gModeller

Needless to say that a computer is found in nearly all domains of activity. Given the right set of tools installed on it, nearly everything can be designed with great accuracy, and little effort. For instance, if you’re using Google SketchUp! for your tasks, you might also want to grab gModeller, an extension which can export your designs to different other popular formats.

The utility is designed to provide an easy way to export your SketchUp creations under several formats supported by similar design applications, such as Autodesk 3ds Max, and AutoCAD. These don’t have to be installed for the component to work, but SketchUp Make is a mandatory component, since it’s the host for the gModeller extension.

There are a couple of ways through which you can install the extension, but both need to be operated from the host application’s interface. Accessing SketchUp’s Extension Warehouse component lets you search and grab it from there, but it can also be downloaded from here, because implementing it doesn’t depend on the way it is grabbed.

Moreover, you need to use your Google account in order to be able to grab the extension. Once this is done, you need to run SketchUp, and navigate to the preferences menu under the extensions section. Hitting the button to install an extension brings up a browse dialog to select the file, and administrator privileges are required to properly deploy it.

As soon as this is done, a new floating toolbar shows up, with several corresponding functions. You can dock it, and access it from the extensions menu in case it’s closed. The set of options might not be abundant, but allows you to import and export creations under formats like 3DS, DEM, DDF, DWG, and DXF.

With gModeller, it’s possible to handle gbXML files, and even back up your work in a cloud-based environment. For proper manipulation of such objects, you can create spaces and section planes, attempt to repair a model through geometry recreation, sync geometry, or automatically apply surfaces, and spaces.

All things considered, we can say that gModeller is an extension you might sooner or later look for if your work involves 3D design, especially if you don’t only rely on SketchUp for your work. Installing it may seem like a bit of a hassle, but once you get through, working with gbXML files becomes a walk in the park.