[TheForge] Sketchup

[Ben Barrett]

I've played with sketchup almost as much as a few other programs, but
watched more of their tutorials (guys, watch the ones about mapping
digital photos from different angles onto the outside [and inside!] of
your home & workshop models).  It is very easy to get started with,
esp. with the video tutorials in a nearby window, walking you through
the operations, pausing & rewinding as needed.  I agree that it is
more oriented toward making a model *look* correct, rather than
producing a specification or even detailing an optimal and complete
model.  The basis of AutoCAD and similar industrial design programs is
in how the model is built -- truly an engineering art.  I think this
was mentioned on this list recently, about changing certain parameters
in the final model can be a good test of the accuracy or integrity of
the model's construction.

Don't miss the 3D warehouse, here is a guillotine tool for example:
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=d98501bcabeecc6e8a69df23fbfc10a1&prevstart=0
swage block:  http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=cec8e39551b46d2d2a21c053c567e2a&prevstart=24
coal forge:  http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=7fbc2d2efe2e40b7d8d2e34037de707f&prevstart=12
funky anvil:  http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=1f56eb7281b4024589f6272a129ba315&prevstart=12
whole collection of tools:
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/cldetails?mid=7f2f848b723f9f3eadb26fefc9ec6a9b
Those are all models you can download.  The free version of sketchup
has limited file format capabilities, but does work with google earth.
 The pay version goes on sale for about $400 I think, and has more
capability to import and export data from other programs, as well as a
bunch of other pro-level features.
They also have a picture album on PIcasa, a google photo-sharing site:
 http://www.google.com/sketchup/community/gallery.html
I've not been on their forums either, but expect that you can get
pretty direct help there if you get stuck.  Every useful program has
some sort of Q&A forum or mailing list too.

If you are playing around with any 3D programs, be sure to note which
file types you can import/export, as you will likely find large
amounts of free 3D content online -- most of the major programs have
community sites for tinkerers and students and such, to share some of
their work.  Once you get comfortable with a 3D programs you'll find
some programs are clearly trickier, but that is usually for its own
good reason.  I recently tried out a $50 3D interface, a little
USB-connected knob from 3Dconnexion, and it works great in google
earth and nasa world wind, as well as sketchup and
blender/autocad/solidworks/etc.  You only apply very light/little
pressure but have 6-axis control to, say, pan while zooming.  Flying
around in google earth is very intuitive & fun :)   I don't want to
keep ranting about this stuff on the ABANA list, but I would like to
say to anyone interested that you really should dive in, and be sure
to try a few different programs, watch some free youtube video
tutorials about them, etc, to find what will really work for you and
to get familiar with the interface.  Learning multiple programs is
just too much for most people, though, so consider how you approach
this (again, spending ~30 minutes watching clips of tutorials for a
bunch of different programs might give you some useful impressions).

kay nuff for now, cheers!

~ben


On Thu, Apr 17, 2008 at 1:26 PM, Jerry Frost <akfrosty at mtaonline.net> wrote:
> I've been playing with it a little bit and have the shop walls, roof, garage door and the stove in place. Getting the stove pipe vertical was a pain seeing as the push/pull tool does so perpendicular to the plane it starts on. That's reasonable of course, I'd be ticked if it didn't do it that way.
>
> If you're talking about making scale furniture components and arranging them in the space, I've got that covered in any number of programs. I designed our house 10 years ago, with 3D Home Architect and was able to show Deb and myself exactly what was going to happen if we put a wall THERE. <shrieks of horror!!!> That one is designed to render furnished rooms, etc. down to house plants and let you take tours of the results. I'm sure more recent versions are WAY better or maybe just more complicated and expensive. <grin> Autocad just got more complex and expensive without significant improvement over the last 10 years or so. Personally I think it peaked at V 12.
>
> I design things with Autocad in 2D with no trouble but sometimes visualizing the results can be a pain, especially when one's experience in a particular field is limited. If I'd had more experience I would've laid things out differently here but houses, barns and shops aren't in the same scale I'm used to.
>
> What I'm really looking forward to with Sketchup is being able to plant future structures, fences, cupola melters, pits, or whatever in the google earth image of our place. Heck, if it works I could show you what my shop would look like in YOUR yard. <grin>
>
> Anyway, any tips are welcome.
>
>
> Frosty
> -------------------------------
> If it ain't forged
> it ain't real.
> Wrought iron is.
> The FrostWorks
>
> Meadow Lakes, AK.
>
>
> From: "Saint Phlip" <phlip at 99main.com>
>
>
>
> >
> > Yeah, I've been using it, fairly frequently. It's pretty user
> > friendly, but it's a lot better to use for making something that LOOKS
> > like (for example) a table, rather than actually BUILDING a table.
> >
> > That said, I'd be happy to send you off a file that shows what I came
> > up with when I was designing/arranging my new apt.It was pretty
> > helpful for figuring out what I had to work with, and fitting it in a
> > sensible arrangement.
> >
> > --
> > Saint Phlip
> >
> >