I’ve never used this before, so I just need to know if I’m doing it right! I think I’m done modeling this arcade cabinet, and I’m ready to get a top down 2d render of all the pieces so I can get it to the CNC machine… is that something I can do from what I have here? Or will I have to manually measure and create each piece?
You seem to have designed a cabinet-shaped object, but you won’t be able to use the model as it exists to generate anything for a CNC machine. Each element in your model–the sides, the top, the back, and so on, should be made as components. Right now, all those parts are just loose geometry. In SketchUp terms, a component is a separate, discrete part of the model. For your arcade cabinet, the sides, for example, will be, say, 3/4" thick and cut from a piece of plywood or MDF. So the sides should be one element, or component, shaped as you’ve done them but made 3/4" thick with the Push/Pull tool. Working with components is Rule One about SketchUp. I’m afraid you’ll need to go back to Square One and redo the model, following Rule One.
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David is correct. You need to make each discrete part a component so you can disassemble the model to be able to see every piece. Here, I’ve started by making a side panel component and copying it. I copied the side profile from your model. Before going any further though, do those look like the kiind of dimensions you’re after? Do you really want 41-63/64 in. to the level of the plating surface?
FWIW, after the sides are correctly dimensioned and in place, you can model each part in between making components as you go.
Awesome.
Well, live and learn! I guess when I’m rebuilding it I can keep an eye out for tweaks and changes! Thanks for the reply!
When I do redo that, and have everything as a component, how would I get a 2D render of each individual component? The CNC machine I’ll be using takes cad files, but needs everything flat, top down.
Almost. It should be 31 1/2" and 42 1/2" for those two measurements. That’s what my sketch shows, anyway.
That’s not what your model shows. At least not if you increase Precision to something appropriate.
Once you have the components created, you can lay copies of them out flat before creating a DXF or DWG file. What CNC software are you using?
Well, good thing I’m rebuilding the entire thing then! I’ll make sure everything is precise.
I’ll ask my buddy at the shop what software it is, and I’ll reply after work with that information (and to any other comments that are made!).
Thank you so much for all the information you all have shared already! Better to find this out now than when I try get it cut out and put together!
Indeed!
Before you get too busy redrawing it, go to Window>Model Info>Units and set the Units to Fractional and the Precision to 1/64" You may not actually be building to 64ths but setting precision that fine makes it possible to see where you might have errors.
Also, you might be able to use parts of your model to redraw it.
This will be a quick lesson in creating scenes. Check the SketchUp Help center for more detailed instructions. When you’ve completed the cabinet, go to Window>scenes and make a new scene for the assembled view. Now copy all the parts of the cabinet and move the copy far along the red axis. Create a new scene for the copy. Now, working on the copy, delete all the duplicate parts—the second side, the second drawer, and so on.Rotate each of the remaining components so their outside faces point toward you. Use the Move tool to jockey the parts so that they dont appear to overlap. Go to Camera>Parallel Projection, then to Camera>Standard Views>Front. That should produce what seems to be a 2D view of each unique component. Update this scene by clicking the two arrows chasing each other at the top left corner of the Scenes window; click the Update button in the window that pops up.
This is a very brief rundown of what you need to do. Best to consult the Help center before you wade too deep into this.
Sorry for the delay. CNC is using an old program - Mastercam v9.
Getting started on the new scene tonight, and hopefully doing everything right this time!
Not sure if anyone is still following along, but here’s take number 2!
Much better. Not sure why you have nested the side components (basically double wrapped them) but it otherwise looks good.
You might want to go through the parts and check the dimensions to make sure they are suitable. Currently they look like this:
One thing is shows is that some of the angled components need to have their axes aligned with the geometry. The “Top Component Diagonal” is a good example.The components will be easier to layout if you change the axes to align with the geometry.
You could use an extension like CutList to generate a file that could be used in a sheet optimization application to layout the parts efficiently for cutting. For that, you will definitely need to have the axes oriented correctly.
I hope I’m not muddying the water here.
Before you go to the CNC machine and have your parts cut, you might want to consider the joinery or how you will actually assemble all the pieces.
It seems that everything will be butt jointed (like IKEA furniture) but that might be a problem for some of the pieces with beveled edges.
If you’re contemplating having shelves rest in dados or grooves the dimensions of the shelves would have to adjusted to reflect this. The CNC machine should be able to cut these grooves if you decide to go that route.
I have other observations about the cabinet but they’re related to woodworking and not Sketchup. ie access to the back shelves
I’m new here so if I’ve crossed a boundary here, please let me know.
Terry makes a good point about the joinery of the case which I assumed you have sorted out already. Dadoes and rabbets might be in order unless you have some other sort of joinery in mind. I think the case could be designed for easier assembly than it currently is.