Removing Internal Geometry

SketchUp Pro
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1

Hey,

I have imported a pretty complex model of some headphones for a job, Unfortunately the file was originally created in Solidworks which i do not have. The model is EXTREMELY detailed down to cabling and internal mechanics. If i enlarge it and navigate the internals it feels like I’m playing a level of Descent

All i am interested in is the external geometry for visuals, is there a way to easily clear out the unnecessary internal geometry without effecting external geometry?

Regards

Matt

2

If you have a solid component use the Outer Shell tool.

3

Thanks for the quick reply McGordon,

Im the IT guy trying to figure out performance issues for the designers. Not familiar with all of the tools in Sketchup. Is it built into sketchup or is it an extension?

Imgur: The magic of the Internet This is a 2d export of the inside s where you can see the unnecessary internal geometry . as well as the outside which is what i want to present.

4

Found it in the solid tools toolbar :slight_smile:

5

Outer Shell is one of the solids tools which come with SketchUp Pro. It only works on solid objects which is probably going to be a problem for you. It looks like it has lots of internal faces.

Select the headphones object and look at the entity info window. If it says “Solid Component” or “Solid Group” at the top, you’re in luck. Otherwise you could have a lot of manual cleanup to do. There are plugins to help such as Solid Inspector2.

6

Awesome Thanks for your help :slight_smile:

7

Turns out its more difficult that i had imagined.as most of the groups have minute gaps in them its not considered as a solid and its far beyond my capability to repair it.

Thanks again for your help McGordon, i appreciate your patience :slight_smile:

Regards

Matt

8

Another long winded option is to take the surface mesh into Blender and use the decimate modifier (you tube it plenty of videos that explain it better than me). That drastically reduces the amount of geometry and makes the task of filling in those gaps much more manageable. You can then use one of the Subdivision Plugins to increase the mesh in SketchUp.

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