The unfold tool is high on the list of tools that I would love to have working, but I can't seem to get it installed and working. I'm using SketchUp 8, I have found and downloaded the tool but installing it is a different thing. It says installed, but I can't find the tool any where, including the plugins menu which is where it should be.​

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I have a simple plane drawn up and fit onto a piece of DTF, how can I export it in the right scale to PDF? Plans printed in poster form with over lap from large PDF files are common to me (and I'm sure most of us) so if I can get to that I can use these methods before I have my PP.​

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I have been looking for the answer to my unfold problem for about an hour with no help. I'm going to pass on that for now and look into the PDF for a while, but if you can save me any time I'll be as grateful as always for the help. ​

 

So sorry, I haven't yet mapped this forum in my head, so I failed to see where this kind of information is listed. Forgive my posting in the incorrect forum. I have already found some of the info needed, I'll ask for the rest in the correct place if I don't find it.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by 'installing it'. It's a single file and all you do is copy it into the tools directory. Anyway, that's where I have it. When you start SketchUp again you'll find it in the 'Plugins' menu. You are using the jf_unfoldtool.rb, right?

As for the .pdf, I think you that there is a ruby file that you have to look for that will give you the option to export a pdf, but I'm not 100% sure since I never use pdf, I use dxf and for that there is a ruby file that I have downloaded.

 

Yes, that is the tool I have, but it was listed as a "plug in" so I was trying to go through the install process for that. The process for a "tool" is different and requires no "install" in the way plug ins do. This was the part I figured out elsewhere on the forum (actually from one of your posts).

I want to be able to create a rectangle the size of a piece of DTF, export that into a file format that can be tiled and printed to the same scale (PDF is what I know and I know how to create the overlap I would want) and cut from DTF manually. In time I'll have my PP and I'll be able to cut it out that way, but for now I still want to be able to play with these other tools I have. To me this is the next step, from PC to the real world by hand, then comes PC to real world by machine.

Advice on this front would be great. If you know another way to get this done I'll all ears (or eyes as it where on the enterwebs). Thanks.

 

I have PDF2DXF, so I just Googled DXF 2 PDF, and guess what, the same company who has PDF2DXF has DXF2PDF. Just Google it the software is from CadKas, The PDF2DXF works great, so I bet the DXF2PDF works just as well.

 

I'm at work at the moment but it should be an early day and I can't wait to get home to see if that will work as I need it too. Does exporting in DXF allow you to export a single group and retain it's scale? Ehh, I'll figure it out.

I'm also having trouble finding a flatten tool that works. I think I'm just finding that the extention warehouse just isn't the place to look because everything I look for brings back nothing found. Any advice on this one?

 

Part of the SketchUcam is a flatten tool. If you select a face or a part and right-click on it there is a place called 'Phlat Edges'. Click on it and in the new menu there is a place called 'Phlatten Selected Edges'. Just remember that the part you want to flatten can't be a group or component.

I'm not sure what you mean with 'allow you to export a single group'. You mean like only one part of the drawing? If so, I don't think you can do it, I think you have to erase everything you don't want to export and leave only the part that you want, but I'm not sure, I never tried it.

 

when I want to use a single part, I go to ''file'' in upper left of the screen click on it then go to ''save as'' click on that, now rename the drawing to the part I want to save. Click ''file'' again, at the bottom of the file menu there is a list of recent drawings, I make sure I still have a file of the original drawing. Close the file menu, erase everything except the part I want, then export that part wherever I want.

 

Hey, I just found a faster way to do it. Make your part a component. Right click on it. Now ''save as'', and only that part will be saved in a new file.

 

I'll post an image so we can all get on the same page.

I want to take the item in the image and print it on paper at this scale so I can then tape those pieces of paper together, place this now poster board sized image over a piece of Dollar Tree Foam board (DTF) and cut out the pieced manually. The details don't matter to me so long as the process works.

Its a very simple plane I have built before. I'm doing it this way to learn a process. If I can get this out of Sketch Up and into another file format that will retain this size and print in the way I want I can make this plane before I get my PP. Maybe I could make more, and I could share plans with people that don't have access to a PP as well.

Disregard all previous talk about file formats if need be. Anything that accomplishes my goal will do. Just so long as I can fly.

I found the flatten tool you were talking about. Does this also help to put the now flattened pieces on zero plane? I manually did this on the file I took a screen shot of before I knew how to get the tools to work correctly.

Thanks for the help. Let me know when I start making you crazy.

 

Yes, it flattens it to the zero plane,