Modeling Concave Pockets

SketchUp
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1

Hi everyone,

I’m working on a project for our CNC shop and could use some direction from the SketchUp experts.

Who I am:
I run a CNC fabrication studio that designs and mills custom architectural pieces. I model in SketchUp, create renders in Twinmotion, and toolpath in Vectric VCarve Pro.

What I’m making:
Large Ginkgo-inspired MDF leaves cut from 3/4 in (19 mm) MDF. Each leaf has several “tear-drop” shaped veins that need to be scooped into the face with a smooth concave depression. The depth starts at 0 mm at the narrow tip and reaches a max of about 7 mm at the widest point.

Image snippet from VCarve Pro:

Ginkgo Leaf
Ginkgo Leaf1146×885 156 KB

Where the issue shows up:
I can auto-generate a rough version of these scoops inside VCarve using a tapered toolpath, but the shape is very coarse (as seen above). For client visualization, I need a clean high-quality model of the actual concave form inside SketchUp so Twinmotion can render it properly.

What I’m trying to do in SketchUp:
The ideal workflow looks like this:

• Import a DWG/DXF of the leaf outlines
• Extrude the leaf blank to 19 mm
• Select the faces of the veins
• Set a max depth (7 mm)
• Have an extension automatically generate a blended concave surface that tapers smoothly to zero at the tip of each vein

My question:
Is there an extension or toolset for SketchUp that can generate these smooth concave, tapered “pockets” based on 2D outlines?

I’m trying to avoid jumping into Blender or Fusion 360 for this if possible. Achieving it directly in SketchUp would keep my workflow much cleaner.

Any suggestions, extensions, or workflows you recommend?

Thanks in advance,

Dave

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2

If you have that image from v-carve , can you not export something out of that?

3

There’s a plugin called bitmap to mesh from Thom Thom, if you don’t have a height map of the image there are some ways you can create it, the easiest one is using a software caller materialize, I’ve seen a couple of videos and it looks fine but personally I use Gimp to create height and normal maps out of images.

4

There was a taper plugin as i remember, but i am not sure if it helps or not..

5

Yeah, I would use Taper maker that you can find at sketchucation. Make sure you use curves with a good smooth number of segments and do a sphere at the thick end. Here I have simply done a two arc curve for the taper, then a sphere and made them one solid, arrayed that and made the array a solid, then subtracted it from the blank.
You could make your lines as intricate as you like and make tapers with them individually and subtract them. All depends what you want.
If you are then planing to round over the edges it gets a bit more complex, but everything is possible.
GIF 12-11-2025 11-21-50 PM

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