What is 3D Printing?

Matt Donley3D Printing, Fabrication, News

Since getting into 3D modeling, I have always been fascinated with the idea of being able to create real-life objects from my digital models. I haven’t had a chance to try it out, but I recently attended a local 3D printing meeting at AS220 Labs, in Providence, RI. It was my first time ever seeing a 3D printer in real life, and I learned so much in one night I thought I’d share my experience.

The Local “Hackerspace”

When I walked in to the AS220 Labs, I could tell I was in the right place. I saw a miniature laser cut wooden trebuchet sitting on a table, loaded with mini tennis balls. There was a shiny new shop bot in the back of the space, getting ready to be set up. And there was the crowd of people, circled around a table, watching some kind of contraption whizzing away.

It was a 3D printer. The first 3D printer I’ve ever seen in person. And it was printing away at multiple copies of “mustache rings” (More on that later).

As people scooted aside to invite me into the circle, I watched in amazement as this little machine was “printing” out a 3D object. It’s really quite mesmerizing to watch it in action.

I found out about the 3D printer meeting organized by Matt Stultz from 3DPPVD on the Make website. It’s a blog/magazine that’s all about making things. It’s a really great resource for anyone who is into personal fabrication, DIY, electronics, etc. They also host the Maker Faire, which is an event that encourages the creativity within everyone to make things. There are a number of “mini” Maker Faires all over the world so you’re likely to find one near you.

Why Google Doesn’t NEED Sketchup Anymore

Matt DonleyNews, Tips & Tricks

Sketchup has always been known as an easy to use 3D modeling tool. With its intuitive interface, it has claimed the motto “3D modeling for everyone.” With the recent acquisition of Sketchup by Trimble, Sketchup is no longer under the Google umbrella. Many people have wondered why Google sold it. But to answer that question, you must first understand why Google bought it in the first place.

Google’s quest to model the world

Google has an ongoing, ambitious goal of mapping the world. This vision is delivered via Google Maps, and Google Earth. The two programs share many similarities in the way they show maps and satellite imagery. While I don’t want to go into great detail about the features and differences between the two programs, the main distinction is that Google Maps is a web based application, and Google Earth is a program that gets installed on your computer.

In 2004, Google announced that it had acquired Keyhole Corp, a digital mapping company. The technology from Keyhole is what became the beginning of Google Earth and Google Maps.

Fun Fact – If you go to www.keyhole.com, it refreshes to the Google Earth website.

Google Earth started out as a 3D model of the globe, with 2D satellite imagery pasted continuously on the surface. Even though there was some terrain data integrated into the 3D part of Google Earth, the images were still pasted flat to the surface. Therefore, if you were to fly over a city, all the tall buildings and land features would appear flat on the ground.

3D buildings in Google Earth


In 2005, Google started to extrude the outlines of buildings in order to create a rough 3D model. There were no textures applied, and a lot of the building details were lost. All the buildings had the same grey looking surface. It lacked realism.

Google realized they would need to do something else in order to take their 3D model of the world to the next level. At the time, the only way to create a realistic model of a building was to manually create each one. It would cost way too much to hire people to create all these models, so instead Google looked to the community to create the models for them.

Enter Sketchup.

Interview with Matt Jackson from The Fine Homebuilding Digital Jobsite Blog

Matt DonleyNews, Tips & Tricks

If you’re a carpenter or contractor, you’ve probably heard of Fine Homebuilding. It’s one of leading magazines for residential construction professionals. I had a subscription for many years when I had my own construction company. The thing I loved about the magazine was each issue was packed with real tips on how to approach real carpentry challenges.

They go beyond the basic stuff you’d typically find in a DIY type magazine, and they teach you not only the best way to do something, but WHY it’s the best way to do it. Matt Jackson is the Sketchup guru over at Fine Homebuilding, where he publishes video tutorials and articles on how to use Sketchup to design and plan construction projects.

The Digital Jobsite Blog

Matt runs the Sketchup blog over at Fine Homebuilding, appropriately named “The Digital Jobsite Blog.” And with a tagline “Where the boards are straight, the weather’s great, and there really IS a board stretcher!” it describes the Sketchup workspace perfectly. (For those of you who are not carpenters, it’s the #1 all time favorite prank to pull on the “new kid” on the jobsite to tell them to go fetch the “board stretcher”. Which usually leads the poor lad on a wild goose chase asking everyone where the board stretcher is, until he realizes there’s no such thing!) Yes, I fell for that one on my first day too!

Sketchup Tutorial | How to create a vase

Matt DonleyNews, Sketchup Tutorials

This is a step by step tutorial on how to create a simple vase in Sketchup. It will provide you with a good understanding of the Arc Tool Arc Tool (A), Offset Tool Offset tool (F), and the Follow Me Tool Follow Me tool . No Sketchup experience is necessary to follow this tutorial.

To start modeling a vase, you need to create a profile outline of the vase. We will then extrude the profile around a circle path to create the vase. Sketchup makes this task pretty easy using the Follow Me Tool Follow Me tool. You might want to look for a picture of a vase, or go find one in your house. It really helps to have something in front of you that can guide you with modeling proportions.

Watch the video, or follow the step by step directions below.

Step 1 – Draw a Rectangle

Before you start drawing the profile, it’s a good idea to just create a surface that you can draw on. It just makes it a lot easier for the drawing tools to inference the same plane when you have a face to drawn on. Go ahead and create an upright rectangle, and turn it into a group so our profile doesn’t stick to it.

Sketchup Tutorial | How to use Keyboard Shortcuts to Speed up your Navigation

Matt DonleyNews, Tips & Tricks

Using keyboard shortcuts can save you a significant amount of time during modeling. It is a way to make the modeling process more natural and artistic, as opposed to technical and programmatic. When you learn keyboard shortcuts and commit them to memory, your hands will “remember” what key to press instinctively.

The really cool thing about Sketchup, is that it allows you to create your own custom keyboard shortcuts so you can create an optimal interface to fit the way you use Sketchup.

Why learn Shortcuts?

Think about when you type on the keyboard. You know what letters you need to press, but you don’t have to think about where the letters are. You just know where they are and your hands start typing away. It’s the same muscle memory that makes learning the keyboard shortcuts so beneficial. Instead of using the mouse to select a tool from the drop down menu or the toolbar, you use your non-mouse hand to select it on the keyboard. This keeps the mouse in the modeling screen where all the action happens.

Watch the video below to learn how I use two custom shortcuts to speed up my navigation in Sketchup.

Sketchup Tutorial | How to create a quick floor plan

Matt DonleyNews, Sketchup Tutorials

Some people think that when you create a model in Sketchup, it needs to be a big complex monster model in order for it to be anything of value. But a lot of times I find I can use Sketchup to solve little problems very quickly and effectively.

For example, I recently installed new flooring in my house, and I needed to calculate the square footage of the rooms I needed flooring in. In a typical room this is fairly easy. You measure the width and length of the room, and multiply them together to get the area.

But in my case, I needed to calculate the area of my living room that is open to my kitchen so I had a lot of funny corners and cabinets to measure around. Then the task of figuring out the area meant trying to split up the dimensions into logical squares so I could easily calculate the square footage; It was starting to look like a homework assignment from back in high school. Instead, I turned to Sketchup to draw my floor plan.

Styles for Performance

Matt DonleyNews, Tips & Tricks

Styles are what make your Sketchup model visually pleasing. When you really think about it, your model consists entirely of two things: Edges and faces. That’s it. It’s the style that makes your model have color, and makes your edges look hand drawn. And though styles can really add some spice to your model, they can also slow down the processing speed of your computer.

When you are in the process of creating your model, you want your model to be as light weight as possible so the computer doesn’t slow you down. A really easy way to increase the processing power of your computer is to choose a basic style while modeling. Once your model is complete, then you can play around with fancy styles to present your completed model.

In this post I will discuss what I find to be the best styles to use to increase your speed while modeling.

Google has sold Sketchup to Trimble!

Matt DonleyNews

Announced today on the official Sketchup Blog, Google has decided to sell Sketchup to Trimble, a publicly traded technology company specializing in GPS, Engineering & Construction, agriculture, and field and mobile worker devices. What does this mean for Sketchup? A lot is still up in the air right now, but according to the Trimble press release not much will change …

Solar-Powered 3D printer

Matt DonleyFabrication, News

Imagine being lost in a desert, hot and exhausted with the sun’s intense heat beating down on you. You find water, alas, but if only you had a nice cup to drink out of… Well, if you happen to bump into Markus Kayser, perhaps he will make a cup for you using his solar-powered 3D printer!

3D Printing via Sun & Sand

Solar sinter sand cup

After successful creating his SunCutter, a solar powered “laser” cutting machine that is capable of burning designs through thin plywood, Markus set his sights on creating things using the sun and sand. The SolarSinter is a self-sufficient 3D printing machine that uses sand as a medium, and the sun to provide heat and electricity to melt the sand into 3D glass objects.