Plugin: Follow This

About

This plugin allows you to use a path  inside a Group  for a Follow Me operation on a Face outside the Group.

This plugin is at the stage where it works in simple situations, but may not be reliable or stable. Use with caution.

History


Update 2010-Dec (small change)

• Valid Faces are highlighted as the mouse is moved  over them.
• Changed filename (see note at end of post.)

Use

• Open a Group for editing, and right-click a Face.
• Select Follow This from the context menu.
• The Group will close. 
• Move the mouse over a Face you want to extrude, then select it using the right mouse button.

To install, right-click the link below and select "Save As" to save the file to your computer. Move the file into your SketchUp Plugins folder, and restart Sketchup

• Download plugin: jf_follow_this.rb <-- Right-click, and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As"
• Once saved, move or copy the file to your SketchUp Plugins folder.
• The "Follow This" item will appear when right-clicking a Face.
• Note: This file should replace any file named follow_this1.rb (if installed.)

SU Podium Render V2 Upgrade Pricing Ending Soon

We have held the SU Podium V2 upgrade price to $28.95 (USD) for three months and thousands have upgraded. Thank you. But, the introduction upgrade price will end with the New Year, on January 1, 2011. You can upgrade any version of SU Podium 1.x so long as you have a valid 1.x serial number. Click here to upgrade at $28.95

Free V2 evaluation is available. [ SU Podium V2 ]

Sphere Tool

Update 2010 Dec, 13 (Internal version 1.4)

• Menu: Draw/SphereTool
• Code cleanup, and generally tried to make it behave like a native SU Tool.
• Press the Tab key to switch between draw by radius and draw by diameter.
• Fixed clipping on tool startup.
• Added line thickness when inference locked.
• Made VCB and Statusbar texts consistent, accurate.

Due to inconsistent file names for past versions, this file (jf_spheretool.rb) is meant to replace any of the following files in the Plugins folder:

• spheretool.rb
• spheretool1.1.rb
• spheretool1.3.rb
• jf_spheretool.rb
• (You get the idea.)

---

Download jf_spheretool.rb

Here's a quick tool for drawing spheres. It creates a Sphere option under the Draw menu.

Download the script and move it into your Plugins directory.

A group is created to hold the sphere. You can enter the number of segments you would like to use. It defaults to 24. Even-numbered segments work best, odd one cause unpredictable results.

Spheres are drawn with the poles along the Z axis.

Regular Polygon Keyframe Animation Plugin

Regular Polygon has published a keyframe animation for SketchUp version 7 & 8, Free or Pro.

Main Features include:

• Keyframes are easily added, deleted, renamed, and reordered.
• Any group or component can be animated.
• Animated groups (components) can be nested.
• Animated groups (components) can be nested inside of non-animated groups (components).
• Animated groups (components) are interpolated between keyframes by translation or rotation.
• The interpolation lasts for the entire keyframe transition time.
• Keyframes can have independent transition times.
• Keyframes can have independent delay times.
• The keyframes can be converted to a slideshow of ordinary (non-animated) scenes, called tweens.
• The number of tweens depends on the frame rate you set.
• The tween slideshow can be exported to an AVI movie, or to image files (PNG, JPEG, TIF, or BMP)

Keyframe Animation is a commercial Plugin with an introductory price of just under $20. The download is a full-featured, 10-day evaluation.

[ KeyFrame Animation @ Regular Polygon ]

Plugin: Simple Shell

Simple Shell creates an inner or outer shell by copying and scaling a Group or Surface around its center of geometry. It works best with symmetrical objects.

To make a shell,

* Select a single Group or surface.
* Select JF Simple Shell from the Plugins menu.

A Dialog will prompt for the wall thickness.



The Faces of the shell will be reversed from the original's. Use a negative thickness to make an outer shell.

Download jf_simple_shell.rb

Driving Dimensions 1.4 Update for 8

LEDAS has released version 1.4 of their Driving Dimensions plugin for SketchUp. The update is focused on SketchUp version 8 compatibility.

Driving Dimensions adds parametric ability to SketchUp by allowing users to set and update contraints through SketchUp's Dimensions.

Read the official press release: LEDAS Improves Google SketchUp 8 with Driving Dimensions 1.4

2Bot CNC ModelMaker

I thought this machine was interesting, since it says it is compatible with KMZ files produced by Google SketchUp.

The 2BOT ModelMaker is a turn-key solution for creating physical 3D models from 3D data. The system includes hardware, software, and material. Your 3D data needs to be loaded into the 2BOT software, called 2BOT Studio, which "is compatible with many different file formats including DWG, DXF, Google SketchUp KMZ, STL, and USGS FLT files."

(I couldn't find a price, or a description of the material.)

[ 2bot.com ]