Some time ago I posted this.

Found this programmable key game controller, one handed, at Bestbuy for $39.00. It has 144 programmable keys. More than I need.

http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/cyborgcommand.htm

I have been looking for a programmable keyboard that was reasonable priced. So now, I am content.

Ken

Bob

Yes, the design was exclusively in SketchUp. I first had to draw the underwater portion of the oil platform to get all the tubular members in the correct position. Then I designed the habitat to fit around the node, allowing openings for each member. In this case 6 original jacket members and 1 new repair member. After finishing the design, I send it to our engineering staff to make sure that the design is safe. In this particular habitat, there was 68k of up lift force after the habitat is dewatered.

I haven’t tried any other 3d programs and have no plans to start, retirement next year. Going fishing.

I am not an engineer, just a “to old to dive” diver that knows how to use SketchUp.

I use TurboCAD 15 to make the fabrication drawings. I like TurboCAD because it will import SketchUp files, and is a program that I can afford. The company supplies me with Auto Cad, however I find it is over kill for my use.

Most of the stuff I do I can’t show, but I just wanted someone in the SketchUp community to see that the program is making some headway into some serious non-architectural projects.

Just wish they would change the name, so I wouldn’t have to defend the program every time I show something to a client and he wants to know what I used to make the illustrations. Been thinking about calling it DAMCAD since we also do work on dams.

Thanks for your interest

Regards Ken

I usually do not get to see my work in action. But today, I was sent a photo of the welding habitat as installed at -100 fsw. To me, it is as pretty as some your renders.

I know it is not architectural, but that the amazing thing about SketchUp, the versatility of the program.

Ken

Saw a post the other day about 3D printer. Below is my 3D printer hard at work. Even using 1/64” accuracy, if I can get it within 3SHB, (3 Sledge Hammer Blows) I call it a fit. Large thin plate steel and welder do not make for 1/64" accuracy.

Hammer away boys; with enough force it will fit.

I do enjoy looking at all the renders; wish that I had that talent.

Ken

Found this programmable key game controller, one handed, at Bestbuy for $39.00. It has 144 programmable keys. More than I need.

http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/cyborgcommand.htm

I have been looking for a programmable keyboard that was reasonable priced. So now, I am content.

Ken

@bep said:

Hello Ken,

You know that you can import a picture in Sketchup,and trace it with the Sketchup-tools?

Greetings,

Bep van Malde

Yep, do that all the time. I had a program that would print any file to a JPG or BMP, and used that to input into SketchUp. However, PDF didn't print out very well. So I was always on the lookup for someway to input a PDF into SketchUp. The Tracing Paper helps, still leaves a lot of work.

Thanks for your replies

Hello

I do must of my modeling from ACAD files, if they are available. However most of the time the orginal ACAD files have been lost or “just can’t be found”. So I have to do the modeling from PDF files.

Have found two programs that are a great help to me. The first is CAD-Kas PDF 2 DXF 2.0. This program will turn a PDF into a DXF file if the drawing was printed or saved as a DFX. However, it will not work on scanned drawings.

So I have found this other program, Screen Tracing Paper. Now this program installs a transparent tracing paper over the screen, onto which you can trace the object onto the tracing paper. After tracing you can export as a DFX and import into SketchUp. If you know one dimension, just scale the DFX with the scale tool and pesto, you have a scaled drawing of the scanned PDF.

A lot of work sometimes, but the only way I have found to turn scanned PDF into SketchUp files.

Ken

Thanks Todd for your response. Guess I put my question in the wrong group. I was wondering if there was a Ruby Script to just select locked groups or components.

Guess there isn't as of now.

Again thanks.

Ken

Is it possible to select only locked groups, so I could separate the locked from the unlocked?

Ken, thanks in advance

@mike d said:

ken
you set the selected edge color in the style dialog
goto edit tab in the styles dialog and it is under modeling box

mike d

Thanks Mike

It took me sometime to figure it out, even with you suggestion. Got it now.

Thanks for the help.

Well it started when I tried to open a folder and I had an application program error trying to use Window Explorer and it ended up with a unreadable hard drive, to finally a new computer. More to the story here, but I am sure the short version is enough.

Darn. I had backed up a couple of days earlier, and didn’t following my instincts to back up again before trying to fix this problem. So I lost some work I can redo. However, I didn’t realize how many programs I had gotten off the Internet. Darn, now replacing these programs is going to be costly. I have learned to keep better track of the buying, serial numbers and activation codes of these program.

So I bought a new computer and seem to be up and running again, except one little problem.

Now when I make a selection in Sketchup, the edges are dark blue and not yellow and I’ll be darned if I can find the area to change the color of a selected edge from blue to yellow.

Any help would be appreciated.

On to another note, I read somewhere an operating system shell that you could put onto a stick drive and access you hard drive. The computer would boot off the stick drive allowing you access to the hard drive.

Thanks in advance.

Oops! Darn, I just overlooked that option. I was so use to the cubics in other cad programs, I just forgot about the houses.

OK, the dummy is back in the box, those darned 3d trees got in my way again.

Thanks for you help.

Would it be possible to make a toolbar, with Top, Bottom, Left, Right, Front, Back, Parallel projection, Perspective and Two-Point Perspective, such that to change camera views, you wouldn’t need to go the Camera menu?

Thanks in advance

Ken

@lapx said:

Look up k-tools ruby. Under geometry/ round edge. It will do what you are asking.

Sorry to be slow today, under my K_tools 5, I don't have the option of rounded corners, Angle division, outer circle of triangle, inner circle of triangle, Make T, Make L.

However, thanks for the help.

Ken

Thanks to everyone for looking at my problem.

Beside all my other duties, I write one time procedures on equipment that we use in construction projects. I like to illustrate the procedures with simple drawing. At the present, I am writing basic operational procedures for the hydraulic systems we use. And in these procedures I just want make simple line drawing, not ACAD, or 3d illustrations, just simple line drawings, to show the area of interest or explain a point.

ACAD is just too cumbersome, MS Word drawing, not usable, SketchUp would be OK if I could just make rounded corner on connecting lines, without going to the arc tool.

So any help out there for a simple drawing program. Does not need to draw in scale, but I do need to know the drawing size in relation to the paper size, and the drawaing needs to be exported as a PNG or JPG.

Thanks in advance

Scrip help

Would it be possible to make a rounded corner script. To round the corners of two selected lines? It would work, by selecting the scrip, selecting the first line, selecting the point on the first line that you would like the rounding to start, and then selecting the second line. The scrip would than add an arc to between the two lines using the distance. If the lines did not cross, the scrip would continue the lines until they did cross and than add the arc.

The script would remember the setting, allowing you to select more lines to have the corners rounded.

Thanks in advance.

Well, my wish is to have some way to group layers into upper and sub levels. Such that in the layer manger display window, I could have an upper level layer named "xxxx" and inside that layers' level are all the sub level layers that I want to be associated with the upper named layer. In addition, also, to have the option of just showing the upper level layers, or all the sub level layers of each upper level layer.

Hope this makes since.

Ken

A lasso, circle or square cutting selection tool that only copied what was within the selection, so you could use re-scale the section to show small details up close.

Ken

"In addition to a plethora of other CAD tools I use (SolidWorks, Sketchup, IntelliCAD, etc) I keep a copy of LiteCAD on a thumbdrive."

Don’t mean to hijack this thread, but a portable version of SketchUp Pro would be nice.

Ken

I had the same problem couple of months ago. Below is the thread. Finally fixed it with repeat removals and installations. Never did figure out what happen. Hope you have better luck than me. However, have not had that problem since the re-install.

http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1596

Ken