The Best SketchUp plugins

Mostly used by architects and interior designers this 3D modelling software is very easy to learn and is also popular amongst the maker community. You can engage yourself into sketching complex things once you have mastered the basics. 

Tools developed by the members of the SketchUp user community are known as plugins. These plugins enhance the native tools by making them more powerful for 3D Printing services in India. These are usually free and available for download in SketchUp extension warehouse or in Sketchucation plugin Store for 3D Printing online.

However, the extension warehouse is only available for the pro version of the SketchUp. It is offered in three versions namely free, Pro and shop for many 3D Printing companies. The price for each version varies along with a dedicated range of tools and cloud storage.

Setup

Following is the source to directly use the extension warehouse in SketchUp for affordable 3D Printing services-

1.     Open SketchUp> go to ‘view’ menu > toolbar . Here a text box will be displayed. Make sure that the warehouse option is checked.
2.     New display will appear after clicking on the warehouse icon
3.     Sign in with either your Trimble or Google account. Post which you will be able to search and download for any plugin that you wish to download.
4.     Search for the plugin or extension that you need, select it, and click on the install button. This will result in automatically installing the plugin in SketchUp.

• Soap and skin bubble

Provided free of cost and located at the extension warehouse this is a popular plugin which is useful when modelling curved surfaces for online 3D Printing services. It allows you to create a skin which is just the mesh generated from a closed edge loop.

You can avail this by clicking on the skin button after selecting the respective edges. Next is a simple step of providing a subdivision value and post this press enter. Keep in mind that higher the value will result in a smoother surface.

• Tools on surface

Located in sketchucation and provided free of cost this is the tool set that allows you to use native tools like line, circle, rectangle or even offset but on curved surfaces for 3D Printing online. In case you want to divide faces and apply different materials this is the best tool you can utilize for the same cause. Just to note it will require library preset of LibFredo 6

• Curviloft

Located in the extension warehouse and provided free of cost for affordable 3D Printing services, it will require a library of LibFredo 6. This plugin offers three functions-

1.     Loft by spline which allows you to generate a surface by joining different contours with use of smooth spline.
2.     Skinning is a function that creates a surface from joined contours or lines.
3.     Loft along the path allows you to join different contours or 2D shapes along a given guideline to produce 3D shape.

The said plugin is very powerful and dedicated to the capability of creating complex geometry from contour lines in a more accurate way for online 3D Printing India than SketchUp sandbox tools.

• Joint push pull

The prerequisite of this login is that it requires libraries of LibFredo 6. It is available free of cost for 3D Printing service in India and is located at an extension warehouse. The notable feature of this plugin is the possibility to extrude curved surfaces. It is an upgraded version of SketchUp’s original push and pull tools.

On the brighter side it also allows you to make multiple extrusions at the same time for online 3D Printing services.

• Flowify

Also provided free of cost this is among the most powerful plugins created for SketchUp 3D Printing online. It is available in the extension warehouse. This plugin offers help for you to bend any group or component created in SketchUp along the target geometry. The surface should have four vertices which means it should be a quad surface.

• Slicer

Offered free of cost and available in sketchucation this plugin brings 3D models into the real world through online 3D Printing India. We can claim that it is made for production with the help of computer numerical control also known as CNC machines.

 This process is known as digital fabrication. Slicing a model into different pieces or giving them thicknesses or preparing them for cutting can be done via this plugin.

In layman’s terms you will be able to slice the model and set up the pieces to be cut with a CNC mill.

Rendering in SketchUp:

When paired with the right rendering plugin, SketchUp can elevate your 3D modelling to the next level offering affordable 3D Printing services. There are literally hundreds of extensions that enable you to add special tools and features to SketchUp.

You can also find extensions for a specific application (such as drawing or 3D printing) and industry-specific tools (such as extensions for architecture, interior design, construction, and more). You can browse the extension warehouse from within SketchUp.

These are our favorite rendering plugins for SketchUp and what we use them for.

•  V-RAY

V-Ray has been transforming people’s SketchUp models into photorealistic renderings and animations for several years now. V-Ray for SketchUp is easy to install and get started with, offering the power of the world’s most used renderer to the speed and flexibility of the most used modeler.

•  SU Podium

SU Podium is a favorite among architects and interior designers of 3D Printing companies for the ease in which it can produce detailed and life-like architectural visualizations from a detailed SketchUp model. SU Podium uses a high-end, biased raytracing engine combined with a physical sky system and a set of carefully calibrated presets to make SketchUp rendering straightforward and enjoyable especially for SLA 3D Printing service.

• Shaderlight

This software gives a different more realistic rendering for SketchUp with lots of options via various modes and tools which simplifies and keeps your work models through 3D Printing online. Shaderlight gives a more whimsical, unique feel as it allows you the option of choosing between progressive rendering and single shot rendering.

• Enscape

Enscape is a virtual reality and real-time rendering plugin for SketchUp. With just one click, you can start Enscape and within seconds walk through your fully rendered project – no uploading to the cloud or exporting to other programs required! All changes in SketchUp are immediately available to evaluate in Enscape.

You are able to quickly explore different design options and present projects to clients of your 3D Printing companies. If the client wants to see something different in the design, Enscape will immediately show the changes you make to the project, even in VR.

• Thea

Thea for SketchUp is a high-end, fast render plugin for SketchUp Pro. It combines the powerful Thea rendering engines with the simplicity of SketchUp. Having biased, unbiased and interactive render modes including GPU support at your fingertips, inside SketchUp view, rendering is a joyful experience. Thea also has a built-in online library and is compatible with Extensions such as Skatter.

Have you heard about SketchUp extensions? Hope you  learn something new from our comprehensive SketchUp Extensions FAQ below!

What are SketchUp Extensions?

SketchUp Extensions are special software programs that give added tools and features to SketchUp Pro.  They do not work by themselves.  They need SketchUp Pro to run for 3D Printing services in India.

What are SketchUp Plugins?  Are they the same as Extensions?

SketchUp Extensions and Plugins mean the same thing to most users.  Technically, an extension includes some extra code that tells SketchUp about the copyright, developer, and description of the extension so that it can be displayed inside the SketchUp Extension Manager. But most people use the term “Plugin” and “Extension” interchangeably when it comes to SketchUp while 3D Printing online.

Other historical terms for SketchUp extensions include “scripts”, “rubies”, or “ruby scripts“.  You might see these terms floating around on older websites and old forum posts.

Why should I use SketchUp Extensions?

SketchUp Extensions can save you a huge amount of time by automating tedious or time-consuming SketchUp tasks of online 3D Printing services. Most extensions only take a few minutes to learn but could save you a massive amount of time and effort.

Extensions also let you create models or perform tasks in SketchUp that would otherwise be impossible or impractical to do.

What can SketchUp Extensions do?

SketchUp Extensions can do almost anything that you could ever dream of doing with SketchUp!  Things like:

– Photorealistic rendering

– Custom drawing tools, such as a tool for creating hipped roofs

– Tools to modify existing geometry

– Attach custom attributes to objects such as cost, supplier, etc.

– Generate cut lists, and bills of material

– Automate tedious tasks

– Animation

– Tools to manipulate texture positions and materials.

– Export and import geometry and custom attributes

Are SketchUp Extensions free?

There are hundreds of highly useful free SketchUp Extensions available that have been created by the generous SketchUp Developer community for affordable 3D Printing services.  There are also many paid extensions that often have a free trial available. 

Many of the more powerful and more complex SketchUp Extensions are not free but it is very possible to build a library of useful free plugins as well.

Can SketchUp Extensions be used for both Windows and Mac?

Yes, nearly all SketchUp Extensions can be used on either Windows or Mac computers in 3D Printing companies. 

However, there are some extensions that require certain platform-specific libraries that may only be available for one platform.  Usually, the website that distributes the extension will state if the extension is not compatible with either Windows or Mac.

How do I move my SketchUp Extensions to a new computer? Or move them to a new version of SketchUp?

To avoid compatibility, loading, or license errors, the recommended method is to reinstall the latest version of your extension by downloading it from the same website that you originally received it.

The ExtensionStore includes some tools for automating this process (if you originally downloaded the extension from the ExtensionStore) whereas with the Extension Warehouse, you can go to the ‘Downloads’ section to see a list of all extensions you have previously downloaded so you can easily go through the list and re-download the latest version of the extensions you wish to migrate.

If you purchased an extension from the Extension Warehouse, you must reinstall it from the Extension Warehouse from inside SketchUp in order to properly migrate your license.

Note that certain paid extensions may use a different license system and require you to first remove the license from your old computer before activating the license on your new computer. If you forget to do this, you can normally reset your license activations. Be sure to check with the extension developer for instructions on how to do this as the process may be different for each developer.

If you are an advanced SketchUp user, you may want to try the alternative quick method of migrating extensions by copying the contents of your old extensions folder to the new one where you want to move your extensions. However, there is a good chance that some of your extensions will not load or work properly so be prepared for errors. If you notice errors related to a particular extension, then be sure to download and reinstall the latest version of that extension as described above.

What file format are SketchUp Extensions?

SketchUp Extensions are most commonly distributed as a single RBZ file for easy installation. 

An RBZ file is just a ZIP file with the RBZ file extension instead of ZIP. RBZ files must contain at least one file with the .rb file extension.  The .rb file extension tells SketchUp that the file is a text file written using the Ruby language.  The RBZ file may also contain subfolders with additional .rb files and other resource files such as images and html files that the extension needs to run.

Some older or very simple plugins might be distributed as a single .rb file and not an RBZ file.  These files cannot be installed using the Extension Manager but instead must be manually copied to the correct folder on your computer in order to be used.

Conclusion

Life becomes easy once you install a plugin and familiarize yourself with it. You will find it very easy to operate these plugins once you are using them constantly in your workflow.

Also keep in mind to regularly update the plugins to to expect frequent bug fixes and improvements.

READ MORE : SUBTRACTIVE RAPID PROTOTYPING