I use 'free screen to video', I forget the exact name, but it works on my Win7 laptop. you do need to tweak the output encoding settings so that you retain enough resolution so that the screen text can be read. I also found that recording just the open window/program make the mouse offset, so I always do the full screen. examples....
MetalGuru, can you give me a list of the unanswered questions you still have? I'm too tired to read through this and have been using SKup for 3+ years and learned most of the tricks for it so far. I obviously much prefer Solidworks 2016 but Skup has it's strong points at times.
Hi Julius: Basically all my problems center around snaps (or whatever you want to call them). I can't seem to figure out how to move an assembly, component, or part and put it in place to make it snap to a certain location. For example, putting a bolt in a hole. I can't seem to figure out how to get sketchup to put the part in alignment with both the hole center and the face of the part at the same time. Nor can I seem to get 2 parts to align no matter what I try. This is really frustrating. I'm a 2D cad user for 30+ years so maybe I just have to get over preconceived notions of how things work in the 2d world. It seems to me that SketchUp is kind of missing a whole lot of features that would make it 1000% easier to use. Tracking down and installing plugins to do stuff that should have been part of the program in the first place seems really klunky to me. Having said that, users who have never used 2D cad seem to pick up SketchUp much easier than us old dogs.
Before watching, I'll say this. Move + Arrow keys. Each key will bind your movements to one axis (x/y/z) and that helps a lot. First, move the bolt across the X and Y so it aligns with the hole (Best if the bolt doesnt have any threads, and is just the shaft size or size of hole you drill for it). I think there's a concentric snap plugin that is really lacking but you can make it work. Then, move from the head of the screw and bind it to the Z so that the head of the screw is flush with the top of the material or use the bottom if you want to make counter bores. For assemblies, this is where Solid works really shines with its Mate feature. For circles, I actually keep an L shape that shows the centre point and use that for any movements that need reference at the end of the cylinder. I have also bound F5 and F6 to the camera views Top/bottom (and F7/F8 for left/right) so you can easily switch views to this sort of thing. Use middle mouse to orbit around and change the angle. For something that took you over 4 minutes can be done in about 10 seconds if you follow my routine!
yeah, took 4 minutes and was completely unsuccessful! By the way, your Avatar is way too creepy.... I figured out how to use the arrow keys, they are quite useful. The worst problem I have is that I can select an object and click the move tool, then select a point on the object to use as a reference. So far so good. However, when I move the object to its final resting point, I cannot for the life of me get any indication of a reference point on the destination object. Usuallly either the moved object obscures the destination or the destination provides no clue as to its center, edge, or any other way to reference to it. Usually I click on a point I think is correct and the move tool puts the object somewhere completely different than I expected. Not sure what you mean by "For circles, I actually keep an L shape". Huh? The camera views bound to F keys seem like a good idea, how do you do that? As you said, with 2d drafting tools this would take 4 seconds - place a construction point on the object and the destination where you want them to meet, select the object, move it until it snaps to the destination reference point and click. Easy to align 2 axes at once.
"I'm a 2D cad user for 30+ years so maybe I just have to get over preconceived notions of how things work in the 2d world. It seems to me that SketchUp is kind of missing a whole lot of features that would make it 1000% easier to use. Tracking down and installing plugins to do stuff that should have been part of the program in the first place seems really klunky to me. Having said that, users who have never used 2D cad seem to pick up SketchUp much easier than us old dogs." Read my mind. Frankly, maybe I just turned into "one of those old guys that doesn't get it" but I went back to Draughtsight. It's within my grasp quickly and parallels Autocad well enough that I can get what I need to generate toolpaths for the real world. I've watched John @ NYC CNC pull parts out of photos and such in Solidworks so am convinced there is something there with these 3d programs. The thing is, he always has to wash it through Draughtsight and then Sprutcam or something like it to get a toolpath. Seeing as you have to stop there anyway, why spend the time and effort doing the drawing in 3d? If I were cutting 100 complex parts, hands off, it would make sense, but for me, making 1 or 2 parts with manual tool changes and hand work blended in, it doesn't. I don't see the huge expense in time I would have to invest setting up Sketchup to suit my needs paying itself back. Ever at this point. Communication with other users is problematic at best, with everyone having their own unique version of Sketchup, none of them really the same. I agree that the plug ins DO seem to make the difference, but it's one heck of a lot of work installing and learning how to efficiently use them. Maybe not so much for the video game generation, but the learning curve for me is right on the edge of "worth it?" I'll be watching and will probably make the transition to 3d someday, for but right now, it's looking like Draughtsight is going to be it. For me anyway. I can have chips flying before a Sketchup guy will have the 1st of 3 drawings done. There's little I can't make using 2 or 2.5d in steps and will work with that for now, spend some free time to continue learning the new stuff. For a home shop, striving to make it fun, the drawing IS part of the fun, but I come from a world where we did whatever it took to most efficiently get the part done. MY fun is using the part for it's intended purpose. Not that I don't enjoy the process, but I'm trained to do it as effeciently as possible, even if that's napkin to mill, which it often is, even in the CNC age... Thanks for listening, and I'll be here -still soaking up what I can, learning... PS, I had 1 other thought. After following this thread, it's obvious that there are quite competent Sketchup users that don't even know what "Snaps" are in the "old world". It makes me wonder what I'm missing in Sketchup that's just as basic to it's efficient use. I'd love to work with someone good at it for a couple days and see how they get the job done.
I hear you Scott... I've really had 2 "EUREKA" moments today: 1. I finally "got it" I think with positioning stuff in Sketchup. I was thinking in 2d and trying to move an object to it's new position by trying to do all 3 axes at once. This does NOT work. I went back and realized that I have to line up axes one at a time. So move it until the center point is right on the XY axis, then move it again so that the meeting plane is right on the z axis. (or whatever the orientation) Julius was instrumental in this paradigm shift in my thinking. (thanks Mang!) He was bang on that you have to use the arrow keys to constrain your movement to a single axis, and do it one at a time. His tip of assigning camera views to the function keys is also indispensable, saving a huge amount of time. It's still klunky, though IMHO. You have to do a lot of housekeeping stuff like drawing reference lines and putting in manual points and stuff to use as references when moving and positioning. So, some definite progress, and I am now not so hopelessly lost. There's still lots to learn, but I'm getting there. And I agree with you that we were probably not making sense with the Snaps concept to the Sketchup users that do not have a 2d drafting background. 2. The other Eureka Moment came as I contemplated my navel and stared off into space. At least initially, I am really only interested in making essentially flat plates with holes in them. This does not require 3D cad at all. I can very quickly and competently draw up a plate with holes in 2D cad, and somehow generate a G-code file from that. The only 3d information required is depth of cuts and hole depths, and that should be easy to do manually. Do a g-code outline of the plate with all the holes at depth A, lower the cutter and do it again. Repeat until the cutter depth >= material thickness. 3D cad really only comes into play with things like curved surfaces where the Z axis changes as the tool path proceeds over the XY axis. Stuff like carving reliefs and so on, whether it be wood, metal, or plastic. Not going to be doing much of that for the first kick at it anyway. Most of my cutting work for the time being will be production duplicating small wood and plastic parts cut from sheet material, and making new plates for the next generation of CNC router. Anyway, thanks to all who put up with my dumb questions. There's plenty more where those came from. Don't think I'm finished yet. I have definitely come to value the vast store of wisdom in the OpenBuilds community. It's good to drink from the well of knowledge. Now if only it was beer... And thanks to whoever gave me the "Keeps coming back" trophy. **** right. You ain't gettin rid of me that easy...
I had your 2nd revelation 1st. I've been researching CAM software as well, and caught a video (can't seem to find it again) of a fellow taking a hand mirror from a 3d CAD drawing to gcode. The steps are to basically throw away all the depth info, making it 2D!! you then explode the arcs (which are line segments in Sketchup, not vectors as in Autocad) and throw away that info, inserting a single vector definition. (backward step again) you then set the depths as 2D planes. From there the CAM program breaks it down for you. For 90+% of what we make on a mill, 2d with plane depths is all you need (2.5d). If we are using a vee bit to do a face in wood for example you would use the infinite Z coords that 3d CAD provides, but it wouldn't require manual processing, just photographic grayscale to depth (yes it IS more complex than that I know) conversion is required. You need not draw it. A true 3d object in practice requires more than a 3 axis mill. At least 4 axis, ie the ability to move in with a cutter from a side axis. In practice this often comes in the form of a 3 or 4 layer set of cutting maps, one for each workpiece face. (with workpiece rotated in the mill manually or automatically) I completely misunderstood the geometrics of it. In this case the power of the 3d CAD comes to bear. It's really just 3 planar drawings combined, and that's the trick - as you pointed out (Thanks to Mang as well). It's beyond what I'm trying to do. I just want my mill, lathe and laser to cut circles, perfect faces and other "impossible by hand" stuff. I've been working on this on and off for a while, and took a couple years between my inital plans and hardware construction to now, where I'm getting ready to do the final assembly and set up. If I'm misguided, please let me know. But it looks to me as if a true 3d drawing isn't a good fit for "normal" milling operations. You are really better off with a 2d plan or ISO view with depth planes. Scott PS - forgot to say, YES!! the 2 step positioning makes total sense. I got done with my drawing a couple times only to orbit and discovered lines off in space. They slide between axis without it being obvious other than the angles "just don't look right". Great tip the viewport designations.
Forgot to say I do plan to branch into 3d printing as well, which will probably require more 3d skill than 2d...
I'm likely headed there too. This is all stuff we're going to have to adapt to eventually. Sure is culture shock getting immersed in it all at once though.Borders on mean. My kids are in college, I'll have to have them take a class, then teach me.... Turns out John @ NYC CNC (Now Saunders Machine in Ohio) has totally dropped Solidworks. He's gone Autodesk (imagine that) Fusion 360 I downloaded it this afternoon. FREE to hobbiests and small businesses under $100k/year LOOKS FAMILIAR in a distant sort of way. Comes on in clear 3 axis with .2 mm snaps. If I'm going 3d, this may be the way. It's cloud driven, and that doesn't thrill me, but they say it plays well with all 'popular' CAD files. It's a full package, 2d,3d CAD, CAM to gcode editor. Check it out.
You're welcome! You dont like Steve Buscemi's face on a child? Makes me laugh every time. For any flat thing with through-holes, just draw it all in 2D, then push/pull it to your thickness. Here's what I mean by the L. The dot you see is where the guitar string actually sits once used. http://puu.sh/mssa6/3ff5e07ddc.png
Didn't recognize him... Nah, still creepy. Ah, I see what you mean now about the L . See how a picture is worth a thousand words? I see you are a fellow Canuck. I am in Calgary. Thanks for your help. It was the last little bit of info that led to the dawn of understanding.
The kid is from this meme https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/a6/55/18/a6551844efa2f043b69e175d1bf0d83e.jpg Lemme know if you need any more CAD help in the future!
To move an object, select it and then click again off the object to pick the direction to move object, and then to set the distance to place the object enter precise movements by keyboard to field in bottom right corner.
