Cura stl from Sketchup Problems

[dhopkins 0]

Hi,

I’m new to 3D printing and just joined this group. I’m hoping someone can help me with a problem I’m having printing a model.

I’m using Sketchup Pro 2021 version to produce the model. Actually the model is an import from their 3D warehouse.

I’m using Cura 4.8.0  and have 2 printers, Anycubic Mega S and Creality CR-10S Pro v2

I am doing a project for my wife’s 65 th birthday and have been trying to add a Ribbon bow to the model. Not necessary but a nice touch. I imported a model from Shetchup 3D warehouse, scaled it to size required and exported it to an STL file. Tried slicing it in Cura, but it didn’t slice properly. Most of the bow wouldn’t print.

I figured the problem was because the surfaces in most of the model had no thickness, so I tried to add a 1mm thickness to all those surfaces. Problem: Sketchup will not thickness curved surfaces. I found a plugin, Fredo JointPushPull, which worked great and the model look good in Sketchup. I exported it to an STL and opened it in Cura. It looked good on the build platform, but when sliced most of the model wouldn’t print. I’ve tried many ways to correct this but nothing seems to work. I am thinking the problem is the translation from Sketchup to the STL.

Thanks for your help

Dave

Cura 1 mm thick.3mf STL from Shetchup 1mm thick.stl

[Smithy 1,146]

I cannot give you a real solution for your problem, but Sketchup is known to produce non working STL files. It is not the app of choice to create models for 3D printing. So best you choose and use another CAD software for 3D printing you will always have troubles with Sketchup.

[dhopkins 0]

Thanks for your help

[geert_2 558]

As Smithy says: SketchUp is going to be an endless nightmare. In the time you need to correct its defective models, you can learn another editor that does work. SketchUp was never designed for 3D-printing, it was ment for visual models only, like in architectural sketches, computer games and virtual reality.

 

I use DesignSpark Mechanical, freeware from RS (electronics supplier), requiring only registration. But there are other good programs too.

 

Look on Youtube for tutorials, and try one that appeals to you.