Hi, Im totaly new to 3d printing but i am fimillar with Google Sketchup. Im trying to export my model from Sketchup to a file type that I can use to print in full color. I found that in the options for exporting .dae and .wrl in sketchup, there is an option to export with texture map. I select that but then when uploading to shapeways it says that one of my textures can not be found. Does anyone know what this means, or how i can fix it?
How exactly are you uploading your file ? Texture maps at least for wrl are usually created as separate image files that have to be zipped up together with the actual .wrl file, which in turn contains an "ImageTexture" entry with the name of the texture file in it. Any local folder name included at this point will make the texture inaccessible.
On shapeways I just upload by clicking the upload button then finding the file on my hard drive. When i export .wrl from sketchup, it gives me options on how to export the file. One of which being "output texture maps". And.....what is a texture map?
A texture map is an image file (typically a .png file) that contains the colors for your model. The wrl contains the information which point on your model corresponds to which spot in the texture, so you will need both the .wrl and the .png file: zip them together and upload the zip file.
8owtie8rad, Starting on Page 13 of this free magazine, I describe step-by-step how to go from SketchUp to Full Color Sandstone. Maybe that'll help explain things in more detail!
so does that mean in sketchup I just crerate a new flat shape with all my textures on it? Then save it as a .png file. and put the ..wrl file and the .png file in a zipped folder and upload that to shapeways?
Yes, that way always works, but it takes a little more time. A faster method you may try is to export the model as a DAE, then upload the resulting model and texture files in a ZIP file to Shapeways. This method does not always work though.
So I tried exporting my model to .dae and my textures to .png and combined it into a .zip file and uploaded it to shapeways and i got a message saying "Oops. We can't process this file.Something went wrong processing your upload, please try again" I also tried it with combining a .dae with .png, zipping that uploading that file and I got the same message.
Make sure that your zip file does not contain a folder structure, just the plain files.(Perhaps upload a simple example here - does not have to be your actual design, just some random slab with a boring texture so we can get a better idea of what may be wrong)
Try this one please: (Your zip unpacked to a folder named "Ave Q Model", it should have just the plain files. Also the files are all pngs but the wrl has them as .jpg in the ImageTexture entries - wrl is readable text)
When I uploaded that zip file to shapeways it went all the way through, but when it loaded the 3D preview it just came up with a black flat rectangle. What does this mean?
Hmm. File looked good in view3dscene, though there was this(?) rectangle on the back of the model. Probably intersecting geometry, and shapeways site software deleted the wrong part in its attempt to fix the model.
Yes, I do think there are manifold issues with the model. 8owtie8rad, before exporting the model, make sure it is Solid and manifold, and that all the faces are facing the right direction. You can use the Solid Inspector plugin to make sure that it's solid, and turn off textures [View > Face Style > Monochrome] to be sure the faces are all correctly oriented. All the visible faces should be white - Right click > Reverse Faces if you see a blue-ish face pointing out. If you still need help, you may upload or PM me the model and I'll take a look at it for you.
Ok, so, I fixed the faces, I exported the file a .wrl which also exported the textures. Then I converted the textures from .jpg to .png. I zipped the files into one folder. And I uploaded it to shapeways. It almost worked. My model did show up in the preview window with the colors that were on the model I made (i have plain colors and textures in my model). But the textures I uploaded did not show up on the preview model. Did I do something wrong?
Well, if you converted your texture files from jpg to png after exporting, you need to open the wrl file in a text editor and search-and-replace the file names there as well. (This is all probably just a misunderstanding - though I wrote "typically a png file" above, the info box on the upload pages lists jpg as an acceptable texture format as well)
So I exported again and this time I didn't change the texture file type and this time the texture did show up, but instead of looking like it did on the model (it brick, so in the model so it looks like they are sitting on top of each other like with a real brick building) it jumbled up the textures to where the texture starts in one spot, then cuts off and then again placed differently. Idk, i think im getting confusing Here is a picture with the shapeways upload on the left and my sketchup model on the right.
Make sure the back side of the faces doesn't have any texture applied. A fast way to do this is to select all > Right click > Reverse faces, then paint the model with the default color. Simply select all > Right click > Reverse faces to show the correct side again. This image shows the default paint button:
And my model in sketchup is 11 5/16"w X 2 1/2"d X 7 3/8"h and when I upload it to shapeways it says that it is 0.287"w x 0.187"d x 0.064"h. Is there something in sketchup that I need to change when exporting?