CADspan Plugin for Google Sketchup, Case Study

I haven't been on here in a bit, but my recent use of the new Free plugin prompted me to get back in to the swing of things.

The following was a file I was asked to process for a great firm in NY. The gentleman that sent the file to me was unable to process the file themselves using the new plugin from CADspan because their firm was running Internet Explorer 6 and the Plugin requires IE 7 or higher. I think the rest of the world is on IE 8 so this may be a limited problem.

Important note 1: The first file that was sent to me was already scaled for printing. SketchUp does not seem to operate well at scale so I requested the original file and things worked a lot better. This problem may be similar to trying to work on a drawing very far from the origin in SketchUp (a previous blog of mine).

Important note 2: The file I received was saved with CADspan's style turned on so I could not revert to the original textures/colors. Turn off the style before saving.

The original file:

I tried to upload the file strait to the Resurfacer to see what would happen, but the file had over 10 million triangles so that was a no go.
The problem here were the ornate guard rails seen below or as the dark bands above:

Aside from being loaded with triangles, the guard rails were also too thin to 3D print with just about any technology out today at the client's specified scale factor. If the rails were not too thin I could get around the triangle limit in CADspan by uploading the parts in sections and then re-compiling them afterward. Because they would not print, I had the option of creating a thick railing that would represent the parts, or I could simply omit this detail. The client said he did not want a bulky representation (.03" is not normally bulky but this piece was to be scaled very small) so I deleted the detail.

The part was now able to be uploaded to the CADspan server, but I decided to flip on the CADspan style and dig around a little. The first thing I saw were some 2D people that had to go.

Also in this picture you can see the parts of the boat above the deck will need to be thickened or deleted. I chose to delete it for simplicity.

The next issue were a few handrails that were floating with no attachment to the rest of the model. This of course will need to be addressed. I chose again to simply remove the item, but it could be altered to work if it was necessary to the design. Also in the picture you can see the side mirrors on the cars are attached by very small spindles. I could have moved the mirrors inboard and they would print just fine, but for the ease of use, I omitted this item as well. The last item in this image that needs to be addressed is the sidewalk that is not flat. There are boundary edges that need to be filled in.
Here is a better view of the missing sidewalk area:

Using the CADspan Style I was able to find a few other areas on the bridge that needed to be addressed:



The last image may need additional comment. The 2D plane that extends off the end of the bridge may be ok depending on how it attaches to the rest of the model. I do prefer however, to take no chances so I added thickness to that plane. The tan triangle extending between the two red sections actually indicates there is a gap between the two parts and when I dug a little further I found there was no "top" to that part so I stitched the two pieces together.

Next, I walked through each group or component and made each part "solid" this may not be necessary, but I am very picky so I always do. I found there were a few complications inside the buildings so I sealed them off and it was time to run it through the Resurfacer.

I ran it at 4-Gap Fill and 12-Detail and everything came out great.