Saturday, April 13, 2013

Converting SketchUp to STL Files

This weekend, we were hoping to convert our first SketchUp (SKP) files to STL.  There are a lot of options out there, but this is the one we got to work.

We are using a Mac OS (10.8.3) and SketchUp version 8.0.15.157.  After many attempts, this blog provided the solution that worked for us.

I am not clear if we have a "Sketchup 8 maintenance release 2 or later," but I do know that when we downloaded the .rbz file and tried to install it via the install extensions button under Sketchup >> Perferences >> Extensions, we continually got an error message upon restart.

However, when I downloaded the Sketchup to DXF or STL plugin - skp_to_dxf.rb ( Sketchup versions 6, 7 or 8) and dropped it in the sketchup plugins folder ( /Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp [VERSION]/SketchUp/Plugins) then restarted SketchUp, this plugin worked fine.


Now, "Export to DXF or STL" is in the drop-down File menu.

Pop-up 1: Set "Export Unit" to "millimeters"

Pop-up 2: Set "Export to DXF" to "stl"

Once we opened it up in Replicator G, we were set!
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2 comments:

  1. Alex OliverDecember 5, 2013 at 10:09 AM

    An easier way to do this now would be to install the SketchUp STL extension (http://extensions.sketchup.com/en/content/sketchup-stl).

    Alex from School SketchUp tutorials

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  2. Alex OliverDecember 17, 2013 at 11:14 AM

    As a follow-on from my previous comment, we've outlined the workflow for going from SketchUp to a 3D Printer using the SketchUp STL plugin. You can see it in a video tutorial on in our new guide: 3D Printing from SketchUp (http://www.go-2-school.com/sketchup/3d-printing)

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