How to use Abf plugin with 3dshouse Dynamic Sketchup

How to nest using Abf or Oneclick plugin with 3dshouse dynamic model is very simple, just select the model that needs nesting, Click Dynamic Option panel in 3dshouse plugin. This tool will clean files, delete hidden objects, process panels, delete dynamic feature. After running this tool, the sketchup file will no longer have dynamic features and you can edit it manually as usual.

In fact, you only need 1 click and do not need to care too much, but explain clearly below for you to better understand the process. Also you can use this tool with the model you draw yourself.

Features and progress of the tool:

• Delete unused objects (components, layers, materials).
• Delete hidden objects.
• Explode all Components leaving only Groups
• Erase the edges in the middle of the plate, connecting the panels. (at this time, abf will receive cut, chamfered panels, etc…)
• Remove dynamic feature (makes it easy to edit manually).

Note: All models need to use this tool before using Abf features (labeling, linking, nesting)

Why this step actually matters (the part most people skip): Abf reads each board as a single Group, and it identifies a “panel” by finding the largest planar face inside that group. If a board is still a Component (not a Group), or if its top and bottom faces are split into multiple coplanar faces by a leftover edge, Abf will either skip the board or detect the wrong cutting outline — which is exactly why the cleanup explodes Components down to Groups and erases the dividing edge across the panel surface. This is also why running nesting straight on a raw dynamic model produces missing or duplicated parts: dynamic components carry sub-instances and definition data that Abf was never designed to walk through.

A few non-obvious tips when going from a dynamic model to CNC nesting:

• Make every board its own Group with the grain running along a known axis before nesting. Abf can lock grain direction per material, but it can only respect it if each panel is a discrete group — boards merged together lose individual grain control and may be rotated freely on the sheet.
• Hardware, dowels, hinges and edge-banding are not boards, so the cleanup’s “delete unused / hidden” pass is what stops Abf from trying to nest them. If a fitting still shows up in the nest, it usually means it had a large flat face and was left as a stray group — delete or tag it out first.
• Run the cleanup on a copy of your file. Because the process explodes components and strips the dynamic logic, it is one-way — you cannot re-parametrize the model afterward, you can only edit it manually.

Compatibility note (2026): Abf is a free, Windows-only SketchUp extension, and the current builds officially target SketchUp 2018 through 2025. If you have moved to SketchUp 2026, install Abf in a 2025 (or earlier) seat for now, since a 2026-compatible release was not yet confirmed at the time of writing. The 3dshouse Dynamic / Parashape cleanup itself runs on current SketchUp, so the usual workflow is to prep and clean the model first, then hand the cleaned file to Abf in a supported version. (Note that since 2020 SketchUp is sold only as a named-user subscription — there is no perpetual license — so “which version you have” depends on your active subscription, and keeping an older supported version installed alongside 2026 is allowed.)