Sketchup and Laser Engraving

[Frosty1]

Has anyone tried using a Sketchup 2d drawing to laser engrave material?

[MikeWayzovski]

Check these threads:

"Simple DXF" CNC exporter

Continuing the discussion from .dwg export curves are reversed: I spoke to Gkernan privately about putting this thread together and he agreed with the idea. I hope I haven’t made a pigs ear of it. Cabmaker32 link for “Simple DXF” Download | CabMaker32 SketchUcation link for (with video) for “Simple DXF” GKWare_Simple_DXF | SketchUcation It’s difficult where to start this thread as information about the plugin is scattered around the forum in several places. But, I thought it would be an idea…

Fabber: The SketchUp>CNC/Laser cutting solution

Hey everyone! I’d like to share with you this extension I made for SketchUp: www.getfabber.com This allows you to take your SketchUp models and go right to CNC toolpathing if you’re using Vectric’s CAM software (VCarve/Aspire) Our extension scans your SketchUp model, automatically flattens it and sends to VCarve/Aspire where we automatically build all of your toolpaths. Here’s the splashy intro video: Fabber to Vectric - YouTube If you really want to dig into the workflow you can check here…

[colin]

I know almost nothing about this topic, but if you find that one of the options is to export a DXF file, check out this video Aaron made, where he shows how to get true curves out to DXF from a SketchUp model:

https://youtu.be/K575qAFktNE

[Frosty1]

Thanks.

[ericschimel]

I’ve done this before, let me know if I can help.

[Frosty1]

Eric, you have been successful using Sketchup in conjunction with a laser engraver?

[Frosty1]

I’m interested with your input to use Sketchup with a laser.

Thanks.

[ericschimel]

Hey sorry for not getting right back to you, I missed this notification.

So there are a few ways you can get vectors out of SketchUp.

Assume you can get SVG and DXF files into your machine you have a couple of choices:

You can use some free off exporters for SVG files: Extension | SketchUp Extension Warehouse

This one is specific to the Shaper Origin, so the exports are scaled for that tool, and color coordinated for that tool as well. There’s a good chance they can work with your laser, but watch the scale.

You can use the Fabber exporter that I created: www.getfabber.com. It’s a commercial plugin. It’ll work for your laser in that you can tune the scale if you need.

Another option if you’re on SketchUp pro is to export a DXF/DWG file. This is a little tricky, but totally doable if you follow the steps.