Sketchup - dimensions and nudging

[RogerS]

If you take the void in the middle of my model, I was trying to mark up what the internal dimension was. While I could click a start point on the inner face of the back lining, and draw out the dimension line in the red axes, it wouldn't let me terminate the line on the inside face of the pulley style. Instead it insisted on jumping to the mid-point of that line which isn't on the red axes relative to the starting point.

By nudging I mean mating up the four components to each other. Even zooming in, there is a tendency to jump over the 'correct' line.

Many thanks

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Roger, I don't quite understand what you mean.

You can create a temporary landing point for a dimension with a couple of guidelines and the dimension will remain after you delete the guidelines.

As to "nudging" the components to get them to align, use the Move tool. Make sure you grab the moving component by some point (a corner usually) that will correspond to a point (another corner, usually) on the neighboring component. That way, when you get close, the moving component will snap into place.

 

[RogerS]

Dave, not sure what I was doing wrong because I had already tried what you suggested viz the temporary landing point and it didn't seem to work for some reason ..most likely finger trouble on my part.

having said that I just went through the same steps that I outlined and the dimension worked fine. So put that down to finger-trouble.

Re nudging..I see where I've been going wrong. I've simply been clicking anywhere in the selected object and dragging it. Doing what you suggested, it all clicks nicely into place.

Having said that it's thrown up something else that I'm puzzled about and that is the two objecxts appear locked to each other. If I've mated one with the other and then decide I want to move them apart, although I select just one of the objects, the other one remains 'stuck' to it and moves with it distorting and scaling as it goes.

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Roger, if you haven't separated the two parts into their own components, they will be stuck together. Think of making the component as wrapping up the geometry in cling wrap. You can see through the wrapper into the contents but you can't modify the contents without opening the wrapper. Things outside the wrapper will not stick to the stuff inside the wrapper.

Send me the SKP file if you would like.

 

[RogerS]

Excellent explanation, thanks. I realise now the importance of making things as components as you go along.

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Glad that helped.

Keep in mind that the only way to keep geometry separated is to make components or groups (although I can't see any point in using groups because components have so much more to offer) and unlike many applications, layers do nothing to separate entities from each other.

 

[RobertMP]

just to reinforce the point - components is the key to sketchup. As soon as I have a few lines drawn towards my component I select them all (triple click selects all connected lines or with the select arrow tool drag a box across from left to right) and right click to make component. Then it is just a matter of double clicking the component to edit it further and refine it.

There should be no lines on the drawing that are not part of a component - except when you are drawing a new one.

I have my keyboard shortcuts set so i can select a component and hit H to hide it which makes working near other parts much easier. With the select arrow tool dragging a box from right to left picks everything inside and crossing the rectangle so many components can be selected and hidden easily. I have U set to unhide all.