Solid groups from follow-me tool

I having difficulty making solid groups under some circumstances with the follow-me tool. My simple experiment is to follow a closed circular path with a face that is also circular and perpendicular to the path where defined. After applying the follow-me tool and making the resulting donut into a group, the result not a solid group. Why not?

Is the path still inside the donut? If so, the group won’t be solid. Erase the path and make the group. Of place the profile away from the path so it is easily kept separate.

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Also how large are the items you are working with? Follow me can be affected by SketchUp’s inability to create very small faces, which can cause holes in your attempted solid.

Obviously, the geometry within the group fails to meet all the requirements of a Solid.
Visual inspection should easily reveal the problem in a simple model such as your example.



Here’s what to look for:

A Solid in SketchUp is a single Group or Component whose geometry meets certain conditions.
When those conditions are met, Entity Info indicates the model is a Solid Group or Solid Component.
Also notice Entity Info indicates the Volume of a selected Solid.

• The geometry must form a single* airtight vessel.
Like a perfect soap bubble … •No gaps •No holes •No leaks

• No extraneous Faces** inside or outside the vessel.
All Faces must serve to enclose the singular volume of the vessel.

• No stray Edges.
All Edges must serve to support a Face that in turn serves to enclose the airtight vessel.
Thus, each Edge supports two Faces … no more, no less.

• No nested Groups or Components.

*A Solid Group or Solid Component may contain one or more separate airtight vessels.
**Best that all Faces are oriented Front Side (white) facing out.


Understanding Solid Objects in SketchUp — Aidan Chopra
• Programming & Web Design Articles - dummies
• http://www.aidanchopra.com/web-content/chapter-6/understanding-solids


Solid Inspection/Repair Tools

TIG: SolidSolver

ThomThom: Solid Inspector²
http://extensions.sketchup.com/en/content/solid-inspector²

Are you selecting the closed path (circle), first, then choosing Follow Me, then choosing the surface?

I ask because if you are using the “drag” method, you might get a different result.

Hello Dave,

Yes, that was the problem. I had swept an annulus around a circle, in an effort to create a solid similar to a bicycle tire. I had looked for problems with the result by exposing hidden geometry, but was unable to see the residual path. In this case, the inner surface is completely contained within the outer surface, and I was not able to see any details. I was able to see and remove the path by moving both the outer torus and the smaller inner torus. Is there something that I could have done to get access to the circular path without moving the outer toruses?

Robert

Thank you for the suggestion. In this case, the parts are 50mm in diameter and the problem was that I left the path within the solid.

Yes. You could switch the Face Style to Wireframe. then you’d have been able to select and delete the path. Generally, though, I find it makes sense to set things up in the first place so the path is readily accessible after Follow Me as I did in my screen shot or make it so the path is “consumed” by the extrusion. That is, the path becomes an edge of the extrusion.

Setting up for Follow Me as I showed, can be beneficial especially if you might want to use the same path for multiple Follow Me operations.

Thank you. I am using the method that you suggest. Please look at the response to DaveR.

Thank you Geo for the wonderful summary of criteria, which in some cases are new to me. Please look at the response to DaveR.

You’re welcome @rwpinto

There are several ways to access the interior of the model:

• One can simply zoom in close and then Pan the camera sideways through the face.
• X-Ray mode enables you to see through a face and select edges behind the face.
• Use a Section Cut
• Wireframe