Best way to extrude to create a frame

Technical Problems SketchUp
1

I’m having some problems trying to create a frame that I want to send to be 3D printed. My plan was to create the frame in 2D, with all the slots and holes done, and then just “Pull up” to get something about 4mm thick that I could print.

Here is the frame.

You can see in the the picture below that the tube (which is supposed to be a bolt hole) is hollow. - I suspect that I’ve created a completely hollow object instead of a 3d representation of my frame with holes and slots cut where I need them

I know there are nuances in SU that mean that small things are handled in a slightly buggy way - the holes are about 5mm in diameter, and the slots are about 4mm wide (in case that makes a difference)

Is there a better way of doing this?

Thanks, ace

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2

It’s much faster to sort problems when you share the file.
Attach the .skp file to your reply.

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Attached - apologies - I’m fairly new to all this.

pi_layer.skp (1.4 MB)

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4

The face extrudes as expected, even though the geometry is pretty tiny.

pi_layer - Extruded.skp (183.2 KB)

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everything works fine here…
after success with the one on the left,
I deleted all your ‘faulty’ geometry and ‘doubled click’ ‘push-pulled’ and it was fine as well

so I can’t point out the problem…
john

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Thank you for you helping - are there any tips or tricks to spotting faulty geometry?

or put another way, what did I do wrong with the original skp file I uploaded?

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how did you extrude it?
after I removed the top [faulty] geometry, I did nothing to improve it, I just used push-pull tool…

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8

SketchUp is a surface modeler.
There are only Faces and Edges to build with.
Thus a box is comprised of 12 edges, 6 faces and hollow inside.

Open the model I shared >Triple-click on the extrusion > Right context click on the selection > Make Group
Notice that Entity Info now indicates it is a ‘Solid Group’

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9

I (think) I just triple clicked on the face and extruded it. Is there a knack to spotting what constitutes faulty geometry?

I’ll go back to my original and try and spot what was problematic.

Thanks much for the help

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10

Incorrect use of the mouse.

Simply click once on the face to begin the P/P operation. The P/P face is ‘attached’ to the tool cursor.
Move the mouse and click a second time to complete the P/P operation.

Tip:
Most operations in SU work that way. Click once to begin … Click a second time to complete the operation.
A few operations do involve a triple-click or holding down the mouse button and dragging … very few.

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Great - that helps, Thank you.

Will start again and continue my efforts, appreciate the help - have a good evening.

-ace

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12

Before you go any further you need to learn about Layers in SketchUp.
In looking at your model a second time I noticed you’re using them incorrectly.

Does SketchUp support layers? — SketchUp Help

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13

Phatmanace, a side note—

If your model was a good bit smaller, you could perhaps run into an issue. Unless something has been changed, SketchUp does not make extremely small faces. It crops up in my models when extruding curves or developing complex shapes: if a polygon has sides less than about 1/32" it will not form faces, leading to a defective solid. The workaround is to enlarge the model, then shrink it after extrusion.

Not something to worry about in this case, but keep it in the back of your mind if you ever work that small.

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