On the market there are many pipe extensions for SketchUp. In this article you will learn more of few of them. From simple ones with basic functionalities for advanced software that need more skills but give many options.
When you work with pipe design in SketchUp you can make it with build in native tools. This case make sense if we talking about few pipes to draw. When it comes to creating project including many pipes objects you need to use some kind of additional tool. Read this article to learn how to make pipe in sketchup. There are few questions to ask before you choose one tool to help with your work. You can take very simple plugins like Pipe Along Path or Line To Tubes. On the other hand you can work with complicated ones for example Profile Builder or 3skeng Pipe Tool.
In this article you will find the basic differences between DBS SketchUp plugins.
SketchUp pipe extensions
| Extension name | Shapes | User interface | Editing | Bill of materials | Nesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw pipe from lines | Pipes | modal dialog | |||
| Miter pipes from edges | Mitered pipes | non-modal dialog | |||
| Pipeline from edges | Pipelines | non-modal dialog | |||
| Pipes from edges | Pipes | non-modal dialog, tool | Change length | ✓ | |
| Pipes Tubes Profiles 2020 | Pipes, Tubes, Profiles, Elbows | non-modal dialogs, tools | Change dimensions, change length, single profile cut, single miter cut | ✓ | ✓ |
| MetalFab | Pipes, Tubes, Profiles, Custom shapes | non-modal dialogs, tools | Change profile, change length, multiple profile cuts, miter cut | ✓ | ✓ |
Based on that table you can find which functions are needed for you. If you search for simple tool and further pipe editing option is not important for you, use Draw pipe from lines or Pipes from edges. But if you need edit functions, bill of materials and automating nesting you need to choose this 👉 SketchUp tube plugin.
Pipe related plugins
Below tool makes it easy to draw edges with constant inline angle.
It can help a lot when you need to draw pipeline with exact slope.
Also you will find there function that offset drawn edges from walls
and it take into consideration walls corners as well.
Check this extension 👉
SketchUp edge tool
