Model 3: Creating a Spiral Staircase

    Follow the instructions below carefully, and by the end of this section, you'll have made this:

Getting Started

You should have kept the settings from your previous assignment. This means, you should start your assignment in Metric - 2D, and have your large tool set already visible. If this isn't the case, go back to the first assignment and follow the steps to make it happen.

Taking the First Step

From the large tool set, click on the Polygon tool.

Type '12' and press Enter.
This will allow you to create a 12 sided polygon (dodecagon).

Click on the Origin, and create a 12 sided polygon 1 metre wide. You should know how to do this by now (type '1m' and press Enter while dragging).
Use the Line tool to 'cut out' one piece of the polygon, by drawing lines from the centre to adjoining corners.
Once you've done this, use the Select tool to select and delete the surface of the polygon, leaving only one piece and the outline of the shape:

Orbit around to a better view.
Use the Push / Pull tool to raise the step by 0.25m:

Orbit around to the underneath of the step.
If the underneath of the step is hollow, use the Line Tool to draw a line from one edge to another, healing the bottom of the step.
Orbit back up to the top of the step.
Right-click on any part of the step, and from the Select menu, choose 'All Connected' to select the entire step.
Click on the Component Maker tool to make the step a component. Where it asks for a name, call it 'step'.

Before clicking Create, make sure that Replace Selection with Component is checked off!!!

Now you have an object called 'step' that we can use over and over again in your staircase.

Watch the whole thing:

Click here to watch a video of the above steps

Making the Rest of the Steps (and then some!)

What we're going to do next is create all the steps we'll need. To do this, we're going to make as many copies of our step as we can, then keep only the ones we need. Read this section carefully!
Orbit back to a birds-eye (top) view of the step and the outline of the polygon.
Select the Rotate tool. Push the CTRL button on your keyboard once (this will tell SketchUp to make a copy, not move the original). Click on the edge of your step touching the origin. Next click on either of the far sides. Next, drag in the direction of the side you chose, until you see a copy of the step follow your mouse. Snap it into position directly beside your first step and click to release.
Type the following and press Enter:

11x
This will tell SketchUp to repeat the copy / rotate action 11 times, filling out the rest of our polygon outline with copies of your step!

Next, highlight all 12 steps by clicking and dragging a square around them with the Select tool. Your model should look like this:

Select the Move tool. Push the CTRL button on your keyboard once (this will tell SketchUp to make a copy, not move the original). Click on a bottom corner of one of your steps. Now move your mouse up to the adjoining top corner. You should see a layer of 12 steps follow your mouse. Once it's snapped into place directly on top of the bottom layer, click to release.
Type the following and press Enter:

11x
This will tell SketchUp to repeat the copy / move action 11 times, creating 12 layers of 12 steps each. That's 144 steps!

Watch the whole thing:

Click here to watch a video of the above steps

Pulling Out the Spiral

Now that we have all the steps we need for our staircase, it's time to select just the 12 that will form part of it. This part of the task requires the most care, so read the instructions carefully to make sure you don't waste time repeating the same actions over and over.

Choose the Select tool from the toolbar. Make sure you have a good view of the side of your stack of steps. Holding down the SHIFT key on your keyboard, start clicking on individual steps on each stack, each time clicking on the one up and over from the previous. As long as you have your finger on the Shift key, each click will add to your selection. If you make a mistake and select the wrong step, clicking on it again will deselect it. Remember, you can use the Orbit tool while preserving your selection. You will need the Orbit tool to select all 12 steps in the spiral!
Once all 12 steps are selected, switch to the Move tool. Click and hold on the bottom step in the staircase (Orbit or Pan if you need to). Now, drag the whole selection (all 12 steps) away from the rest of the stack. Now you have your spiral!
Finally, draw a square around the stack of steps to select them all, and delete them by pushing the Delete key on the keyboard.
Watch the whole thing:

Click here to watch a video of the above steps

Adding a Bannister

The great thing about components is, if you change one, you change them all. You'll see how this is useful in the following step.

To create a bannister, we'll double-click on the bottom step using the Select tool. You'll notice the rest of the model go dim. This means we're editing a single component now.
Zoom in to the step, so you can see it clearly.
Using the circle tool, draw a circle 0.025m wide on the edge of the step, near the centre.

Zoom in further.
Use the Line tool to draw a vertical line, 1m tall, starting from the centre of the circle.
Find the top of the line, using the Pan tool if you need to.
Draw another line, this time from the end of the line to the end of the same line on the next step.

Zoom out so you can see the two lines and your initial circle.
Using the Follow Me tool from your large tool set, click on the circle, and drag your mouse to the end of the second line. You'll notice a bannister being drawn along the lines, in the shape of the circle you drew. When your mouse is in position at the end of the second line, click to release.
Double-click outside the step you were editing to return to your model.
You should have noticed by now that the changes you made to one step were repeated to all of them. If you zoom out to view your entire staircase, you'll see complete bannister now!

Watch the whole thing:

Click here to watch a video of the above steps

Finishing Up

To finish up your model, we only need to do one more thing.

Use the Dimension tool to show me the width (1m) and height (0.25m) of a step in your staircase, as well as the height of the bannister you created.

You're done!

Save your work, and then save a copy to the Assignment Drop Box by going to File, then Save As..., and navigating to the correct folder. Be sure to enter your name as the file name, so Mr. Najarian knows what belongs to whom!

Congratulations!

You've completed the SketchUp module.
You now know the basics of the program and are ready to use it to make your own complex models.
Happy modelling!