Level of Detail Case Study: Rubik’s Cube

Matt DonleyNews, Sketchup Tutorials

Whenever you start a new Sketchup model, you make decisions about the level of detail (whether consciously or sub-consciously). What drives those decisions is usually a combination of the size of your model, the amount of time you have to create the model, and the overall purpose of your model. In this article, we’ll look at a Rubik’s Cube and a couple of different approaches to modeling one.

Rubik’s Cube Level of Detail

A Rubik’s Cube is a clever puzzle, popularized in the 80’s, that consist’s of 26 colored cubes that are interlocked with each other. You can rotate each of the 6 faces of the cube to rearrange the individual colors. Once scrambled, the point is to arrange the cubes so that each face of the cube has a unique color on it.

I thought it would be cool to model a Rubik’s cube in Sketchup, and it struck me that there were a number of different ways I could approach the project. They would all technically be a Rubik’s Cube, but the amount of detail put into each model would vary greatly.

With any Sketchup model, the objective is to create a digital representation of something that effectively communicates our ideas. In order to evaluate whether or not we are successful in our objective, we need to first define what it is exactly we are trying to communicate.

Using the Sketchup Inference System

Matt DonleyNews, Sketchup Tutorials

Creating accurate models in Sketchup is so easy with the built in Sketchup Inference System. You might not even notice it, but Sketchup will lock references to different points and lines in your model to help you align your geometry. In this post, you’ll not only learn the basics of the Sketchup inference system, but you’ll learn some advanced techniques for using the inference system as well.

What is the Inference System

It’s not something you can configure, or turn on and off. It’s a core part of the functionality of Sketchup that makes the program so easy to use. Learning how to use and interact with it is really easy. Learn a few of these tricks and take full advantage of the robust inference system built into Sketchup.

The inference system is basically a system that locks your cursor in inference to any point, edge, axis, face, guide or imaginary line.

Sketchup Tutorial – Create a Custom Bracket for 3D Printing

Matt DonleyFabrication, News, Sketchup Tutorials

After coming back from the Maker Faire in NY, one thing that really surprised me was how popular 3D printing is becoming. These days, you can purchase a 3D printer for under a thousand dollars and actually print out a real object from your digital model. I’ve been learning a little bit about 3D printing at the AS220 labs, but I have yet to purchase my own 3D printer. Regardless, I wanted to show you how easy it is to use Sketchup to create a simple bracket that you can print out on a 3D printer.

Rapid Desktop Prototyping

While at the Maker Faire, I had the honor of meeting many of the Trimble team members who develop Sketchup. They had a few 3D printers set up at their tent so they could show people how you could model something in Sketchup, then print it out instantly on the 3D printer. At one point they were presented with an engineering challenge.

The man in charge of connecting everybody with Wifi at the faire had a problem. He was looking to mount a piece of hardware to a round pole and looked to the Sketchup guys to come up with a solution. They were able to model something quickly in Sketchup, and print it out for him so he could mount the gear to the pole. The first prototype actually snapped during a stress test, so they just made some modifications to the design and printed out another one. How cool is that?

Creating a simple bracket in Sketchup is easy. In this tutorial, we’ll model a base plate with two arms. Now, unfortunately, I don’t have a 3D printer so I won’t be printing this out. I know, that’s lame. But you can use the same concepts in the design of this bracket to make any custom bracket for your needs.

Sketchup Tutorial – Custom Bracket

  1. Draw the Base

    Starting with the Rectangle Tool (R), Click once to start the rectangle, then move the mouse out and click again to finish the rectangle. To specify a precise dimension, type in 2",2" then press ENTER.

    Remember, you can also type in your dimensions right after your first click when you start the rectangle. It’s your choice. I like to do it after because sometimes I’ll accidentally move my mouse as I’m typing in a number and it will clear whatever I just typed in.

  2. Extrude the Base

    Using the Push/Pull Tool (P), extrude the rectangle into a 3D object. Click once on the surface of the rectangle to start, then pull up. Click again to finish. Type in 1/4" then ENTER to specify the height at 1/4″.

Sketchup Tutorial | How to create a vase

Matt DonleyNews, Sketchup Tutorials

This is a step by step tutorial on how to create a simple vase in Sketchup. It will provide you with a good understanding of the Arc Tool Arc Tool (A), Offset Tool Offset tool (F), and the Follow Me Tool Follow Me tool . No Sketchup experience is necessary to follow this tutorial.

To start modeling a vase, you need to create a profile outline of the vase. We will then extrude the profile around a circle path to create the vase. Sketchup makes this task pretty easy using the Follow Me Tool Follow Me tool. You might want to look for a picture of a vase, or go find one in your house. It really helps to have something in front of you that can guide you with modeling proportions.

Watch the video, or follow the step by step directions below.

Step 1 – Draw a Rectangle

Before you start drawing the profile, it’s a good idea to just create a surface that you can draw on. It just makes it a lot easier for the drawing tools to inference the same plane when you have a face to drawn on. Go ahead and create an upright rectangle, and turn it into a group so our profile doesn’t stick to it.

Sketchup Tutorial | How to use Keyboard Shortcuts to Speed up your Navigation

Matt DonleyNews, Tips & Tricks

Using keyboard shortcuts can save you a significant amount of time during modeling. It is a way to make the modeling process more natural and artistic, as opposed to technical and programmatic. When you learn keyboard shortcuts and commit them to memory, your hands will “remember” what key to press instinctively.

The really cool thing about Sketchup, is that it allows you to create your own custom keyboard shortcuts so you can create an optimal interface to fit the way you use Sketchup.

Why learn Shortcuts?

Think about when you type on the keyboard. You know what letters you need to press, but you don’t have to think about where the letters are. You just know where they are and your hands start typing away. It’s the same muscle memory that makes learning the keyboard shortcuts so beneficial. Instead of using the mouse to select a tool from the drop down menu or the toolbar, you use your non-mouse hand to select it on the keyboard. This keeps the mouse in the modeling screen where all the action happens.

Watch the video below to learn how I use two custom shortcuts to speed up my navigation in Sketchup.

Sketchup Tutorial | How to create a quick floor plan

Matt DonleyNews, Sketchup Tutorials

Some people think that when you create a model in Sketchup, it needs to be a big complex monster model in order for it to be anything of value. But a lot of times I find I can use Sketchup to solve little problems very quickly and effectively.

For example, I recently installed new flooring in my house, and I needed to calculate the square footage of the rooms I needed flooring in. In a typical room this is fairly easy. You measure the width and length of the room, and multiply them together to get the area.

But in my case, I needed to calculate the area of my living room that is open to my kitchen so I had a lot of funny corners and cabinets to measure around. Then the task of figuring out the area meant trying to split up the dimensions into logical squares so I could easily calculate the square footage; It was starting to look like a homework assignment from back in high school. Instead, I turned to Sketchup to draw my floor plan.

How to Draw Window and Door Casings in Sketchup

Matt DonleySketchup Tutorials

When you are trying to make angled “cuts” in complex geometry in Sketchup, you can sometimes get unexpected results. In this tutorial, we’ll explore a few different techniques for creating angles in window and door casings in Sketchup. What’s so hard about drawing a casing? Well, it depends on how experienced you are with Sketchup, and there’s actually quite a …