Looks like Solidworks wins. That section took under 3 minutes to make. Two profiles and then let solidworks connect the two. Then click once on part to flatten. I've been using sketchup and that same section took me 15 min and didn't look all that good. You have to connect all those lines yourself, decide which ones look good, etc. Will post pics of a completed plane soon. Didn't bother with sketchup pics as they look worse than an "Etch N Sketchup"

I think I will draw TVCasualty's BF109 as my 1st project... Attached files

 

If you search carefully u can get any cad program u like. I just mess up too easy on sketchup, so maybe it's me. Look how quickly I drew that section n how smooth it comes out. Like I said, reading these forums I went n tried sketchup for week now with bad results. Maybe there's a loft plugin ?

 

Colleague;
I do not know what is your experience with Sketchup
In the drawing all over from scratch, took less than 5 minutes in step 1 (fig 1)
And less than 30 seconds in step 2 with the plugin Curviloft - Loft (fig 2).

Plugin well indicated by kram242

hugs Attached files

 

Holly Toledo, Marco, you have so many rubies displayed there is hardly any room left for the drawing!

I will have to try this lofting ruby. Is it the same as the one that Mark showed?

 

Very good marcomartim, I did say I'm new to sketchup. I followed the link to the loft plugin, and it's plagued with bugs. How many times did it crash on you? Also, can you flatten that part after using the loft ? The whole point is to be able to print a flat template

 

Actually I have many plugins, they make it much easier to draw;
If I enable the viewing of all, no room for the drawing.

The plugin that I used in this case is the same as the mark indicated.

Hugs

 

To download the plugin must be registered in the Forum sketchucation

There are many ways to use this plugin.
If it is not well applied can cause distortions in the drawing.
With a little practice, it is possible to make amazing drawings with him.

Hugs

 

The plugin fails because it is misused, it consists of three tools that require a pre-condition to be used
see my figure 1, my design is somewhat different than the former colleague used.
To fully understand how it works, you need a little training.

If there is interest, I put the step by step how did the design without any distortion

Hugs

 

I think what we are getting at is that we don't use Sketchup just to make pretty drawings. We use it to generate gcode so that our CNC machine can cut out parts for us.

Now in this case, I suspect we could use the plugin and convert it to an STL file and from there import it into Meshcam or similar program to generate gcode for us.

I don't think you would be able to unfold one of these into a 2D part, but I do see this tool as being a good tool to use to make cowls, canopies, and such for the Phlatformer or to make 3D objects from block foam.

 

Any 3D can be sliced into pieces 2D cutting.

Things are originally created for a purpose, but nothing prevents it from being used for other purposes

The best example is the SU that was to architecture today and is generating gcode

Hugs Attached files

 

Hmmm... Lofting is easy, the real work comes in when you want to make a flat pattern of the loft.
I spent about a small amount of time with sketch up and it fried my brain. When I opened a new drawing and saw the person standing in the middle of the drawing, my brain shut down.

I work in Solidworks. it is a rockin program!
You got to remember that just because you can create it doesn't mean you can make it.