Laser-cut 3D forms made simple with easy to use plugins

It happens to the best of us – you dream up something great, a design that could change the world (or at least your part of it) and have it ready to explode into reality, only to be held back by the complications of the design process..

Users of Google SketchUp will be stoked to find that recent plugins are making it even easier for them to create their own great designs. Google SketchUp allows you to build models from scratch, or you can download what you need. These include:

    •    SliceModeler by Public Art International (available for a $10-$50 donation)

    •    SVG Outline plugin by Flights of Ideas

Sliceform modelling is a technique which lies happily on the borders between art and mathematics. The models are made from intersecting sets of parallel panels made of paper, cardboard, wood, plexiglas or MDF which slot together to generate interesting 3-dimensional surfaces or objects.

Slicemodeler allows you to take a 3D form and slice it up into interlocking pieces through a series of simple steps. You enter the distance apart that you want the sections, the material thickness, choose which axes the slices are on, and the software calculates the intersections. Slicemodeler is based on the work of John Sharp - watch this interview to hear more about it.

Once you have all the slices, that’s when the SVG outline plugin comes in. Select the sections you want (that have been conveniently laid out by Slicemodeler) and hit Export to SVG file.   Now you have a file (or files) you can open in Inkscape or Illustrator to arrange for laser cutting. The SVG export plugin also lets you label the different parts so you can keep track of things.

Users who prefer using other modeling programs should be able to take advantage too - simply model your designs in your preferred program and then import them into SketchUp. Then use the plugins available to take them even further.

The process goes something like this:

    •    Create the form in SketchUp

    •    If you are using a different modeling program, you'll then need to export a .3ds file and import it into SketchUp

    •    Run SliceModeler (see above)

    •    Export SVG files from SketchUp

    •    Open in Illustrator (or similar), label and laser cutting

It's a great simple process compared to having to imagine how these pieces fit together and design them by hand in two dimensions.

Previously, this style of form creation has been possible with premium 3D modeling software like Rhino, but the great thing about SketchUp and its plugins is that they are free/super cheap. 

This significantly lowers the barriers that stop people creating. The plugins being made available either free or for a small donation make it totally worthwhile to support the great independent software creators that add huge value to these bigger software packages.

With the lower entry barrier, don't be surprised if a proliferation of designs that share a design language emerges. The next challenge - how to add details to your designs to make them stand out from the rest!