Hello everyone,
Super newbie here with sketch up and CAD.
I have a 3D model of a part that I am trying to print. However, it’s too big for my printer so I needed to cut it out. When I put it down and it looked fine in the program, however, it crashed when printing. Looking at the lock, it looks like it needs some kind of support while printing. The piece it crashed into had no support underneath.
I imported the image and added the necessary supports by making some cylinders. I exported it and when I loaded it into the slicer it was about 10 times smaller.
I can probably get the dimensions for whoever made the part and YouTube how to scale, but in case I want to do something in the future with scaling where I don’t have the reference measurements, I’d like to know if/how I can import something and export it and keep the same scale. Is this possible or do I need the reference measurements?
When it comes to scaling, the tape measure tool (you) is your best friend.
I’m not too sure if I’m following the problem, but I think I’ve come across something like this before. For starters, you shouldn’t have to model the support structure in sketchup. The slicer should have that option. The only reason to make your own supports is if you need something very specific or if you need to reduce the material used.
As for reference measurements, this can become unreliable as some people work in US/Imperial units while others work on Metric. In my experience, Metric is easier to scale because they are factors of 10. If you are working with a model made in US/Imperialyou’ll need to calculate the scale with some conversion equations (ie multiply the decimal value by 25.4 to convert inches to mm).
You’ll also want to be aware of your export options. when you select Export 3D modelthe dialog will have a Options button. If you select it, you will see that you can select the units of measurement for the model:
I always choose the units from the model, but sometimes my slicer still misinterprets the figure. At that point I just have to use the slicer to get it to the proper scale.
It would be helpful if you could share the original .skp file to see what you are working with. I hope there is an easy solution for what you want to do. Your profile says that you are using SketchUp Pro. What version of SketchUp Pro?
Sketch up pro 2022. It wasn’t a .skp file, it was a .stl. I uploaded it for reference.
6v.stl (4.9 MB)
You were right about the slicer having supports on them. I changed the units to MM and that solved the problem. Its scales correctly, appericate that help.
