SketchUp

[Alan in Little Washington]

In the the process of looking for an existing model (marking gauge) in the 3D warehouse I noticed that the SketchUp logo had changed and I also kept seeing the name "Trimble" a longtime leader in GPS and navigation systems. I did a search on them and read the corporate history. Since the 80's they have continued to grow by buying technologies and other companies.

Long story short, they bought SketchUp from Google last June. Their plan is to expand SU and the 3D warehouse - good news. My fear- (no basis either way) is that the free version might go away. Anyone have any insider info?

p.s. I didn't find a marking gauge I liked, so a I drew my own using one from Lee Valley as a model.

 

[merrill77]

I've been watching that development as well. Google decided they could not continue to develop it with the income it was generating. Seems likely that the new owners will need to make adjustments to make it profitable. But from what I could find (a few months back), they intend to keep a free version.

It is a great product and I would be happy to pay a little to help support it ($50-100). It has certainly been a valuable tool for me. Not sure how much more than that I would be willing to pay, though.

 

[ebarr]

I just started playing with Sketchup so I hope it remains free. My work has a membership to Lynda.com so I am have been able to some video training on it and love it so far.

 

[jazzflute]

They promised during the acquisition that they would keep the free version. I think it was in the press releases issued under a quote by the Trimble CEO.

K

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

They promised during the acquisition that they would keep the free version. I think it was in the press releases issued under a quote by the Trimble CEO.

K

Thanks. I found it:

"May 16, 2012 - we have updated our FAQ document with the following new information:

Will SketchUp continue to be available as a free version?
Yes. Trimble intends to support the existing SketchUp community and to provide a free version for a multitude of markets.
I have an educational license. How will this be affected?
Trimble values students and their educators from all around the world. Today, we support educational programs and initiatives in many of the markets we currently operate in. Trimble plans to continue to do so by providing various educational tools, including SketchUp."

 

[Jeff]

Alan,

+1 to Sketch Up and its many benefits to us. I'm curious how you drew your marking gauge and added color to it. My experience has been limited almost entirely to woodworking, but it'd be nice to explore the many other tools and options available within the program.

1. What's to be found in the Warehouse and where?

2. Can't find it? Draw your own as you did!

3. A tutorial would be helpful to me. :help:

Thanks.

 

[merrill77]

Jeff, there are dozens of tutorials available for Sketchup:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&q=sketchup+tutorial

There are video tutorials for all of the basic operations and a lot of the more advanced features, as well.

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Alan,

+1 to Sketch Up and its many benefits to us. I'm curious how you drew your marking gauge and added color to it. My experience has been limited almost entirely to woodworking, but it'd be nice to explore the many other tools and options available within the program.

1. What's to be found in the Warehouse and where?

The Trimble (formerly Google) SketchUp 3D model warehouse is actually made up from many contributors. It is free. Here is a link to the PWW WW SketchUp tutorials and their models in the 3D warehouse taken from plans published in the magazine. There is all kinds of free stuff in the warehouse- some good, some not so good- kinda like woodworking photo galleries. But you can pick and choose, and even modify what you download/copy. I think everything is to scale so it can be put in any other drawing that was done to scale. I don't use it often because I usually draw from a picture or an idea. One exception- I wanted a good drawing of a DC/cyclone and found a nice one there.

2. Can't find it? Draw your own as you did!

Yup.

3. A tutorial would be helpful to me. :help:

Thanks.

There are tons of video and static tutorials available online as well, for both simple and highly complex procedures. Most of the WW mags sell SketchUp DVDs. There are two by Bob Lang an editor at PWW which are supposed to be pretty good, though I have never seen them. But if you have the time and patience to search, you can find what you need for free, online. With such a great memory, it seems I always need to go back and review how to draw a sphere. Sometimes I call my local expert- Ernie.

 

[ErnieM]

The Trimble (formerly Google) SketchUp 3D model warehouse is actually made up from many contributors. It is free. Here is a link to the PWW WW SketchUp tutorials and their models in the 3D warehouse taken from plans published in the magazine. There is all kinds of free stuff in the warehouse- some good, some not so good- kinda like woodworking photo galleries. But you can pick and choose, and even modify what you download/copy. I think everything is to scale so it can be put in any other drawing that was done to scale. I don't use it often because I usually draw from a picture or an idea. One exception- I wanted a good drawing of a DC/cyclone and found a nice one there.


Yup.



There are tons of video and static tutorials available online as well, for both simple and highly complex procedures. Most of the WW mags sell SketchUp DVDs. There are two by Bob Lang an editor at PWW which are supposed to be pretty good, though I have never seen them. But if you have the time and patience to search, you can find what you need for free, online. With such a great memory, it seems I always need to go back and review how to draw a sphere. Sometimes I call my local expert- Ernie.

Yeah, well - here I am, the local expert. The truth is, I know next to squat about SketchUp, which puts me in the same boat as Alan. That said, you really don't need to know more than a fraction of the tools that SketchUp offers. The program is quite easy to learn - the difficult part is learning how to think in 3D. Once you get that, the rest is pretty simple. Watch a few of the basic on-line videos and practice for a few hours. Then, start trying to draw a project you have in mind. When you come across something you don't know how to do, get on the internet and find an appropriate video. There are so many available that I have never had a problem finding out how to do what I need to do. It's not rocket science - or harpsichord building. Have fun!

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

I'll second what Ernie said about drawing is easy. My problem, however is not the 3D part- I dream in 3D, and in fact, have designed a number of things while in that semi-conscious state between deep sleep and being awake.

The problem I have is keeping track of what I am doing, especially when it comes to using components, groups and layers, or being in a rush. If you are like me, I'll draw something, make it a component, then come back later to modify or add to something to it. Sometimes I'll end up with changes that are not part of the component or on a different layer, etc. The other problem is making sure I pay attention throughout the process- when you draw a reference line or a line parallel to another line, the edit box will tell you how far apart they are. But if you move before completing the process, and don't pay attention you may have moved a little so instead of 1/8" which is .125" you end up with .133" and later can't figure out why the next part won't fit.

I draw almost all my woodworking and tinkering projects in SketchUp and even use it for brochures and sales pitches.

 

[mshel]

I used this site to learn sketch up. It really helped me get the basics and some advanced skills. Unfortunately, I haven't kept at it. Will probably go back through the tutorials again. Give it a try, it's free.

http://www.srww.com/google-sketchup.htm Click on the SketchUp tab and you will see a "Beginners" and an "Intermediate" tutorial. Good videos. Nice part is you can stop, rewind, watch at your leisure.

Hope this helps.

Mike