I’m having problems understanding the steps in order to take a SketchUp file into rhino for 3D printing, I’m not sure what the steps I should take in order for it to be ready for 3D Printing besides importing the file. Each time I do it comes into various parts some with surfaces, some with non-manifold surfaces, and some ploysurfaces. I was told to explode, cap, join, turn to nurb and turn to mesh. Not sure what Im doing out of order or if the file isn’t registering correctly.
Sketchup isn’t made for making models for 3D printing–Sketchup isn’t CAD–so…it’s not a straightforward job unless the model was actually designed with printing in mind. You have to turn every individual ‘part’ into a closed solid, which if we’re talking about some random Sketchup file probably means re-constructing it or at least doing major surgery.
You can try cadspan.com to see if their application will help. It is designed to process architectural models for 3D printing. I have never used it with Sketchup or as a plugin, just as a stand alone app.
I don’t think they have added much to the development in quite a few years. Although it can work with messy models with nonmanifold or intersecting surfaces, it has some quirkiness in erasing small details, at least when I used it back in 2012 or so. Perhaps that has been improved.
I decided on Netfabb Pro, which lacked the simplicity of cadspan but is more effective in general although there is a learning curve. I’m using an older version from 2012 (before Autodesk bought it), so maybe the latest versions are easier to use. Netfabb does offer a push button solution; however, my 2012 version rarely worked for complex models as you described. Therefore you have to understand what each operation does and in which order to use them so you can end up with a printable model.
Hopefully in the last 10 years this has been improved.