CAD Model Notes

For modeling we use Rhino 5.0 on OSX. From there we export a Rhino 4.0 model and a Google Sketchup 8.0 model. Sketchup is great because it's a free download and the measurement tool is easy to use. Long-term we would like to move to FreeCAD which looks increasingly promising.

Sketchup 8.0 Export Notes

There is no straight forward way to convert a Rhino to a Sketchup file. Still, the following works reasonably well:

• export and import by layer, this allows us to restore subsystem colors
• in Rhino select by layer, export selected and use the 3DS file format
• in the export settings use Density 0.1, check "Refine Mesh" and "Simple Planes"
• in some cases a higher Polygon density might be required (e.g 0.5)
• in Sketchup create the layer, assign the color and select it for insertion
• then import, select "color by layer" if necessary

Sketchup has the bad habit of inflating the file over time. To reduce the file size do the following:

• open Window/Model Info
• under Statistics click "Purge unused"