Placing components

SketchUp Feature Requests
1

I have trouble placing components. It would be nice if there were a target (+) or whatever, we could place on an object then drag our component over to that target and it would recognize that’s where we wanted it.

2

Ah, but you can do that already.You can move a component to a point in the model that might be geometry or it might be intersecting guidelines or a guide point or a combination there of. And if you want to insert components you’ve already made into a model, you can locate the component’s origin to give you a grabbing point on the component. I do this will components for hardware all the time and it makes dropping the components in place dead easy.

There’s all sorts of inferencing related options for doing this too.

3

Would you be kind enough to walk me through, or gif the procedure you describe, for placing the knob on the door at the intersecting lines for this model?
PlaceIt.skp (198.8 KB)

4

First, you need to use Change Axes to set the origin at the appropriate place on the component. In this case centered on the back face.

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Then just grab the component from the Components window and drop it on the intersection.

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If you want a short live demo, I can make that happen. I have a little time right now.

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5

Sometimes it is useful to go to X-Ray mode to help place items onto specific points.

CD

6

A side benefit of doing this as I showed is that it also makes exchanging knobs a walk in the park.

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There’s also an option to establish a gluing plane for the component although I find it tends to be a little more difficult to use components like knobs that way because the component doesn’t always orient correctly when snapping to crossed guidelines.

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7

Thanks Dave, it’s not quite as easy or intuitive as you show it, but with a little practice I can see how useful it can be, much better than hunt and peck.

8

What part do you think is not as easy as I show it?

9

The most difficult / unintuitive part is setting the axis in the correct orientation,

10

I can help you get that sorted but right now I have to take my kid to scouts.

11

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