- SKETCHUP MAKE 3D PRINTING FOR FREE
- SKETCHUP MAKE 3D PRINTING HOW TO
- SKETCHUP MAKE 3D PRINTING UPGRADE
- SKETCHUP MAKE 3D PRINTING FULL
How to Check Your Modelsįirst download netfabb Basic, a free program you can use to quickly verify designs. If you’re using a program like SketchUp that uses surface modeling, it can be tricky to make your 3D model printable, so I’m going to walk you through a few of the most common errors and show you how to fix them. Many of the errors we see stem from how the digital model was created and often the main problems come down to whether the design was modeled using solid bodies or surfaces. However, you get your part back to find out that it’s not printable!
SKETCHUP MAKE 3D PRINTING FULL
For example, check out this adorable 1:48 scale 3D Printed teeny tiny cabin in color by d12dozr on sketchUcation, printed in Full Color Sandstone:Īre you a SketchUp wizard? Share links to your models here and give us some insight into how you made them we’d love to feature your work in a future Tutorial Tuesday!Īs an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, so if you’ve got something you need to pick up anyway, going to Amazon through this link will help us keep Hacktastic running.You’ve created a seamless design-structurally sound, sufficiently thick, and mindful of overhangs. The Thorn Dice Set, one of the most popular designs on Shapeways, was created with SketchUp by Made by Wombat:Īnd, of course, people use SketchUp for architecture. Or how about this 32-Tooth Lego Technic compatible Gear from Taran’s Terrific Technic shop? This designer is kind enough to also share the SketchUp files for their models, which you can learn from and modify for your own needs. Let’s start with this Pixel Band from the well-known LucasPlus Shapeways shop: So what do people make with SketchUp? Pretty much anything they want. When you’re ready for some more advanced techniques, check out the SketchUp Skill Builder blog posts and learn about layers, parametric assemblies, patterns, and much more:Īnd if you’re lucky enough to have access to Lynda courses, George Maestri’s SketchUp Essential Training course is particularly well done, especially if you really are interested in designing and printing buildings:
This walkthrough assumes no prior knowledge and does a great job of showing some of the basic constructions you can make in SketchUp:įor some pro tips on making your SketchUp models printable, you should also take a look at the article 8 Tips for 3D Printing with SketchUp from :
Of the many, many tutorials out there for SketchUp, one of the best for getting started is All3DP’s SketchUp 3D Printing Tutorial for Beginners. Now you can bring in existing designs and save models in a form suitable for 3D printing as well. This will enable you to import and export STL files. For most purposes (and certainly for getting started) SketchUp Make should be sufficient.Īfter downloading SketchUp you should immediately download the Sketchup STL extension.
SKETCHUP MAKE 3D PRINTING UPGRADE
There is also a paid version, SketchUp Pro, which you can always upgrade to later if necessary.
SKETCHUP MAKE 3D PRINTING FOR FREE
You can download SketchUp Make for free at the Sketchup download site. This week on Tutorial Tuesday we’ll run down the best beginner and intermediate resources for SketchUp and highlight some great 3D printed models built with SketchUp. And SketchUp has done a great job of creating resources to help you use it that way: If you’re looking for free, reliable software that is easy to start using and also has the teeth for more advanced projects, SketchUp might be the tool you seek.Īlthough SketchUp wasn’t originally created for 3D printing, it has become a popular modeling tool with a large community following. But did you know you can use it to make much more than buildings? SketchUp is a natural software choice for bringing architecture to life in 3D.