Hi again,

I've been learning how to model a human torso through various tutorials, but what I really want to tackle now is to learn how to draw a strap around an irregular shape.

For better illustration, here's an example picture of a fall arrest safety harness:

What I've been puzzling about for the last couple of weeks was how to draw a line traversing across multiple planes. I can guess one of the approach is to draw a rectangle and rotate it to the appropriate angle, thus acting as a working plane for drawing the Follow Me path.

Are there alternatives? Easier, more efficient methods?

Thanks for any and all inputs!

For the sphere, my original model had a radius of 8 mm. Apparently Sketchup has a minimal area size, thus disallowing it to draw the tiny segment areas at the top and bottom of the sphere.

Also, the "simplest" way I can think of drawing a sphere is with that plugin (found somewhere or other).

@gaieus said:

Hi Lim, Hi Bruce,

I think the problem is different. My suggestion is that your model is very tiny (in millimetres or farctions of inches) therefore the very small faces don't fill (this is a known issue in SU).

The general workaround is to model bigger and if you really need that small size, scale your model down when finished.

BTW there is a way easier way to make a sphere

Ah, that makes a lot of sense! And further testing has revealed it to be true, too!

Okay, new hiccup >.>

Was following this tutorial by the SketchupShow to create a sphere. But every sphere I've made comes out like this:

What am I doing wrong?

Further investigation led me to this tutorial. Hence splitting the cylinder in half is redundant in some cases.

Thanks for the replies.

Here's what I had in mind (for the first query):



B is one of the shaft that will be inserted into A. What I want is to bore a housing for said end.

I may have two possible workarounds; will update later in the day.

EDIT:
Went through some tutorials and had a moment of inspiration:



Copy the finished block,
Flip it around,
Move it to position and
Hide seams as needed.

I'd sincerely like any faster alternative methods or feedback.

Thanks again.

Hello,

I'm used to the horrid ol' ProDesktop and a little smattering of ProEngineer. Turned to SketchUp recently since those professional programs are a little out of my budget range. I've gone through the tutorials Google was so kind to provide and am now working on random projects as practice.

Right now I've have two remaining problems that I need help with:

The first involves modelling a cylinder block with a feature carved into the model. Say, for this example, a housing for the top end of a shaft and ball bearing ring. (I'd post a picture of what I intend if somebody could recommend a decent image sharing site.)

The second was when I tried to expand upon the chair modelling tutorial from Google. I wanted this model to have a cylindrical leg with a profile cut out. However, I soon found out that Sketchup wouldn't allow me to select the profile area that appeared inside the cylinder. Is the only proper way to do this by drawing out the profile before-hand and extrude it along a circle?

One last tip I'd also like: what's the best practice for dragging a Follow-me profile to and from a single point?