This plugin was mentioned a while back on the
Official SketchUp blog, and I hope to cover it here with a bit more specificity.
First, you can
get this plugin here. Note that there are TWO downloads - you need to get both. Keep the file structure, and place the files in your SketchUp / Plugins folder.
(The author is the amazing Fredo6, who has several other amazing scripts
here.)
Here's the Round Corner toolbar. (If you don't see it, choose View / Toolbars / Round Corner.)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRhiX8PeqxA8OLUJV0poxakRMDg2Eka8HkGj30uSr0Q_VmgqNcIdgd1fvwU9iwGiZZk7e85E5i4nfNLUT41a2jYOV501c6NiT9h4_plR-JwtRPT-kACSZddRJ1WmEAIFQ3NNO9Thb3oH9k/s320/RoundCorner01.png)
Here's how I used this plugin:
First, I only tried the Round Corner option (the first icon on the toolbar). I'm sure the other two work just as well!
I built a basic box, and clicked Round Corner. The first thing to note is the offset distance and number of segments, which appear in the Offset field, separated by a comma. Keep in mind that high segmentation produces a smoother rounding but makes for higher file size.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeAOR1UbObhwFjYLoACNb0PhUkRS5eNakF-89XA-Fqf6XPgJADZEhmz-maB_vBb6eiV6C2-Wrwjnmxz3FQOAIPwAh4odI3OPKzsVvopIPTaihFNavi-ru8M1j6k5E2QnSo0c5i0pUj1o_/s320/RoundCorner02.png)
I clicked one face, and its four edges highlight in red; the red edges are the ones that will be rounded. The green lines show where the rounding will start.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCwgqCtgkiYp-7AuINFK5UpR0fqvRN9pkEXUQVBHC61CFPomFvBJUOvqB1QfccCiquQRkhF7jr1aGtSB0z1vjDJ5O3LlqjprHcdSfuL3xZTsVgp6b4AHMvMgK0VTtd2YUfb-qbMy4wMT8/s320/RoundCorner03.png)
I wanted a larger rounding radius, so I typed 18,6. (These numbers appeared in the Offset field as 18'-6", 6s - the "6" is for segmentation.) Now the green lines are farther from the red borders.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjk0SE189Yl8mx7SkfJdb4MQOKLGYlDCyyDKxZm6-3poRdVIa2tVSExb4iERxpGQyhWWl99wQVGqQldIo3MrmYpHD70wC26XqAjbcKXcsjm0t6crT930yw1xsuu-bpq7WQplzcFyefXGj/s320/RoundCorner04.png)
(As always, you never have to click in the Offset field - just type. If you enter only a number, that number will replace the offset distance and the segmentation will remain unchanged. You can also press the Tab key, which invokes a window you can use to enter these values.)
I then clicked another face, which added those edges to those edges selected for rounding.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_BDDwggaRuMbVu9kiW21UKbJief3TEHoNjo0FbDNzI_php6plDsyGZSal5LWu_vav83cZ58tdYy2tM3xwkDzfoLYwz9h2pX-_HwZvoYLz2nYN5P6VkqDXsHzuywVZfxMIcpKzBRrQ3Ij/s320/RoundCorner05.png)
To start the rounding, just click anywhere in blank space. Here's how mine looks - there are edges everywhere because I have non-hidden edges set for both Borders and Inner Edges.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFqe3zPKNU3MQ5kyFPssQQ3BFgZQ4UPSYpxgPrQqzAaA1oCloZfbUPJ7upnZMnp-7Q5n2a2QbMGzziOjwR0TjlG7imV3Q6XLBPYz6WhnadWa5GUPxTdJySDMOZBPJL5LHVhftoii7sys4K/s320/RoundCorner06.png)
After undoing, I tried again, selecting the same two faces. This time, however, I'm unselecting the edge between the two faces (you can click a selected edge to unselect it).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL90OIPJOlLfzQdQHYFGjNPOl5dJ6PDPo2PcF85NJnKsgN3OZHp-0PUlfMwDCPHA7UNX_Mn3J2H4kLOaowvv0SM8z7g1CvCgBMAuo8Iy5QOJin_kcaoxrgvvbxe8DS-d_SrqFK8APlft5M/s320/RoundCorner07.png)
Here's the result this time: the unselected edge was not rounded, the edges in the rounded portion are smoothed, and the border edges are unhidden.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01woch6Edg3RHiKKjsbkpVAhzUqJnhLE1L9yvwP-EN6cXgugwvu3ZtefJnqtDnxfSt3FIVC4BTtizxsCo5lHcly0cZx0tu7otEWJoF3eEV9oUiIL-w6jbWbGPjlQ2yPg3lsQgF7LpXR54/s320/RoundCorner08.png)
One last time: this time I clicked a vertex to select all edges that end there.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTP1E4LT95Ci2OiqFtjygB3oqujtlyxy3V53CjNF0o6PLitlPsWuy97dT4HrNZHWmvmL4zBu4huMffSw3ZD2MiAzSE2XYFdjTnl80uQI4IiK764s2X_pa4x4Syd_F0lPcRRGGWR300SrmJ/s320/RoundCorner09.png)
And here are the results with all edges softened:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm4w1LqYUAqP7F7qxufUpvqHYz94WCngcoTDzNXwrvmBb4jQ39gglCPdX8kzX1MKJRGb6htx_m_ZS2Fm8gBVNYcpVTsLl8OVuCKg4RXMk9x3DIVqnbg9AOjzuURUqb86h88OgZoNl49M6q/s320/RoundCorner10.png)
Here's another example of something you'd want to make round and not sharp edges: a chair. It's created as a set of components: two identical components for the armrests, one component for the body. (If you want to try this, you can download my very sophisticated model
here.)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxlq0b3kHtQjTQDDYEK4dMumMqvi_UD2KODNQ0JsK7_YnzX9Fp_v9E1sdCT6qG_fpwN-lIynlMHEw7Y9UiivkMXarkFJqSKeFTu7eDiu3bH4hs3ykyEMb_i64EehnRy5x16QkPSpHnJcq/s320/RoundCorner11.png)
For the armrests, I first opened one of them for editing, then used Round Corner on all its edges. (An easy way to select all edges is to double-click on a face - this selects all contiguous faces.)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBWqg_n3zkBoypJG098rcLlZsw9ijzaYdWc7VIgWvvyQXqeQBK-zHM0O4OUQJwNG5vVnFqAr0ZYFtB8rLBkaRSg3eO_lQxs9yZr08N0hpRJ5qk09Wq-qZsf9FpclNhkydJbv4a85ywecNb/s320/RoundCorner12.png)
Then I did the same for the body.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjx8GH5xqx-1vekVC2w8jVX-3KnA26J0mnIyd_iwMGW1_W5Dhgd0ER-QNITAnnOJHTiCgywqzn1XxE6VMs0vc09SB1yR7W6Mze3V67bLEpmcg9KEntZIE-585P_Sbk_-bRaUt2YejVAaPI/s320/RoundCorner13.png)
Here's how you'd use Round Corner on 3D Text: you would either edit or explode the 3D text component, activate Round Corner, and click the top face of each letter:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSrCBPIxfpKtwTAWg-5zKNqde4aJjGc2aDoCOD6mXi1sF4luCtdbl-BWi91caQF-KSXntAm-a9HTHrL_l_Z_bkNquyhkXUw_1zZ4ziGn6hNYWtyLccH72w4VlF3ZUHc71U2KKnxePM9ZF/s320/RoundCorner14.png)
With this very cool result:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsj9NirV-xijTQFwg_EbbaQj_RxKKzvp7fis3q5aYBSM2dLv2LtRBxCU9JV8fSiXBUZuW-qxh6c_GCHyCoyFQSP2ZuvjmaxMIN9PIMYT2VaXUVU1cLa9ME5OiBHSpJD4iIyhawiy3CWVgV/s320/RoundCorner15.png)
Round Corner is great for adding drafts to mechanical parts. For the model shown below, I want to round the corner between the magenta and yellow obects. So I clicked the top yellow face to select all of its edges . . .
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHA1W24I2YPhUhkmdUu9gDLYjuIxUgHO19G8W15MB8DjfS8fnhaaKFX-Rv3kIA0Dir6Ew1nWZ_Mu_Qu9Baw4u5mzvyja6aqyf660vLA4MJWFASUosI2QUEUO4gBXSFIvOgbtyCtAFTsFvl/s320/RoundCorner16.png)
. . . then I clicked each outer edge of the yellow face, to unselect them.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHlbPg3qKtiWkCwhYawxUKnjRubK0sebFI9A7sdn77sBK8Uwmo0oDJyNsBGdZOMC2VqEoGLWK-8KSFbnzohPNU7vN1dTFUJ4l8Pi2BurFxw7CgsRMS8IUg3rKk876DmUO8BlLjw20yUGRP/s320/RoundCorner17.png)
Here's the result - excellent! This would be rather annoying to complete with the Follow Me tool.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvxHOJzLnqYM50orUEkQhIvCZTapxW2nVVbPaiIzqN4GAIjAtBiKIn7LApHwSJXSjWDND_goQnC6Mt8fyowkjaPXtOWptxcybRC7H1RopYG3ioO6w3P1lMxXLz2WvRMW8XdadXiGOkesqu/s320/RoundCorner18.png)
This plugin has numerous other options, and all documentation is included. Just go to the main SketchUp main and choose Tools / Fredo6 Collection /Round Corner / Documentation. You'll also find a helpful video, plus a
link to donate to support Fredo6. (If this tool ends up saving you hours of modeling time, please toss Fredo6 a few bucks so he can keep writing this stuff!)
Anyone can design anything in 3D! http://www.3dvinci.net/