Understanding what makes up a SketchUp file

SketchUp saves its files in its own format as a .skp file. A .skp file contains much more than just the geometry we need for 3D printing. Before we dive into how to import and export geometry, let’s spend just a few minutes looking at what makes up a SketchUp file, and where importing and exporting will fit into the default file format.

When you create a SketchUp file, regardless of the intended purpose of the final model, you create a file that contains a lot of information. When you think about all of the different designers that use SketchUp in their various industries, it is easy to imagine how many different models could be created. Architects, interior designers, furniture makers, and landscapers are all using the same software that you are, and they all create different models. This is not a problem, but it is something to recognize as we ask SketchUp to help us create geometry that we can send to our 3D printer.

While...