Thanks for the ideas. Do you think we could get Trimble make geometry work on small curves without have to scale a model up. Can this be a suggestion for next version.
I noticed if you are using small radius with curve work some surface go missing.
Walk in wardrobes
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Hi @1invisiblegod,
While I can’t truly speak for what the development team may be able to accomplish in the future, I can say that the disappearing faces on small geometry is a result of OpenGL and our base unit definitions which can not be adjusted. The only solution is scaling up when you’re working with surface generating manipulators such as Follow Me and scale down for the completed result.
It seems to me the problem could be addressed rather easily by means of an internal scaling filter, which would be applied to all input dimensions to bring them into SU’s addressable size range and its inverse applied to all dimensions reported back to the user or displayed by SU. Use of this filter could be invoked by adding a field to the Units dialog, allowing the user to select either Architectural Design or Mechanical Design, the latter choice triggering its use. In other words, SU could do the scaling internally, transparently to the user.
I don’t think it would even be that big of a programming challenge.
-Gully
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Oh, I agree that it sounds simple and I’ve brought it up many times but then been walked through why it isn’t easy. That’s when I realize… I’m not one of the software engineers and maybe I don’t know everything. =oP
That being said, I think there might be an extension out there that does it, or there is an opportunity to create one that might help but it isn’t part of SketchUp natively.
I aggree with Gully that this could (and should) be done with little extra input in:
‘Model Info’ > Units >
- 1) Design purpose> (Macro -) / Mechanical - / Architectural design.
-
- Length Units > Format …etc.
-
- Angle Units > etc. though with more prcision
Right now SketchUp already somehow makes it possible to apply all the tools to create (very) small objects, even creating the faces instantly. But these are workarounds and hard to use when working in United States customary units. (not my cup of tea)
Example: ‘Follow Me’ creates faces in a components invironment with scale definition 1x and edges larger than say 1mm. It instantly creates these same faces in the component’s invironment of an instance with scaled down factor 0.001x. Extremely small ! So why couldn’t this be done with some extra coding in SketchUp and (as Gully mentioned it) sort of a filter/switch in Model Info > Units.
Note that now with this workaround one needs to keep working in the larger instance (factor 1x). In the other instance (0.001x) endpoints closer than 0.00254mm don’t even merge into one endpoint, … as long as one does not apply: right click component > (in context menu change the) ‘Scale Definition’.
That would be a bummer.
hi Jody
I only use sketchup to design kitchens and interiors so I don’t use no more
that say 10meters by 10meters. So I could design everything scaled up 10
times and when am finished scale it down. The only problem is having to
convert your sizes as you go. But why not have a tick box that changes or
tricks sketchup to show millimeters when you are working in meters in you
scaled up model. That way you don’t have to do this scaling thing. You just
tick a box and that switches the sizes. so for example when I draw a meter
line I put 1000mm in to the VCB but it actually drawing 10000mm ie scaled
up 10 times. also the dimension reflect the same I visually cannot tell any
different. To me as a programmer this is a very simple solution. I am sure
any of you guys could write a plugin for this.
hi Jody
I only use sketchup to design kitchens and interiors so I don’t use no more
that say 10meters by 10meters. So I could design everything scaled up 10
times and when am finished scale it down. The only problem is having to
convert your sizes as you go. But why not have a tick box that changes or
tricks sketchup to show millimeters when you are working in meters in you
scaled up model. That way you don’t have to do this scaling thing. You just
tick a box and that switches the sizes. so for example when I draw a meter
line I put 1000mm in to the VCB but it actually drawing 10000mm ie scaled
up 10 times. also the dimension reflect the same I visually cannot tell any
different. To me as a programmer this is a very simple solution. I am sure
any of you guys could write a plugin for this.
hi Jody
I only use sketchup to design kitchens and interiors so I don’t use no more
that say 10meters by 10meters. So I could design everything scaled up 10
times and when am finished scale it down. The only problem is having to
convert your sizes as you go. But why not have a tick box that changes or
tricks sketchup to show millimeters when you are working in meters in you
scaled up model. That way you don’t have to do this scaling thing. You just
tick a box and that switches the sizes. so for example when I draw a meter
line I put 1000mm in to the VCB but it actually drawing 10000mm ie scaled
up 10 times. also the dimension reflect the same, you visually cannot tell
any difference. To me as a programmer this is a very simple solution. I am
sure any of you guys could write a plugin for this.
Thank you. I have been working on drawing a funnel with small inset curves for filter screen insertions and learning sketchup at the same time. It sometime takes 20 or 30 trips back redrawing a little curve before it gets it so it will make a solid and the fact that changing an inside curve without touching the outside can ruin a good outside had been driving me nuts. At least this may provide a work around.
Some things learned fighting with this. Small curves down with the circle function are more reliable than curves down with the arc function. Apparently as best I can tell it has to do with segment length. Second thing is to be sure and start at end points to avoid small segments. Occasionally big segments will disappear and I still haven’t figured that one out.
hi Jody I only use sketchup to design kitchens and walk in wardrobes so I don’t use no more that say 10meters by 10meters. So I could design everything scaled up 10 times and when am finished scale it down. The only problem is having to convert your sizes as you go. But why not have a tick box that changes or tricks sketchup to show millimeters when you are working in meters in you scaled up model. That way you don’t have to do this scaling thing. You just tick a box and that switches the sizes. so for example when I draw a meter line I put 1000mm in to the VCB but it actually drawing 10000mm ie scaled up 10 times. also the dimension reflect the same I visually cannot tell any different. To me as a programmer this is a very simple solution. I am sure any of you guys could write a plugin for this.
Sorry, @jirp5, but I don’t think that’s generally true, although that may have been your experience. Number of segments, and thereby segment length, can be specified for either arcs or circles, and I would say that, except for the number of degrees they encompass, the geometry created by the Arc tool and Circle tool are indistinguishable (unless, of course, one has been exploded and the other hasn’t).
-Gully