SketchUp is useful right from the initial phases of the design to the completion of the project. We’ve compiled some of the best plugins will have a detailed discussion about them and their uses in 3d Modelling.

How to Install Sketchup Plugins

Once you’ve downloaded a .RBZ file from the innerwebs save it to where SketchUp can find it. By default, that location is your Sketchup/Tools folder. In older versions of SketchUp you’ll need to use your Sketchup/Plugins folder.

After your file is in that folder, close and restart Sketchup.

When you reopen SketchUp your plugin will initialize. Depending on the plugin, using its functions may vary.

Edge Tools

ThomThom’s handy palette of edge-related tools saves you time in multiple ways, enabling quick simplification of imported DWG site plans, the ability to split a face into multiple planes, and – most significantly – highlighting of imperfections so you can clean up your model in a flash of seconds.

Simplify Contours Tool

This Plugin allows you to select the topographic lines (Contours) and simplify them as much as you want/need. If you’re original topographic lines were splines in AutoCAD this is definitely a must, for your model.

Purge All

Purges’ your model of unused Components, Layers, Tags, Materials and Styles: its dialog makes each type optional: there is also an optional closing Report showing numbers, or a Log file also listing the names of the purged items.

Clean Up

A superb plugin to remove unnecessary coplanar edges and clean up imported geometry. This SketchUp extension can also be used to:

Fix duplicate component definition names (when in model scope)

• Purge unused items
• Erase hidden geometry

Angular Dimension

Angular dimension helps you measure the right angle. his tool comes under the features of marking dimensions in SketchUp. Whenever you need to mark a distance and angle in your model, linear dimension and angular dimension prove to be very useful.

Section Cut Face

If you are looking for a plugin to create your section slices in SketchUp you are in the right place. This plugin will create a group of the section cut you select and fill it up automatically.

Sketchy FFD

It is an exclusive SketchUp extension that includes a control cage to an object facilitating the mesh to be operated through control points.

QuadFace Tools

It’s an organic Modelling extension that allows you to create organic shapes. What it does is smooth out geometry to make it look more organic. The reason this is important is that it works best with shapes that are made out of quads, or 4 sided pieces of geometry.

LSS Matrix

It is an extension of Sketchup, which allows advanced copying of groups and component instances.

Mirror

This extension helps to select objects by picking 1/2/3 points to define a point/line/plane: then choose to Keep/Delete the original objects.

Fredo6: Bezier Spline

This extension draws a variety of Polylines, Bezier, and Spline curves, all in 3D. Version 2.1a fixes issues related to icon size.

Weld

Weld allows you to join multiple connected edges, curves, and arcs.

Selection Toys

Selection Toys is a set of commands to manipulate selections. Filter out particular geometry based on edge, faces, groups, and components. An extensive suite of tools that allows you to customize your toolbar as you wish using the UI Settings using Tools > Selection Toys > UI Settings.

Curviloft

Curviloft is a script dedicated to Loft and Skinning, that is, the generation of surfaces from contours. Loft by Spline joins separate contours, open or closed, by smooth splines. Loft along Path joins contours, along a given rail curve. Skinning creates surfaces bounded by 4 or 3 contiguous contours.

Soap and Bubble

The free plugin gives modelers the ability to easily create a multi-faceted face inside of a closed group of three or more lines. It’s as simple as selecting the lines, starting up the plugin, telling it how many faces you want the new face to have, and then sit back to watch it work its magic. The plugin also lets to inflate or deflate the new face after it has been created.

FredoScale

FredoScale is a plugin for Sketchup, Programmed by Fredo6, for Interactively applying a number of geometric transformations, such as Scaling, Tapering, Stretching, Plane Shear, Twisting, Bending, and Rotation.

With FredoScale one can orientate the selection box around a set of objects and interactively apply a number of geometric transformations, such as Scaling, Tapering, Stretching, Plane Shear, Twisting, Bending, and Rotation. By extension, some transformations can be done without a selection box.

Random Push Pull

Randomly Push Pull faces to a min and max value

CLF Shape Bender

Create a shape to bend. It must be a group or a component. Then select a single horizontal (red axis) line to use as the base for bending. Then select the curve that the shape will bend to match. Wait for it to think, then it will show a grid and preview of where your object is going to transform to. Press the Up-Arrow key to toggle the orientation of the bend.

Access the plugin via Plugins > Chris Fullmer Tools > Shape Bender, or there is a Shape Bender toolbar.

Multiple Offsets

As you start working with more advanced shapes in SketchUp, sometimes you need the ability to offset multiple faces at once, or the ability to offset edges multiple times with the same tool. This plugin allows you the ability to do both of these things.

Joint Push or Pull

Joint Push Pull is an extension from Fredo6 that contains a number of tools to expand the face extrusion functions in SketchUp. Practically, this means that you can now push pull multiple and curved surfaces within SketchUp. In addition, tools like Vector Push Pull allow you to extrude the footprint of a curved surface into a flat shape, and more!

Conclusion

The tools and plugins listed above are only the ones we believe are the most important or interesting to know for any user who wants to get started. One thing is for sure: For whatever project is there in hand there’s a SketchUp tool that can solve it in a highly efficient way.

The post Top Amazing SketchUp Plugins for dynamic 3D Modelling appeared first on SketchUpFamily.

Use of SketchUp Plugin

1. At first, users have to select the window option and then the extension manager option in SketchUp.
2. After that users have to click the install extension option.
3. After that when SketchUp tells users to install extensions only from trusted links then they have to click yes option to install the desired extension.

Front face tool

If any face of any objects is facing backwards generally users have to select and choose the reverse faces option. It takes a lot of time but by using this tool users have to click the button and then drag the mouse over all the backside faces.

Shape bender

1. Users first have to mimic the curve of the desired bend by copying or drawing the line.
2. Then they have to draw a line along the length of the object users want to bend.
3. Then users have to select the object and then they have to click the tool button.
4. After that users can see the instruction tool at bottom left on the SketchUp window.
5. After that users have to select the curve.

This takes a few minutes. Users can use the up option to toggle the curve and use the down arrow to toggle the line. Users have to press enter to draw the new object. This tool is very helpful to bend any shape of lines.

Round corner tool

If any objects in the design are sharp in real life then they will cause injury so by using this tool users can make edges of the object smooth. So that it will give a polish look of the object in the entire model.

Solid inspector

This plug in is very helpful. By using this tool users are able to inspect every object so that those objects can not make any mistakes like lag, crash or corrupt the SketchUp files. This plugin helps to fix the problems and also tells the users about fixing some problems manually.

This tool highlights the errors in red so that the users can orbit and flip the object to see the problem. This tool is a very time saver tool. This tool also helps the user by saving progress before importing complex things in the model.

Sketchy FFD

Users can control the cage to an object by using this software. Users can create complex curves. This tool also helps to create domes and free flowing shapes constructed from mesh elements. C Philips created this plug-in for SketchUp users.

1001 bit tools

This extension has 39 tools to get better qualities while doing SketchUp. This is the freeware version.

Memory copy

Users can copy and transform geometry by using this tool. This tool also remembers the last move of the users. Adam Billyard created this plug-in for SketchUp users.

Follow me and rotate

Users created rope, twine, and ornate balusters by using this plug in. This tool helps the users by rotating to produce twisting geometry. Wiki created this follow me and rotate plugin for SketchUp.

Multiple offsets

Sam D Mitch created this helpful plugin to help the SketchUp users. Users can offset many faces of the particular object. Users can create complex forms by using this tool.

Edge tools2

ThomThom created this plugin for SketchUp. This tool also helps the users to save their precious times. This tool also simplifies the imported DWG site plans, split a face into different planes and highlight the problems or imperfect models so that users can easily clean up the model very easily.

Section cut face

TIG created this plugin to create a better SketchUp experience. Users are also able to add a face to the required section plane. Users also modify the faces very fast and also change the colors for the purposes of presentation. This tool can be updated automatically when the users edit the models.

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