So I imported an stl for a tablet wall mount, hoping to be able to move the “holes” as the tablet has changed over the years and the power/volume buttons are in a different place along the edge.
When I explode the item, it ends up with lines all over the place as it is a rounded edge. Is there a simple way to get rid of the lines and/or move these holes?
What units did you select when you imported the .stl?
Softening the edges will make some of those edges invisible. There’s likely some you can erase.
Are you still using SketchUp 2017 Make as indicated in your forum profile? Depending on the version you are using there may be some tools that can help.
Thanks for the response Dave. Yes still using 2017.
Will give the softening edges a go. I deleted a much of the lines but several of them especially on the inside rounded edge cause walls to disappear.
I didn’t get to select anything when importing the STL that I recall. Just selected the file (which is here. ).
So those you can’t erase. They are needed to support faces.
There should be an Options button next to the Import button.
Share the .stl file. I followed the link and tried to download the .stl files but they didn’t show up and I don’t want to have to sign up on that site.
Hee you go..tx
Back+Cable+Right+Side.stl (153.0 KB)
OK. So I imported the .stl with the units set to Meters and I ticked the box to Merge Coplanar Faces. It looks like this.
Then I selected all of the geometry (triple click with the Select tool), then right clicked and selected Soften/Smooth edges.
Where do you want to move the holes to? Might be easiest to remove the existing holes and create new ones in the right locations. It might actually be simplest to use this as a reference and create a brand new object from scratch. You can then put holes exactly where you need them.
FWIW, you can model with units set to Meters which helps to prevent issues with tiny missing faces. Leave the model in Meters and when you import the .stl into the slicer it’ll go in as millimeters (or inches if the slicer allows you to select inches as the import units).
Wow, that’s amazing. Essentially I want to keep all the holes where they are, then add a second one right after the single (same distance between the first and second as the second and third).
E.g., Thing is the holes are also two diameters. I.e., at the outer end, the diameter I believe is 3mm and extrudes into the model by 2mm, then there is a 4mm (or 3.6mm can’t recall) tube extending into the interior. E.g., something like the below, as there is a rod that goes in to those and “stops” as it exits. E.g., think of this type of dowel going into the interior section then just the end pops out a bit at the end (so that you can press it and it hits the table buttons).
Actually, here is the “pin”… if it helps. I inserted it into my sketchup model as an example.
Pin.stl (11.6 KB)
BTW, looks like in 2017 there is no option to select anything when you import stl files. It literally just opens the file browser and when you select the STL it pops into Sketchup.
Edit … nevermind, I see it is in the “options” menu on the file window (thought it was a pop up)
So you should first fix the bad geometry around the existing holes so you can eliminate the triangulation.
Then you can model the holes as a volume and intersect it with the geometry of the case. A lot of this would be even easier if you make solid objects and use the Bool Tools 2 extension to subtract the hole “cutter” volume from the case.
FWIW, I started a remake of the thing. I copied the flat face along with the bottom perimeter edge and the top one where the large gap is. I split the large face into two separate profiles so I could run Follow Me along the two different paths. I wound up with the two objects at the far left. Those I combined into a single object and then I filled in the missing stuff and removed the unneeded geometry. Now it’s ready for whatever holes need to be placed in it.
I haven’t added the holes yet but note that there’s none of the triangulation that the imported .stl hase.
Yeah. Like I showed in my screenshot. 
Any chance you can show me how you used follow me and managed to capture the same roundness curve? Follow me always causes me grief!
Can you share the file and I can see if I can figure out how to extrude/add the holes?
I copied out the edges and the flat edge face as I described.
I split the face into two sections. For Follow Me you don’t really need very much of it.
Then I ran Follow Me for each of those.
And use the Line tool to draw in the long edges to get the gaps filled in.
The next steps would be to combine the two parts, fill in the missing face on the top between the inner and outer extrusion followed by removing all internal faces and coplanar edges.
As for the holes, I made a second hole to the right of the single one at the same spacing as the two on the right. It put the middle two closer together and the oval recesses overlapped so I made it one oval. I modeled a “cutter” volume for the whole thing.
And then used Difference from Bool Tools 2 to cut the case with it.
Able to share the file? I just can’t seem to even get the top/bottom edges to copy correctly!
Sorry. SketchUp 2026 files won’t open in 2017.
What happens when you try?
Bottom I think is workable, just need to eliminate the existing holes..
The top … how do you copy it without the curvature? Is there a way to just copy the inner rounded line as when I select it I only get pieces of it. E.g., second pic below.
You only need the perimeter edges for the bottom and the top. Don’t copy the surfaces, too.
Yes. Go back and look at my screenshots. That’s what I showed.
