Joint Push Pull Sketchup 2021 May 2026
When to use: Flat roofs, facade fins, or any extrusion that must stay vertical (not perpendicular to a sloped face). How it works: You pick a direction vector (e.g., Blue axis). All faces extrude that way, ignoring their individual angles. 2021 Workflow: Great for converting a contour map into a blocky extrusion without warping the sides.
SketchUp 2021 introduced more aware Push/Pull behavior that better respected adjacent geometry and edge relationships. Rather than a blunt extrude-or-tear approach, the tool began to consider neighboring faces and shared edges, producing cleaner joints and smarter splits. The result wasn’t a reinvention of modeling metaphors; it was a thoughtful tuning that honored the tool’s tactile simplicity while giving users stronger, more predictable control.
Key practical shifts users noticed:
Many users searching for "Joint Push Pull SketchUp 2021" are actually looking for installation help. Here is the step-by-step process, as the tool is not freeware (it is a paid extension by Fredo6).
During the operation, the plugin provides an on-screen dashboard and keyboard modifiers for precise control:
“Parametric Extrusion Control in SketchUp 2021: An Analysis of the Joint Push Pull Tool for Complex Geometry Manipulation”
If SketchUp’s native Push/Pull is a hammer, Joint Push Pull is a CNC router. It doesn’t just extrude – it sculpts. For anyone serious about modeling beyond boxes and roofs, this plugin is non-negotiable.
Would you like a short step-by-step example of using it in SketchUp 2021 as well?
Joint Push Pull is one of the most essential "power-user" extensions for SketchUp 2021, developed by the prolific Ruby script creator
. While the native SketchUp Push/Pull tool is limited to flat faces and single directions,
Joint Push Pull allows you to extrude multiple faces—including curved and non-planar surfaces—simultaneously Key Features and Modes
The extension is actually a suite of several specialized tools, each designed for different geometric challenges: Joint Push Pull:
Extrudes multiple faces along their average vertex normals, keeping the resulting faces connected (welded). Round Push Pull:
Similar to Joint, but it generates rounded transitions at the edges of the extrusion. Vector Push Pull: Joint Push Pull Sketchup 2021
Extrudes faces along a specific direction (vector) regardless of their orientation. Normal Push Pull:
Extrudes each face individually along its own specific normal. Extrude Push Pull:
Works like the standard tool but handles multiple faces at once without maintaining a "joint" connection. Why Use It in SketchUp 2021?
For SketchUp 2021 users, this plugin solves several workflow bottlenecks: Curved Surface Thickness:
It is the go-to tool for adding thickness to "skins" or organic shapes (like a curved roof or a car body) that the native tool cannot process. Efficiency:
Instead of pushing 50 individual window panes, you can select them all and extrude them to the same depth in one click. Visual Preview:
The 2021-compatible versions include a "ghost" preview that shows exactly where the geometry will land before you commit to the operation. Installation Requirements
To run Joint Push Pull on SketchUp 2021, you must satisfy two dependencies: LibFredo6:
This is a shared library plugin required for almost all of Fredo6’s tools. SketchUcation Extension Store:
Since Fredo6 moved away from the Extension Warehouse, you typically need to download and manage these via the SketchUcation marketplace Licensing Note
As of late 2021/2022, many of Fredo6's plugins transitioned from "Donationware" to a paid "Freemium" model
. While some legacy versions exist, most users on SketchUp 2021 will need to purchase a small, perpetual license through SketchUcation to unlock the full feature set permanently. installation
For SketchUp 2021, the most helpful resource for managing complex extrusions is the Joint Push Pull Interactive plugin by Fredo6, available at SketchUcation. This tool is essential because the native Push/Pull tool in SketchUp 2021 only works on single flat faces and cannot extrude curved or multiple surfaces at once. Key Features of Joint Push Pull Interactive When to use : Flat roofs, facade fins,
This suite includes several specialized tools, each designed for different geometric challenges:
Joint Push Pull: The primary tool for thickening curved surfaces. It merges individual facets into a single, seamless contiguous shape.
Vector Push Pull: Extrudes faces along a specific direction (vector) regardless of their individual orientation. This is ideal for tasks like flattening terrains or creating vertical roadway walls.
Normal Push Pull: Similar to the native tool but allows you to push/pull multiple selected faces simultaneously. Note that it creates gaps between the extruded faces.
Extrude Push Pull: Focuses on extruding multiple faces while automatically filling in the joints to maintain a solid look.
Round Push Pull: Extrudes surfaces and simultaneously rounds the edges of the resulting geometry, similar to the RoundCorner tool. Installation Requirements
To run this plugin in SketchUp 2021, you must install two separate components:
LibFredo6: A shared library required for all Fredo6 plugins.
JointPushPull: The actual toolset.Both are available via the SketchUcation PluginStore. Quick Tips for 2021 Users
For SketchUp 2021 users, the Joint Push Pull extension by Fredo6 remains an essential tool for overcoming the native Push/Pull tool's inability to extrude curved or multiple surfaces at once. Key Features for SketchUp 2021
The modern "Interactive" edition of this plugin offers several specialized extrusion modes:
Joint Push Pull: Extrudes multiple faces simultaneously while maintaining continuity, ideal for thickening curved geometry.
Vector Push Pull: Extrudes faces along a specific, user-defined direction rather than following face normals. If SketchUp’s native Push/Pull is a hammer, Joint
Normal Push Pull: Similar to the native tool but allows for the simultaneous extrusion of multiple independent faces.
Round Push Pull: Extrudes and automatically rounds the resulting edges, with adjustable segments for smoothness. Essential Installation Requirements
To run Joint Push Pull on SketchUp 2021, you must install two supporting components from Sketchucation:
Joint Push Pull by Fredo6 remains an essential extension for SketchUp 2021, effectively solving one of the software's most persistent limitations: the inability to extrude curved or multiple surfaces simultaneously Core Functionality
The extension provides a suite of tools that expand upon the native Push/Pull tool by allowing users to: Thicken Curved Surfaces
: Unlike the standard tool, which only works on flat faces, Joint Push Pull can extrude surfaces made of multiple connected faces, like cylinders or organic shapes. Multiple Face Extrusion
: You can select several faces at once and extrude them in a single operation, maintaining their relative orientation. Vector & Normal Modes : It offers specialized modes like Vector Push Pull (extruding along a specific axis) and Normal Push Pull (extruding faces based on their individual orientations). Key Features for SketchUp 2021 Interactive Interface
: Modern versions include a button palette and a settings panel that allows for precise, real-time input of thickness and offset values. Thickening & Molding
: It can generate thickness for thin surfaces (thicken) or create tapered extrusions for 3D modeling tasks like creating 3D letters (molding). Automation
: Features like "Auto Weld" help preserve the geometry of circles and arcs when extruding, which is crucial for maintaining clean models. Licensing and Installation
8 SECRET FUNCTIONS of the SketchUp Joint Push Pull Extension!
For architects modeling façades, furniture designers fine-tuning mortise-and-tenon details, or 3D-printing hobbyists building interlocking parts, the tweak translated to concrete productivity gains. Instead of stopping to repair geometry after each playful experiment, designers could iterate more freely, trusting that the model would remain sane. That trust lowered the cognitive cost of exploration: models could be exploratory and believable at once.
This mattered especially in remote workflows that increased reliance on well-formed geometry. Files shared between collaborators, or passed downstream to renderers, engineers, or CNC operators, needed robust topology. The improved Push/Pull helped close the gap between a designer’s intent and the exported reality.
