SKetchUp 3d + Cut3D = Will it work?

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pjped
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SKetchUp 3d + Cut3D = Will it work?

Post by pjped »

Hi,
My name is Pete and I'm kind of new to this forum... I do shop drawings and CNC programming for a millwork shop. To do this I use AutoCAD LT + VCarve 6.5 and an FMT Patriot 4x8 CNC.

I have been tasked with recreating a clay roof tile (compound curve that's tapered along the length and tapered in thickness from end to end), in high-density foam.

I must produce something by this Wednesday. :shock: The 3D nature of this would be tough to pull off in VCarve, not sure how to do it, so I'm thinking of purchasing Cut3D.

I have two questions:
1) Does SketchUp Pro and Cut3D work well together? I have Sketchup Pro and it can export as .dxf, and I did a test import into the trial version of Cut 3D, but the trial version cannot save a toolpath, and I'm not sure if the "surfaces" type of 3D model will machine well on the CNC.

2) I could not find my particular Post Processor (that is in my version of VCarve Pro) in the pull-down list in the trial Cut3D. it is a .pim. So I found this file in a folder in my VCarve Pro, copied-n-pasted into the correct folder in the trial of Cut3D, and then restarted Cut3d expecting it to appear but it was not there. What am I doing wrong?

I may be looking for a new job if I cannot pull this off!

Thanks for any help!

Pete

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Leo
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Re: SKetchUp 3d + Cut3D = Will it work?

Post by Leo »

V-Carve will not do the 3D directly

If you can output STL from Sketchup - Cut3D can import STL.

After toolpath is created in Cut 3D the toolpath can be imported into V-Carve Pro.
Imagine the Possibilities of a Creative mind, combined with the functionality of CNC

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Beamer
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Re: SKetchUp 3d + Cut3D = Will it work?

Post by Beamer »

It does work. Whether it works well or not depends on the complexity of the model.

Keep in mind that sketchup hides a LOT from you in regards to what's actually drawn. For example, something lat looks smooth in sketchup may actually be quite faceted when exported - this is because sketchup doesn't use many polygons to define a curved surface - it smooths them and makes it APPEAR to be a nice soft curve when in reality, it's just a couple of segments. Keep this in mind, because it doesn't do well with LOTS of polygons. Here's an example...

I'm working on a guitar and I got this topographical map of the body contours. I brought that into sketchup and shifted them around to get a view of the actual body shape - here's that:
topo1.png
Then I ran into some trouble ... i wanted to generate a nice smooth 3d model of that map - to make a bending form. After some fighting with several plugins, and crashing sketchup a few dozen times, I literally spent a full day trying to get acceptable results - and I did, eventually, here is a screen grab of that:
topo2.jpg
The above rendering took about 45 minutes on my 8 core, 8gb 64bit laptop with an SSD. It was pretty heavy for sketchup to do. It did it, but it was probably the limit of it's capability. Serpentine curves on a domed surface - pretty elaborate and LOTS of polygons.

That was the worst of it, though. I don't have Pro, but there are plugins out there that export the STL files and Cut3D had no problem bringing those in and cutting a really nice bending form. Once I got past the limitations of sketchup's ACTUAL 3d modelling limitations. It's pretty, it's fast, it's cheap, but it is NOT a 3D CAD application. You can get by, but something like Rhino or Aspire would've handled this task a lot faster and a lot smoother.
Jason Beam
Sacramento, CA
http://beamerweb.com

pjped
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 7:59 pm
Model of CNC Machine: FMT Patriot 4' x 8' 3-Axis

Re: SKetchUp 3d + Cut3D = Will it work?

Post by pjped »

Thanks for the responses - very helpful.

I'm still not sure why I should import the Cut3D toolpath into VCarve Pro, I just did that in my VCP 6.5 and it gives me errors.

-Pete

pjped
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Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 7:59 pm
Model of CNC Machine: FMT Patriot 4' x 8' 3-Axis

Re: SKetchUp 3d + Cut3D = Will it work?

Post by pjped »

Beamer,

You experience on SketchUp confirms my concerns.

Thanks for taking the time to explain your process - very helpful!
Pete

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Leo
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Re: SKetchUp 3d + Cut3D = Will it work?

Post by Leo »

pjped wrote:Thanks for the responses - very helpful.

I'm still not sure why I should import the Cut3D toolpath into VCarve Pro, I just did that in my VCP 6.5 and it gives me errors.

-Pete
Cut 3D will do ONLY the 3D toolpath - nothing else

V-Carve Pro will do pockets, text, profiles and all sorts of other stuff that Cut 3D cannot do.

Combining the two is a great package.

I have imported cut3D toolpath into V-Carve pro many many times with ease.

You may have done something wrong with your import. Remember you are importing toolpath only - not the cut 3D file.
Imagine the Possibilities of a Creative mind, combined with the functionality of CNC

pjped
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Model of CNC Machine: FMT Patriot 4' x 8' 3-Axis

Re: SKetchUp 3d + Cut3D = Will it work?

Post by pjped »

Leo,

Yes I was doing something wrong... I tried it again and it worked, thanks!

Pete

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