I’m just getting started with SketchUp and could use some help. I’m trying to make a leg that will be expandable by having one piece slide over the other piece. I wanted to use spring loaded push pins to lock the slide in 1" intervals. I also need to know how I can center the holes on a rectangle. I would be happy to attach what I have done so far but I see no place to attach my file. Thank you for your help.
The first thing you need to do is learn about making components or groups to prevent pieces from sticking together. After you have the parts separated, you can use inferencing to guide moving the sliding part relative to the fix part.
Start here: http://www.sketchup.com/learn/videos/58?playlist=58
With the parts made as separate components, you can move and rearrange parts as needed.
An interesting thing to keep in mind is that due to the location of the top of the legs, you’ll need to position the holes on the inner set of legs differently on one leg than the other. The yellow triangle is smaller than the blue one. I haven’t tested it but I believe the difference in the lengths of the legs will vary over the extensible length.
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Thank you very much Dave. I’m watching the videos now.
An easy way to determine the spacing for the holes in the shorter leg is to copy it over to the “blue” side at the same distance from the corner and draw lines from the centers of the holes in the long leg over to the corner at the floor. Where these cross the shorter leg is where the holes should be in it. My gut says they will be evenly spaced but closer together by the ratio of the blue triangle to the yellow one (similar triangles because the frame doesn’t twist).
or have two positions for the spring lock pin, then the parts can remain the same, but assembled handed…
john
Slbaumgartner, I’m not sure I understand what you mean. and not only that I would like the legs to expand (adjust) and raise and lower against the main frame. Can SketchUp do animations to allow those actions? Thank you.
Ralph
There are a few ways to do animations but you’ll want to get a real good handle on using the basic tools so you can make the set up correctly.
Dave, How long have you been using SketchUp? And how long did it take you to learn this? Thanks. Ralph
I’ve been using SketchUp for about 12 years but it certainly didn’t take that long to learn how to do that. But you do need to have a very clear understanding of how to use layers and scenes and you need to be able to deal with the setup of the components.
