With the release of very low cost 3D printers, consumers quickly realize that in order to create a custom plastic part, the model first needs to be created in 3D. While some 3D printer manufacturers include sample 3D models which are ready to print, the process of creating a custom design and ultimately ending up with a plastic part is still not intuitive to most people.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/blog/show/sketchup-3d-cad-3d-printing