cutout on the clip, and I then selected and deleted that outline. This worked, but with 2 problems (see (2) in my pic); the cut edge of the clip is open, that is there is no face. and the face element is free floating (on the outside face of what was the cutout box. How do I solve that? Its easy enough to delete the floating face, but how do I close or heal the open face?

@ Giles - you said "When you proceed to deleting unwanted geometries, make the part soft and smooth and turn hidden geometry off". How do I make a part smooth and soft?

I then went on to try OSCoolean, and after a few initial problems, that works fine. Hurrah, and thank you Giles! I'm going to try Cotty's hole on solid method now.

Last thing - I understand the point about grasping the basics first before using plugins, and its a good idea - thats why I'm asking where I'm going wrong with Dave R's approach. But sometimes people just want to get something done and move on - and there plugins seem to help. Speakig as a newbie, its a balance between learning, and getting so frustrated you just abandon the whole project.

Thanks again to everyone for chipping in - it really does help

Test Outline 100x v3.2.skp

Hi Dave,

Yes! thats exactly what I need to do - I get the intersecting bit, but what I don't get is how to delete the unwanted bits. I end up having to select each line individually, which is a real pain on the circular sections. Presumably there is a quick and easy way of deleting the intersected bits? Thet don't seem to be grouped, so how do you do it?

Thanks a lot for taking the time to help out

Hi Cotty, Pilou & andybot - thanks for taking the time to offer advice. Sorry I didn't post the skp file - I thought that a pic was easier, my mistake. I have attached the skp this reply.

@ andybot - the model is scaled by a factor of 100 from its final required size (final width @ 60mm, current width @ 6000mm/6m) - is that sufficient? I'm aware that Sketchup was originaly conceived for architecture, and in that contect 6m may still be viewed as quite small.

@ Cotty, thanks for taking the time to both draw my model from the pic and suggest solutions. I tried using shape bender to create a curve in the 2D profile, then Fredo's vector push-pull to extrude it into 3D. It kinda works, but the problem is it does skew the curves. If you look at the first pic I posted, the bottom part of the model is a half circle, and I want to retain the circular profile when its extruded. Using the above method, the circular section is skewed. However, this may be my mis-use of shape bender - it is very sensitive to where the object and target lines are placed, and I can't seem to get it quite right.

The best way I can describe what I want to achieve is to visualise the extuded model in the first pic, and take a bite out of the profile from the front edge - this would leave the half circle geometrically correct along the green axis. It seemed a no-brainer to intersect the model with a tube, then delete the bits I didn't want, but it takes forever as described in my first post. Is there any other way of doing it?

Thanks for your help

Test Outline 100x v2.skp

Hi all,
New to Sketchup and sadly at the lower end of the learning curve. I have a problem drawing an object (see attached image). I drew a profile/outline in 2D (step 1, at bottom of image) then used the push/pull tool to extrude along the green axis (step 2, at top of image). So far so good, but I now want to create a curve in the face of the 3D image, along the green axis (see red freehand lines, sorry its a bit clumsy) AND have the curve bulge out of the back. Not sure what you would call this - I guess its kinda a curved skew along the green axis. Another way to imagine it would be taking a bite out the the face, as if it was a sandwich, and somehow adding the same bite to the back face. Hope this makes sense.

I've been struggling for hours with this, with no success. I tried making a 3D cylinder, intersecting it with the model then deleting the bits I didn't want - but this resulted in a horrible mess, with hundred of sector lines each of which had to be deleted individually, and even then I lost faces in the bits of the moel I want. There is likely a simple way to do this, just I don't know what it is. Please could some kind soul advise?

Hi Dave, thanks for responding - I think I have found (part of) my problem, scaling. The original was quite small (about 4cm across), so I scaled up by a factor of 10 and then 100. I then played with the offset parameter in the RoundCorner extension, and by reducing it I seem to avoid deleting faces. Appreciate you taking the time to offer help - I'm sure I'll be back!