To help you with these steps, iMaterialise have produced a really useful article for 3D Printing with SketchUp. It may also be worth considering using SketchUp alongside Meshmixer for preparing the 3D model files. However once students are familiar with the process for checking and preparing the file they should be able to do this independently. One drawback of SketchUp is that it is not straightforward to produce a 3D printable model file from a design as it is a surface modeller. We recommend SketchUp for students in upper KS2 and upwards although younger students will need support in checking and preparing their models for 3D printing.

Shapes can be moved and grouped to build up the 3D drawing.

Models are created by drawing 2D shapes on one of the 3D planes then pushing and pulling the shapes into 3 dimensional forms. The assessment of this initiative, carried out by the undergraduate students during the pilot study showed that there is a distinct need for connecting real spaces with technology and for familiarity with the tools that help pupils visualise the space and that Google SketchUp could be an effective tool that is easily applied to this project and can enrich geography lessons for pupils in upper primary and lower secondary education.SketchUp is a powerful 3D CAD program that is simpler for students to learn than many other Professional CAD software. The aim of the project was to create awareness of spaces and their functions, and to redesign those spaces using Google Sketch up according to criteria relating both to the environment and the needs of pupils and their education. The educational project involving the design of a school yard using Google SketchUp, presented in this paper, was originally designed and implemented by undergraduate students at the Department of Primary Education of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (UoA) in the context of their studies in the Teaching Geography with ICT course. Spatial design, ICT, Google SketchUp, School Geography Abstract National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Education, Department of Primary Education

Sketchup for education