Hi there, new to Sketch up and the whole topic really but having a go to produce plans for model making
First problem, when I check the Entity Info the measurements are greyed out, I have arthritis and find it difficult to use a mouse the that accuracy and wish to type the measurements in once drawn but they are not editable.
Am I missing something?
Are you missing something? Yes.
Enter dimensions in the Measurements box which is normally in the lower right corner of the drawing window. For example, if you want to draw a line that is 1 in. long, start the line by clicking with the mouse. Then drag the cursor in the desired direction but don’t click again. Type 1 and hit Enter. The line will be 1 in. long.
You should probably start by watching the videos at SketchUp.com. Start here: http://www.sketchup.com/learn/videos/58
Entity Info allows you to change certain attributes, which vary depending on the type of Entity, under limited circumstances, namely, you can’t change a dimension once the entity in question has been incorporated into some kind of construction involving other geometry. Once dimensions are thus constrained, they are shown as grayed out.
However, there are lots of ways to change the dimensions on existing geometry, generally using either the Move tool or the Scale tool, once again depending on circumstances.
If you can describe a particular situation we can tell you the best way to make the change. If you have a half dozen different situations, describe them all.
-Gully
Thanks guys, I have typed as I draw sometimes works but not always but getting better
The problem I have is I can draw a rectangle and enter the dimension (some of the time) but how do I draw out a metal plate 3mm thick and then “drill holes” in it and the copy the hole to the required places.
When I use the Push/Pull tool I often end up puuting a hole but when I spin it around there’s a rod sticking out of the back. When I get it right I can only seem to copy part of it, the circle and not a hole as I want.
Does that make sense?
What I would like to do is have a selection of “metal plates” and holes that I could copy and paste into new parts so by making a model I would know that the material thickness and hole dimensions are the same on all the component parts I make
Many thanks for any pointers or perhaps soem buzzwords I could use to search and watch the relevant videos
When you copy a 3D “hole,” you’re really just copying the wall of the hole. You’re not copying the absence of material at either end of the hole (the actual hole). Interestingly, when you make a 2D hole, that is, a circle on a face with the interior of the hole deleted, the absence of material does copy. So to make your drilled plate, draw the rectangle, draw the first hole, and then copy the hole to complete the pattern, preferrably using a linear or radial array to make short work of it. Finally, push/pull the plate to thickness, and the holes will go all the way through.
When trying to push/pull a circle to make a hole connecting two faces, and rather than make a hole you end up pushing a rod out the far side, it’s generally due to the two faces being non-parallel, leaving little remedy except to redraw them. Sometimes, though, you may simply overshoot the far side with the hole because you have made no inferencing reference to a point on the far side. If you’re looking more or less straight through the hole, you can stop the push with an On Face inference to the far face right before it disappears. If you’re at an angle where you can’t see the far side of trhe hole, you can stop the push on some other point on the far side, like a corner endpoint or an on-edge point.
-Gully
Thanks Gully sorted Linear arrays but when I search help for radial array I’m denied access to the help file.
Will pick it up again after Christmas but once again thanks for the help