Has anyone here used Sketchup for semi-accurate modelling?

I ask because I've been giving it a whirl so as to get a better idea of
what my options are for a house extension, and I'm very pleasantly
surprised at how easy it is to bung in things like toilets and doors
and stuff all to scale, and even get an idea of where sunlight's going
to fall throughout the year.

Not having used any other 3D software though, I've got nothing to
compare it to, but am curious if anyone else has used it in any way.

John

PS: For the uninitiated: http://sketchup.google.com/

BlueJohn wrote:

Has anyone here used Sketchup for semi-accurate modelling?

Not for accuracy, and I find it's sometimes easy to "do something wierd"
to your model and you need to backtrack to change it, but for a
non-autocad user it's certainly easier to grasp.

For sketching out a single room the Ikea kitchen planner can be quite
handy too
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/complet...oad/index.html

Has anyone here used Sketchup for semi-accurate modelling?

Not for accuracy, and I find it's sometimes easy to "do something wierd"
to your model and you need to backtrack to change it, but for a
non-autocad user it's certainly easier to grasp.


Agreed it's not for accuracy (although I like the way you define your
shape and just type in the measurements) - hence the "sketch" in the
title I suppose.

Once I found out about grouping items together, things got easier
because unless you group things they all pile up as one item and you
end up having to back track as you describe.

I'm experimenting with the "walkthrough" functions at the moment, which
are nice in order to get an idea about things like perceived space and
balance. The shadow function has already helped me rule out some
options on the placing of windows and other things (its shows me the
kitchen not getting enough sun in winter, for example).

For sketching out a single room the Ikea kitchen planner can be quite
handy too
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/complet...oad/index.html

Interesting. I'll take a look at that as well.

I've done an accurate full-plans application for a chapel conversion
with sketch-up. Once you use a process of creating accurate component
parts, sketch-up seems quite happy with them accurately placed.

I've not much previous experience with architectural cad, but a lot of
years professional experience with electronics/chip design cad. So I
guess I'm well disciplined about not allowing errors to creep into the
model.

In the case of sketch-up that means, getting components accurately
dimensioned (even if only a box outline, that will be edited to add
more detail later), being very strict about making sure I'm working on
the right layer and great care with construction lines so everything is
placed where I think it is.

Generally I like the positioning inference (the
snap-to-significant-point), but I would like a single key overide.
Visual cues about which layer I'm working on would be good too.

It also seems to be possible to leave behind un-erasable artefacts if
one component touches another - and then you try to transfer one
component to a new layer. Seems to be a bug - and I haven't found any
solution - other than "don't do that".

BlueJohn wrote:
Has anyone here used Sketchup for semi-accurate modelling?

Not for accuracy, and I find it's sometimes easy to "do something wierd"
to your model and you need to backtrack to change it, but for a
non-autocad user it's certainly easier to grasp.


Agreed it's not for accuracy (although I like the way you define your
shape and just type in the measurements) - hence the "sketch" in the
title I suppose.


I've used it professionally for several years.

It is as accurate as you care to be - lines etc snap to end points or
to other places on other elements, and when drawing a line if you just
enter the length via the keyboard keys then the line will snap to that
length - you won't get any more accurate than that.

It is worth checking out the online videos and tutorials.

AFAIK, the free version will not save to common CAD formats (ie dwg)
for importing to other CAD software for final detailing and layout.
Although it is possible to do proper 2d plans in Sketchup, it is very
tedious and takes too long. Sketchup is really intended for conceptual
design and visualisation.

dg

AFAIK, the free version will not save to common CAD formats (ie dwg)
for importing to other CAD software for final detailing and layout.
Although it is possible to do proper 2d plans in Sketchup, it is very
tedious and takes too long. Sketchup is really intended for conceptual
design and visualisation.

Free version will not save to anything but it's native format, nor will
it print at higher than screen resolution (full version printouts are
wonderfuly finely detailed).

Can you explain why you think sketch-up is not ideal for detailed 2D
plans? I found that whilst it was time consuming capturing the detail
of 3D components (e.g. a staircase), the pay off once it was done was
great. How are other approaches better/quicker?

wrote:

Free version will not save to anything but it's native format, nor will
it print at higher than screen resolution (full version printouts are
wonderfuly finely detailed).

Perhaps the only serious reason for getting a Linux setup is to use a
one off programme for free. I imagine it is worth learning the daft
geekschpeak for one or two regularly used programmes that you can then
migrate to a Windozer box.

Weatherlawyer wrote:

wrote:

Free version will not save to anything but it's native format, nor will
it print at higher than screen resolution (full version printouts are
wonderfuly finely detailed).

Perhaps the only serious reason for getting a Linux setup is to use a
one off programme for free. I imagine it is worth learning the daft
geekschpeak for one or two regularly used programmes that you can then
migrate to a Windozer box.

Eh? Sketchup (both free and pro) is a Windows application. What are you
on about?