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multiple plunge holes

Discussion in 'SketchUcam Help' started by rotccapt, Apr 21, 2017.

  1. rotccapt

    rotccapt New Member

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    hi all, i have been using sketchup and scetchucam for a while now and realy like it. however i came upon an interesting problem i would like some help with. i am going to be cutting some parts out of plastic that need to have lots of holes in them for assembly later. so i decided to use the plunge tool because i only need them to be the diameter of the tool. after laying them all out i grouped the whole object and created the g-code. the code works but the order the program made the holes in was vary inefficiant. is there a way to fix this? attatched is a pic of the tool path and the model im working from.
     

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  2. TigerPilot

    TigerPilot Well-Known Member

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    Un-group the part, choose the group order tool and click on the holes in the order you wish them to be drilled. It will help if you zoom in since the holes may appear too small to be able to select them since the tool is a bit finicky.
    Untitled.png
     
  3. rotccapt

    rotccapt New Member

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    i thought about that, it is just a lot of clicking since im looking at 100 or so holes
     
  4. swarfer

    swarfer Moderator Staff Member

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    Each hole is created as a group to prevent (mostly) underlying lines from interfering with the Gcode generation.

    Sketchup stuffs up the group ordering when you edit the drawing. I have not found any logic in the re-ordering, it just does it.
    This means that if you use the plunge tool in 'grid of holes' mode and then DO NO MORE EDITING the holes will cut in perfect rows, but if you edit something after placing the holes (esp just delete one hole). you get random cut order.

    Solution?
    1. make sure there are no underlying lines that touch the holes
    2. ungroup all the holes
    Now, the holes are treated as ordinary 'cutlines' and will be cut in 'nearest neighbour' optimized order instead of group order.
    If you don't like that order, you can try grouping the rows for a little more structure.

    oh laugh and cry!
    I have just been trying to make a demonstration file, added a rectangle, added a grid of holes, edit the rectangle, add a pocket, delete some holes, that sort of stuff. and today Sketchup8(and 2017) just will not randomize those holes! well, dang!
     
  5. rotccapt

    rotccapt New Member

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    thank you for your time. i ended up regrouping the holes into clusters then after getting everything layed out i ran the reorder groups. it cleaned it up a lot but still not the best. it now overlaps itself in a 1-3 inch segment insted of traversing the entire 25 inch piece
     

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