SketchUp: how to prepare a model for 3D printing

Why SketchUp is tricky for printing

SketchUp is developed by Trimble and is popular for quick modelling, mainly of architecture. A model is made of faces and edges. For printing the model must be manifold, that is without holes and with exactly one inside. A forgotten face, a double wall or a stray edge means the slicer cannot tell what is inside and what is outside.

How to check the model

In SketchUp it helps to select a group and look at Entity Info, where it should say Solid Group. If it only says Group, there is a hole or a stray edge in the model. Faces should have their front side facing out, the back (blue-grey) side belongs inside. Errors can also be found with a 3D print check add-on.

Export and units

Exporting to STL may need an add-on or a paid version, depending on which variant you use. Set the units to millimetres on export. SketchUp often works in inches or feet, and a model exported without the right units comes out shrunken or huge. If that happens, you can fix it with the scale in the calculator.

SketchUp and your order

What is most often printed from SketchUp is architectural models, scaled furniture and simple holders. For a scale model, consider the scale and the wall thickness. If a house is 1:100 and a wall is 20 cm in the model, it is only 2 mm on the scale model, which still works. Windows and thin railings under 0.8 mm will not print cleanly with a 0.4 mm nozzle though, so simplify or thicken them.

Upload the model as STL, or OBJ. We can repair small holes in the mesh automatically after upload, but for bigger errors we will write to you. With thin walls from architectural models, such as walls under 0.8 mm, expect that they will not print cleanly with a 0.4 mm nozzle.