What are your top extensions?


MisterDrow

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Get some of the elements of the Fredo6 collection.  In particular, the round corners plugin.  It's identical to using a round over bit on a router, except with better dust control.     There's another element to the collection that allows for drawing on curved surfaces, and then extruding it. 

I just started using the cutlist plugin, but had some issues with it.  Apparently I think I included some guide marks when I created some of the components, and cutlist thought they were material.  Still haven't troubleshot it yet, but that's what I'm thinking.   But even then, when it tried to do a cutlist diagram, it bonked it right up, putting weird gaps in weird spots. 

I used the Cutlist 400 stand alone program to do the cut layouts.   This app is quite handy to have around if you don't have a SU generated design.  It's not the most intuitive program, but it's easy enough to figure out.  While not a plugin, I figured it's worth a mention.

I also have "Bezier Tools" (It may be built in, mine's from the SU team itself) that I rarely use, but when I do, it's exactly what I want.   You click on your start and end points, and then drag a third point to shape your curve.   It's one of those niche tools that is really good at one thing, and only that one thing. 

Sooo.... I got digging through the warehouse, looking for other little gems, anything listed here I have downloaded, but not yet played with:

Adebo_pushline:   Looks like it will let you extrude 2d faces from a 1d line.   just like you extrude 3d polyhedrons from a 2d face.   Downloaded.   It'll come in handy. 

CLF Shape Bender:  It'll bend a component to a specified curve.   Another ahha that'll make that easy plugin.   Might take some of the headaches away from trying to use the follow-me tool.  (EDIT: Yes, this plug in is a miracle worker.  I just created a nice curved panel from a flat piece of stock with only a couple clicks.  The video in the link is downright magical)

Dimension Tools: Looks like expanded dimension toolbars.  At a glance, there's a lot of little features that will simplify dimensioning a drawing.  

Guide tools:   Oh me oh my.   It automates finding the center of a circle and placing a guide point for you.  This is always a PITA manually.  There's also a dozen or more other automated guide point operations too.   I think I'll love this one. 

Onion Dome Creator: Just like it says, makes onions.   Might be nice for designing turned drawer pulls or the like.   I'll probably use it more for 3d printing. 

PathCopy:   Copies object along any path, doesn't have to be a straight line anymore.  (EDIT: I'll have to play with this one more to rule out user error, but It seems very difficult to get things placed as you want on a curve, seems to be reserved for the pro version.)  

s4u Mirror:  1 click object/component mirroring.  (Nope, costs $5, I'll leave it mentioned, but I can mirror manually for the price )

Select Curve Tool:  Yup, another headache saver.  I may use this once every 3 months, but I'll be glad I have it.  Instead of having to select each segment of a curve, it'll automatically select the whole curve.  (When I designed and printed a NACA0018 wing sail for an RC land yacht, this woulda saved hours and hours!)

Timber Framing Extensions: Says it can automate mortise and tenon design, along with a host of other features.   Be worth playing around with. 

View Parts:  Looks like it will separate out piles of assembled components into individual components for easier viewing, like an exploded instruction view.  

 

 

 

 

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As I don't have a Domino (yet - :ph34r: Shhssshhh don't tell the wife that one may be on the cards this year :ph34r:) I use a lot of conventional mortise and tenon joinery on furniture. So I bought (yes paid for) a Sketchup plugin called wudworx https://sites.google.com/site/wudworx/

WudWorx enables you to draw mortises, tenons and dovetails just by clicking on the components to be joined. No messing around with any pushing, pulling, laying out and it is all done automatically within seconds with a few mouse clicks. Both parts of the joint are created in the process.

Other plugins I use are the layer_manager extension and the excellent CutList.

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On 1/25/2017 at 5:29 AM, Marmotjr said:

Get some of the elements of the Fredo6 collection.  In particular, the round corners plugin.  It's identical to using a round over bit on a router, except with better dust control.     There's another element to the collection that allows for drawing on curved surfaces, and then extruding it.

I love the Round Corners plugin and use it all the time. But it seems that there is something with the new SketchUp version (SU2017) that broke it as I can no longer get it to work. As a matter of fact, I've uninstalled the new version and went back to SU2016 for the sole purpose of being able to use this plugin. Have you had any success with SU2017?

Another plugin that I absolutely loved was the SU2POV plugin with which you can export your SketchUp scene to POV-Ray to render them in high quality. But that plugin has been broken for several versions now which is a huge pity.

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4 hours ago, Dewald Swanepoel said:

I love the Round Corners plugin and use it all the time. But it seems that there is something with the new SketchUp version (SU2017) that broke it as I can no longer get it to work. As a matter of fact, I've uninstalled the new version and went back to SU2016 for the sole purpose of being able to use this plugin. Have you had any success with SU2017?

 

No Dewald I have stayed on 2016 64 bit and the roundover plugin of course works fine. The shop pc is an old 32bit only PC and there isn't a 2017 32bit Sketchup Make version available (AFAIK) hence why I stayed on 2016 on my main PC (for compatibility reasons). I did try saving something from SU2017 running on my Mac in 2016 format and tried loading it on SU2016 but it didn't work.

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  • 2 months later...
On 2/1/2017 at 0:45 AM, Dewald Swanepoel said:

 As a matter of fact, I've uninstalled the new version and went back to SU2016 for the sole purpose of being able to use this plugin. Have you had any success with SU2017?

Windows 10, SU 2017, LibFredo6, Fredo6 Round Corner no problems here.  What about it doesn't work for you?

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17 hours ago, Paulyester said:

It's not a software extension, but a Space Navigator will save you tons of time 

It makes repositioning and push/pulling much easier  

http://www.3dconnexion.com/products/spacemouse/spacenavigator.html

Love my space navigator, but they're pricey.  I found mine used on ebay and it's been great.   makes a good doorstop/paperweight too. 

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