TFC #47: Sketchup Setup for Cabinetmakers

If accurate 3D models are important to you as a cabinetmaker, Sketchup can be your best friend.

Most of us are using Cabinet Vision or Mozaik as our manufacturing software and sometimes people might wonder how Sketchup fits in this picture.

The answer. It’s totally optional, and you can get by without it.

But if used correctly, it can really take your designs to the next level.

What is Sketchup?

Sketchup is what I would call a modeling tool.

Think of Cabinet Vision and Mozaik as object based tools that have intelligence built in to make customizations. Sketchup is used by drawing lines and shapes to build 3D objects. No restrictions or parameters.

Now if that scares you, no worries.

You can still get a tremendous amount of value from Sketchup without actually knowing how to draw in Sketchup.

There is a huge library of objects available to import into Sketchup… think of appliances, hardware, hoods, furniture, etc.

For a lot of us, Sketchup is simply the middle man to get nice models into Cabinet Vision and Mozaik.

This article is going to be a guide to find the free version of Sketchup, download the right plugins, and get started using it in your shop.

Free versus Paid Sketchup

The first thing we need to address is which version we are going to use.

There are a couple of options available.

Sketchup Make 2017 is free for non-commercial use and able to be downloaded on Windows computers. Its a bit tricky to find the download because it is older.

Sketchup Free (online) is a browser based version of sketchup that is free. I tried it for awhile but found myself feeling a bit limited compared to the full downloaded version of Sketchup Make 2017.

SketchupPro gets you the desktop application and is probably the best-case scenario if you don’t mind spending $349/year. The only big difference is the ability to export 3D files, which isn’t actually a big deal for Cabinet Vision and Mozaik users because we are able to import Sketchup files directly. So for most people, the free Sketchup Make is all you need.

In this article, I am going to assume you want to go with Sketchup Make 2017.

Downloading Sketchup Make 2017

Since Sketchup doesn’t support the 2017 version anymore, they no longer host a download link on their official website.

This means we have to find a download on potentially “sketchy” sites. 🤣

I decided to create a free product on my store to host the Sketchup installer and all of my preferred plugins.

You can find it here.

After downloading, you can run the installer just like normal applications.

Here is a video that walks you through the process of setting it up if you decide to give it a try.

Finding the Right Plugins

After installing Sketchup, you will have access to the default tools that Sketchup offers.

We want more.

To install new plugins, we will download the plugins and install them into Sketchup by going to Window>Extension Manager in the Sketchup top menu.

Here is a list of some of the plugins that I find useful and how to get them.

#1. Sketchucation

Since Sketchup discontinued support of 2017, its hard to use the official plugin store and extension manager. Sketchucation is a plugin that gives you access to some incredible open source developers.

I would suggest creating an account and using this to find the plugins you need that I haven’t specified here.

Create Sketchucation account

#2. Flattery

This is a fun one. Its really good for figuring out the size of the skin on a scooped hood. It lets you unfold a curved face and make it straight. I think the intended design is to create paper models.

I remember when I worked a shop a few years back, I would often draw the hood in Sketchup and use flattery to create a paper model of the hood…. for no apparent reason. 🤣 but it was enjoyable.

#3. RoundOver

This plugin allows you to select an edge and easily add a roundover, bevel, or sharp corner. Very useful if you are doing any modeling.

#4. Cleanup

This plugin removes unneeded lines and optimizes your model

#5. Skimp

This is the only plugin I use that is not free. But it is one of the most valuable plugins you will find.

A lot of models you find that you want to use in your job are too complex. Meaning, they have to many faces and it slows Cabinet Vision or Mozaik down.

This plugin allows you to drag a slider to reduce the number of faces so you can import it into your software without any issues.

For example, you can download blum hardware sketchup models from their portal but they have way too many faces. I use Skimp to simplify them and make them more efficient. I don’t have a set rule on number of faces. I just drag the slider until it starts messing up the model visually and then I stop.

You can get these plugins I mentioned above through your Sketchucation account or you download them on my store and import them into your Sketchup.

The only one that isn’t free is the Skimp plugin.

Setting Up Toolbars

An important aspect of using Sketchup is getting your toolbars setup properly.

Here is how I like to setup my toolbars.

To setup your toolbars, go to View>Toolbars in the Sketchup top menu.

Here are the toolbars I have selected for reference.

Then you can simply drag them around by clicking on the dots from the main screen.

How To Use Sketchup

I can’t possibly cover a full tutorial in an article format, but there are lots of videos and resources to learn how to do basic drawing.

Remember, you can still get a ton of value from Sketchup by simply finding models, importing them into Sketchup and then importing them into Cabinet Vision or Mozaik for nice 3D objects.

That’s all for this article. Hopefully this gives you a taste of Sketchup and a good way to get started if you haven’t been using it.

Thanks for reading!
Myron