I have just downloaded Google Sketchup and signed up as a hobbyist. I want to do simple items to print on my 3D printer. It says I have pro for 30 days. After 30 days what cant I do? I presume I can make accurate small objects, save them and convert them to .stl files. Though I have Cura and presume that I can save .dae or .obj files to convert.
Incidentally why is google sketchup, sketchup 2016. No sign of google anywhere, and what does sketchup pro do, its too expensive for me
@craig.shaw SketchUp hasn’t been owned by Google in a while, it’s now owned by Trimble. After 30 days you will loose some of the boolean solid modeling tools, but there are plugins that will allow you to export .stl files (CADSpan comes to mind). I think there are even alternative solid modeling plugins available elsewhere.
It sounds like you want to use it for 3d printing design, and it works well for that, albeit with some quirks that you will learn along the way. Please feel free to ask further questions, and there are many here on the forum that can add to the differences between the make and pro version.
The above link will explain the features and what you loss after 30 days. At the bottom of the page follow it for further 3D printing explanations. In the community forums there is a 3D Printing category where you should find useful info.
Ah ha! The perfect place for this newbie question. I’m in the process of self-training 3D CAD by making models on
SketchUp Make and taking them to a commercially subsidized 3D printer workshop. I’ve seen posts illustrated with screen shots, some of which are animated. I’m itching to show what I’ve learned, both about modelling and about other topics for which I have life experience. In my exploration of tutorials and forum topics I haven’t seen how to do it.
The screenshots and animations are not done by SketchUp as such, they are separate tools on your computer that capture SketchUp in action. For example, on both Windows and Mac there are built-in keychords that trigger screenshots. There are also utility apps that capture animations (I happen to use licecap on my Mac, but there are many others).
