Plugin to convert point clouds to guide points for modeling

Extensions
1

I know that the recent release can deal with point clouds I believe, but are there any plugins that do the similar task? Like converting cloud points into guide points to convert into a mesh or face?

2

Do a search in the Extension Warehouse and the Sketchucation Extension Store. There are a few different extensions to do that.

3

You can use an external software like mesh lab which is free, to convert point clouds into a mesh, then export as a collada file and import it from sketchup.

4

You can use Scan Essentials to do that, it’s include in SketchUp Studio subscription.

5

Actually it is implemented via plugin : Trimble Scan Essentials For SketchUp (Compatibility: SketchUp 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020)

Mistakenly it is marked as free. You actually have to buy a Studio subscription after a thirty day trial period.

6

Also is only Windows operating system supported…

7

I do not like implementing anything into my workflow that requires a subscription. Scan essentials requires a subscription, so I look for plugins or open-source software that can get the job done. I have used Cloud Compare and Meshroom to Convert point clouds for SketchUp.

8

Meshlab is also open source and can get the job done easily.

9

I do a lot of work with Point Clouds and have settled on Undet as my plugin of choice. It isn’t cheap but it does offer a free trial which may get the job done for you.

10

I thought I saw a plugin that would align selected faces to a single straight axis or something to that affect. The idea was to convert points to a mesh and then convert the mesh into a single solid face by aligning the fractures in the mesh.

11

I generally convert a face to a mesh then take a section through that mesh on various axis and save the sections as a group. The sections will not be a straight lines along any axis so you just have to choose the geometry that suits your requirements.

If you post a link to the point cloud and indicate which face you want to model I will create a mesh for you.

12

I.E. in a point cloud I see a square column, so the mesh should be too. I could model a square column and adjust the sides until they line up with 60-70% of the points or convert to mesh and attempt to straighten the mesh. Perhaps I should take a couple days learning meshlab.