Superellipsoid Plugin
This plugin creates a Superellipsoid based on various parameter values.
- Size
- 7 KB
- Release Date
- July 1, 2010
- SketchUp Version
- Compatible with SketchUp 6 or newer
- Operating System
- Windows or OSX
Overview
A superellipsoid is a 3D shape that varies between an ellipsoid (with a smooth round shape) and a rectangular box (with sharp corners). If all three dimensions are equal length, the shape varies between a sphere and a cube.
Basically, a superellipsoid is the 3D cousin of the superellipse. If you slice it horizontally or vertically, the cross-section is a superellipse. So, the superellipsoid has two measures of squareness: one for the horizontal superellipse cross-section, and one for the vertical superellipse cross-section.
The superellipsoids below have been arranged so that the horizontal cross-section gets more square-like as you move along the red axis, and the vertical cross-section gets more square-like as you move along the green axis.
As the superellispe plugin topic describes, negative squareness values are allowed. The picture below takes both positive and negative squareness values into account. The superellipsoids are arranged so that the horizontal squareness values vary from -90 to +90 along the red axis, and the vertical squareness values vary from -90 to +90 along the green axis.
Usage
This plugin is accessed from the Draw menu (Draw > Superellipsoid). This will open a dialog box to enter the superellipsoid parameter values.
There are two Squareness values. One for the horizontal cross-section, and one for the vertical cross-section. Each value is an integer between -99 and +99.
The latitude and longitude lines control how much geometry is created. The more lines, the smoother the surface.
When you click OK, the superellipsoid is created as a component, and the component placement tool is activated to position the superellipsoid in the model.
The dialog box remembers the values between SketchUp sessions.
