{"id":31204,"date":"2017-05-16T09:10:43","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T13:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=31204"},"modified":"2017-05-22T17:57:29","modified_gmt":"2017-05-22T21:57:29","slug":"tutorial-tuesday-17-sketchup-buildings-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tutorial-tuesday-17-sketchup-buildings-beyond","title":{"rendered":"Tutorial Tuesday 17: SketchUp for 3D Printed Buildings and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

SketchUp<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0a natural software choice for bringing architecture\u00a0to life in 3D. But did you know you can use it to make much more than buildings?<\/p>\n

If you’re looking for free, reliable software that is easy to start using and\u00a0also has the teeth for more advanced projects, SketchUp might be the tool you seek.<\/p>\n

Although SketchUp wasn’t originally created for 3D printing, it has become\u00a0a popular modeling tool with a large community following. And SketchUp has done a great job of creating resources to help you use it that way:<\/p>\n

\"SketchUp<\/a><\/p>\n

This week on Tutorial Tuesday we’ll run down the best beginner and intermediate resources for SketchUp and highlight some great 3D printed models built with SketchUp.<\/p>\n

Getting Started<\/h3>\n

You can download SketchUp Make for free at the\u00a0Sketchup download site<\/a>. There is also a paid version, SketchUp Pro, which you can always upgrade to later if necessary. For most purposes (and certainly for getting started) SketchUp Make\u00a0should be sufficient.<\/p>\n

After downloading SketchUp you should immediately\u00a0download\u00a0the Sketchup STL extension<\/a>. This will enable you to import and export STL files. Now\u00a0you can bring in existing designs and save models in a form suitable for 3D printing as well.<\/p>\n

\"SketchUp<\/a><\/p>\n

Of the many, many tutorials out there for SketchUp, one of the best for getting started is All3DP’s\u00a0SketchUp 3D Printing Tutorial for Beginners<\/a>. This walkthrough assumes no prior knowledge and does a great job of showing some of the basic constructions you can make in SketchUp:<\/p>\n

\"SketchUp<\/a><\/p>\n

For some pro tips on making your SketchUp models printable, you should also take a look at the article 8 Tips for 3D Printing with SketchUp<\/a>\u00a0from MasterSketchup.com<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"8<\/a><\/p>\n

Diving Deeper<\/h3>\n

When you’re ready for some more advanced techniques, check out the\u00a0SketchUp Skill Builder<\/a>\u00a0blog posts and learn about layers, parametric assemblies, patterns, and much more:<\/p>\n

\"SketchUp<\/a><\/p>\n

And if you’re lucky enough to have access to Lynda<\/a> courses, George Maestri’s SketchUp Essential Training<\/a> course is particularly well done, especially if you really are<\/em> interested in designing and printing\u00a0buildings:<\/p>\n

\"SketchUp<\/a><\/p>\n

Great SketchUp Prints<\/h3>\n

So what do people\u00a0make with SketchUp? Pretty much anything they\u00a0want. Let’s start with this\u00a0Pixel Band<\/a>\u00a0from the well-known\u00a0LucasPlus<\/a>\u00a0Shapeways shop:<\/p>\n

\"LucasPlus<\/a><\/p>\n

Or how about this\u00a032-Tooth Lego Technic compatible Gear<\/a> from\u00a0Taran’s Terrific Technic<\/a>\u00a0shop?\u00a0This\u00a0designer is kind enough to also share the\u00a0SketchUp files<\/a> for their models, which you can learn from and modify for your own needs.<\/p>\n

\"32-Tooth<\/a><\/p>\n

The Thorn Dice Set<\/a>, one of the most popular designs on Shapeways, was created\u00a0with SketchUp by\u00a0Made by Wombat:<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Thorn<\/a><\/p>\n

And, of course, people\u00a0use SketchUp for architecture. For example, check out this adorable 1:48 scale\u00a03D Printed teeny tiny cabin in color<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0d12dozr on sketchUcation<\/a>, printed in Full Color Sandstone<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"1:48<\/a><\/p>\n

Are you a SketchUp wizard? Share links to your models here and give us some insight into how you made them; we’d love to feature your work in a future\u00a0Tutorial Tuesday!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SketchUp\u00a0is\u00a0a natural software choice for bringing architecture\u00a0to life in 3D. But did you know you can use it to make…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":31207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[489],"tags":[1708,508,1126,1592],"class_list":["post-31204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-products-and-design","tag-design-tutorials","tag-33-education","tag-sketchup","tag-tutorial-tuesday"],"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/gear.jpg","yoast_head":"\nTutorial Tuesday 17: SketchUp for 3D Printed Buildings and Beyond - Shapeways Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you're looking for free, reliable software that is easy to learn and has the teeth for more advanced projects, try SketchUp.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tutorial-tuesday-17-sketchup-buildings-beyond\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mathgrrl\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tutorial-tuesday-17-sketchup-buildings-beyond#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tutorial-tuesday-17-sketchup-buildings-beyond\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"mathgrrl\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9934f55f1b6a0954a93f55d54767e118\"},\"headline\":\"Tutorial Tuesday 17: SketchUp for 3D Printed Buildings and Beyond\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-16T13:10:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-22T21:57:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tutorial-tuesday-17-sketchup-buildings-beyond\"},\"wordCount\":508,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tutorial-tuesday-17-sketchup-buildings-beyond#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/gear.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"design tutorials\",\"Education\",\"SketchUp\",\"Tutorial Tuesday\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Products and Design\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tutorial-tuesday-17-sketchup-buildings-beyond#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tutorial-tuesday-17-sketchup-buildings-beyond\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tutorial-tuesday-17-sketchup-buildings-beyond\",\"name\":\"Tutorial Tuesday 17: SketchUp for 3D Printed Buildings and Beyond - 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