STL exporting from SketchUp
SketchUp has a plugin available to export STL files.
Installing the plugin
Download the plugin from http://sourceforge.net/projects/stl4su/
On Mac OS, using the installer:
- Download STLforSU-1.1.dmg
- Open the installer package to install the plugin. This will install it in a location where SketchUp 7 can access it. However, this will not work with the latest version, version 8.
- Copy the installed file to a location where SketchUp 8 can access it. To do this:
- In Finder, in the Go menu, select “Go to folder…”
- Enter the path “/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 7/SketchUp/plugins” (without the quotation marks) and press the Go button.
- The plugins folder for SketchUp 7 will appear. There should be a file named stl4su.rb in this folder.
- Open another finder window. Go to the folder “/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/plugins”. This is the SketchUp 8 plugins folder
- Copy stl4su.rb from the SketchUp 7 plugins folder to the SketchUp 8 plugins folder.
On Mac OS, manual installation:
Download stl4su.rb and move it to /Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/plugins
On Windows:
Download stl4su.rb and move it to C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins (if you are using SketchUp 7).
If you are using SketchUp 8, instead move it to C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins.
Using the plugin to export files
Go to the tools menu and select “Export STL…”. Note that this is not in the File menu along with the other import/export options.
Ensure that millimeters is the selected unit for exporting.
Choose an export location and save the file.