Tiếng Việt
19
Aug
Aug
SketchUp Dynamic Component 1-dimensional Copy is easy to understand, but copying the same object across many dimensions at once is much harder. SketchUp has built-in Dynamic Component templates, but their built-in method is complicated and the copy formulas are confusing. This lesson gives a simpler idea while still achieving a multi-dimensional copy. Note that as of SketchUp 2026, Dynamic Components are still fully supported, but authoring or editing them now requires a SketchUp Pro subscription — in SketchUp Free (web) you can only download and reconfigure existing ones, not edit their attributes.
- SketchUp’s own model templates: 1 Component -> copies simultaneously along the X and Y axes, so it is difficult to calculate the position of each next Instance. The official method does this by deriving row/column position with FLOOR and modulo math (e.g.
column = COPY - FLOOR(COPY/columns)*columns), which is powerful but error-prone for beginners. - The 3dshouse plan offers: 1 Component -> Copy to make a row, then continue to copy that row to one side. This nested approach keeps the calculation much simpler and still achieves the goal — and because each level only copies along a single axis, you avoid the modulo formula entirely, which is exactly why nested copying survives edits far better than a single-component 2D grid.
Video Tutorial: Dynamic Component Copies in SketchUp
Download Example Models
Dynamic-Tile-With-Grout-Copies-Multiple-Directions.skp
Lesson Objectives — SketchUp Dynamic Copies
- Mastering the Attribute Copies learned in the previous lesson.
- Copy by row, by face, and copy across many dimensions.
Steps to follow:
- Step 1: Create a Tile_Unit Dynamic Component (Brick) 600x300x10 mm.
- Step 2: Create a Tile_Row object (Tile Row) that automatically copies the Tile_Unit above along the X axis.
- Step 3: Create a Tile_Grid object (Tile plane) that automatically copies the Tile_Row above along the Y axis.
- Step 4: Create a Tile_Block object (Tile Block) that automatically copies the Tile_Grid above along the Z axis.
- Step 5: The steps above have created a Dynamic Tile Floor. If you want to keep copying along the Z axis, do the same as the Tile_Grid object but along the Z axis.
- Step 6: Add a Gap between two copied objects (tile grout joints).
Note:
- You can add a grout joint between two bricks by changing the position formula. For example, with a 2mm joint use: Attribute X = 0 + copy * (Tile_Row!Tile_SizeX + 2). Always drive the spacing off the parent’s
LenX/LenY(e.g.Tile_Row!LenX + 2) rather than a hard-typed dimension — that way if you later scale the master tile with the Scale tool, every copy re-spaces itself automatically instead of overlapping. - You can apply this copy method to tile a façade by turning the Component to face outward — create a vertical wall with ventilation bricks. There are many applications, limited only by your imagination.
- One gotcha that wrecks tile arrays: if you scale a Dynamic Component instance without making it “unique” first, SketchUp can silently spawn a new component definition, and your copies stop matching the original. If your grid suddenly mis-aligns after a resize, right-click the master → Make Unique, then re-run Redraw (the Dynamic Components → refresh button) to rebuild every copy cleanly.
