The Extrude Edges by Edges plugin created by TIG on SketchUcation.com is a plugin that is out of a set of 7 extruding plugins. We are going to do a special review of this set of plugins one by one for this week becuase we think that these plugins are very useful but some more than others.

The extrude by edges plugin is similar to the Soap Skin Bubble Tool but the edges do not have to be connected. The plugin works really well to create a nice curved surface that connects the two curves. Though a major drawback is that the curves need to be in an individual group even if it is one segment, and components do NOT work only groups do. This can be very irritating but just as long as you have a good shortcut key for grouping it should not be a problem. Also after using the tool, it automatically deselects the SketchUp selection tool thus disabling you from selecting anything else until you reselect the selection tool. I found that this slows down the design process when using this tool.

The tool allows you to reverse the face mesh to the front or the back, intersecting the mesh faces (which is only really necessary for convoluted shapes), removing coplanar surfaces and smoothing the edges. These all pop up as a yes/no dialogue box and in my experience has only really complicated the plugin more so and makes the process longer. But these options do come in handy when making more intricate designs.

Overall, the Extrude Edges by Edges plugin created by TIG is a great tool to have, though the usability needs to be improved a bit. At the time of this review this plugin is free and is available at SketchUcation.com. You will need to download the entire Extrude tools set. I give this plugin 4 out 5 stars.