We’ve created a number of projects using PVC pipe and custom fittings over the years, it is a quick, inexpensive, and versatile material for making a variety of custom frames, platforms, and other tubular objects. While in most cases we design on the fly hands on with the PVC itself there are times when we want to do a bit more upfront design or create a set of plans after the fact. A good means for creating simple plan drawings is SketchUp. (For those not familiar with SketchUp, it is a free simple to use 3D drawing program available from Trimble –http://www.sketchup.com/download )
When it comes to PVC projects there are a number of custom fittings available and designing these from scratch for your SketchUp models would be more effort than it is worth; fortunately however there is a simple and free solution to this from FORMUFIT, providers of custom PVC fittings and accessories, who have created a complete set of PVC components for SketchUp that can easily be imported into your own projects.
These components are available at https://formufit.com/pages/sketchup
The components are available for all the typical custom PVC fittings as well as pipe models across a variety of standard sizes from 1/2″ to 2″.
In addition to providing the models FORMUFIT also has a great set of video tutorials on how to use them to create your own custom drawings.
One of the nicest feature with these components that makes them very easy to use is the inclusion of handles, which make fitting parts together a snap and removes the hassle of aligning elements.
If your using SketchUp for your PVC designs the FORMUFIT models are an invaluable resource and we highly suggest you give them a try.
