
Many advanced design software packages allow for objectsย to be created face-by-face, givingย powerful and precise control of yourย design. Butย to be printable, aย 3D design file needs specific requirements to be met, especiallyย havingย edges that connect so the 3D element has clear dimensionalityย โ called being manifold or watertight. Many design applications, being madeย for aย wide range of uses rather than focusing on 3D printing, don’t check for this automatically.
But now SketchUp, one of the more popular and accessibleย design packages, has launched itsย solution to this issue through a partnership with additive manufacturing experts Materialise, to let designers generateย printable STL files and accessย them in its 3D Warehouse repository.
The process, called Printables for 3D Warehouse, is straightforward. Once a SketchUp file is saved and uploadedย toย 3D Warehouse, a checkbox option allows for it to be sent to Materialise’s cloud-based system to analyze and optimize the file for 3D printability.
Theย file is thenย processed โ which occurred quite quickly in our tests at Maker Faire, even with the large crowds pushing the limits of cellphone and Wi-Fi access โ and marked on 3D Warehouse as being printer-ready. That’s it, tidy and simple.
Prior to this built-in option, SketchUp users needed to use 3rd-party plugins to optimizeย their contentย for printing. While this new system requires a network connection to process the files, the SketchUp team explains that Materialise’s algorithms return a high-quality STL file that can be safely printed with great results.
Beyond being a tool for designers, it also expands 3D Warehouse into new territory. Largely a collection of digital models used for virtual projects, from architecture to mapping (part of SketchUp’s growth came from it being a popular tool to makeย buildings and other structuresย for Google Earth, and was a property of Google prior to Trimble’s acquisition of it in 2012), the “printable” element opens it to be another outlet to find and share files that can be 3D printed, alongside sites such as Thingiverse and Youmagine.
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