On 11/25/2013 11:49 AM, Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet fired this volley in
:

I am a woodworker and routinely work with pieces that measure in 1/8"
resolution however the program is quite capable of accurately and quite
quickly drawing a box that is 4 1/16 x 5 3/64 x 9 19/32.

If I were using it for woodworking, I assume those accuracies would be
adequate, if a little gross for a CNC router...

Not in the slightest for a CNC. Why would one choose odd ball
tolerances, tiny fractions, when working with wood? Sketch up is being
used for CNC machines and 3D printers.

Metal working in some cases would be another matter.




But I work daily with sub-thousandth measurements. Do you really
understand how funny dealing with "thirty-secondths" sounds to a
metalworker? Today, I had to lay out a complex, multi-curved cam slot a
half-thousanth wider than a bearing, because the bearings that ride in it
work the plus side of their tolerances -- and the bearings are spec'd by
the customer. Even two thousanths of an inch would cause them to track
wrong.


And given the OP's original post to this thread do you realize how funny
it sounds to use a program that uses the resolutions that you are
speaking about when Sketchup is more than capable of satisfying his
needs for free?

I realize you work with high resolutions, that is the requirement of
metal working. But Sketchup is far more of a program than to simply
sketch out pencil type drawings.



I also am not belittling what you do. I've done it (in a prior life)
with very nice results on some 'fine' reproduction furniture. They're
just not the same games, that's all.

And Sketchup would be more than fine for reproduction furniture drawings.



I have -eh- maybe 250-300 hours building large-scale models in Sketchup;
100 meter scale. Maybe I could finesse it into doing 1/4" stuff to
tenths of a thou.; but why, when there are CAMs out there well-adapted to
what machinists do? Why use an axe where a scalpel is called for?


So with that kind of time put in with Sketchup you are just getting
started. I have many more drawings than you have in hours and most of
the drawings require 10~20 hours of design.

If you need that higher resolution use the program that works but your
descriptions of the capabilities of Sketchup makes one wonder if you
really know what it can do.

I think the biggest problem with this whole thread is that the OP posted
to wood working and metal working. His first item on his wish list was
for wood boards and followed by stuff you make at home. He had the
knowledge of 2D CAD programs so he was not totally ignorant of what to
use but IMHO he wanted to do 3D for, most likely, less than extreme
resolution drawings.