3D Printing and CNC Fabrication with SketchUp

Book has a lot of good information on various software programs, a good SketchUp tutorial, and a lot of good example models

Great book for getting started with Sketchup. The step-by-step projects are a fine reference even after completing the exercises. It is occasionally confusing because it is based on a slightly older version of the program but that just makes the lessons a bit more challenging. I now know I made a good choice with Sketchup as a first 3D design tool.

Book has very useful reference material in the limited context of its subject.

It is a more like a beginner's SketchUp book with limited introduction to 3d printing and CNC fabrication. I previously purchased 3D Prining with SketchUp by Marcus Ritland and that book has way more information than this one. Also, I downloaded MakerBot In the Classroom from Thingiverse which also covered the same if not more information on 3d printing using different programs instead of SketchUp.It is a okay book for people with no SketchUp or 3d printing experience and wants to get started.

I'd read several books on 3D design and printing with Sketchup. Chapters 5, 6, and 7 alone make this book worth buying. Those saved me a lot of time.

Clear, precise, easy to follow info on this software for 3D printing.

If you have a 3D printer, but still aren't printing your own designs--because you haven't tried SketchUp or have looked at it and found it confusing--then 3D PRINTING AND CNC FABRICATION WITH SKETCHUP may be exactly the right book for you. Aimed at SketchUp beginners (like myself), it presents an excellent step-by-step "course" in designing printable 3D models with the downloadable SketchUp software. (SketchUp Make is free; SketchUp Pro is a pay version with more capabilities. Both versions are covered.)What I really like about this book, is that it begins by explaining how the SketchUp Make interface and tools work (with navigational screen shots and clear 3D drawings of what to expect from the tools), and then provides simple step-by-step "workbook" projects (e.g., a virtual name stand, a virtual travel mug) that teach you how to actually use the tools for designing in three dimensions. (See Chapter 2, Getting Started: The Interface; and Chapter 3, Projects Using SketchUp Make's Native Tools.) The book then moves on to more "workbook" projects for SketchUp Pro. These projects teach the use of downloaded models as components, and the use of extensions (plug-ins, or scripts). (See Chapter 4, Projects Using Sketchup Pro and Extensions.)Of special interest is Chapter 5, Making the Model 3D-Printable, which discusses the elements that you must satisfy to be able to actually print a physical model from your design. A printable design (1) has thickness; (2) has appropriate thickness; (3) considers plastic shrinkage; (4) leaves enough clearance between moving or component parts; and (5) has rounded, not pointed, features. In addition, a printable model must meet certain structural requirements: (1) have no holes, extra faces, or extra edges in its mesh; (2) be manifold; (3) have front-facing polygons; (4) be in a format that a 3D printer recognizes; and (5) be in one solid piece with no surface intersections. The chapter also discusses methods of finding and fixing problems with 3D models that won't print.The book ends with a general chapter about 3D printing (including considerations for choosing a 3D printer), and a general chapter about CNC fabrication (which requires computer-aided-design (CAM) software and a Computer Numerical Control router--a machine that cuts or carves sheets of wood, plastic, glass, nonferrous metal, foam, and wax). (See Chapter 6, 3D Printing the Model; and Chapter 7, CNC Fabrication with Pro, 123D Make, and Cut2D.)For me, this book provides exactly what I was looking for--a quick, simple, clearly-written, clearly-illustrated guide to using SketchUp that dramatically shortens the 3D design learning curve--by explaining how the application works, what to expect in the way of glitchiness in the application itself, and what can go wrong with 3D printer design files to make them unprintable.

This book has the style of something written for people with limited reading skills. Perhaps it is intended for high school students. The simplistic writing style becomes somewhat wearing.But that doesn’t detract from the purpose of the book which is to impart the basic – very basic –knowledge needed to use SketchUp as a tool for creating designs for 3D printing and rudimentary CNC machining. As she explains “our use of SketchUp’s tools and functions will be to those relevant to 3D projects”. I’m no expert with SketchUp, but I can tell you that Ms. Cline is true to her word and barely scratches the surface of what SketchUp is capable of. Again, that is a benefit since presenting SketchUp all at once can be frightening to the new user.She spends a bit over 80 pages illustrating how to use SketchUp – and the book is profusely illustrated, though the illustrations would be better if they were higher quality – and then spends 42 pages on the expensive SketchUp Pro features. The remaining 80 or so pages of the book are devoted to 3D print prep, 3D printing and CNC fabrication.Overall, this is a pretty decent introduction to the basics of three pretty complex disciplines: SketchUp, 3D printing and CNC routing. Even though I felt like I was reading something intended for folks with limited reading comprehension ability, I still found the book informative, again on a very basic level.Jerry