SketchUp

Willemjm

Willem
Corporate Member
Willem, im not a huge fan of either package but you cant compare SW to SU. Not even in the same league.
Absolutely correct about the comparison.

I have both Autocad and Solidworks. Never looked at what you are using. These packages compare to learning a new language and once we are fluent in one language the least path of resistance is sticking to what we know.
 

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
ProE is a good system what little I used it (YEARS ago)- SW has more mainstream advertising / marketing now I think...
Pro/E and Catia are the industry standard class leading softwares on the market today. SW is actually a Catia product (Dessault systems is the parent company). Catia has long been the tool for creating class A surfaces for automotive and aerospace applications while Pro/E has dominated the mechanical arena since it was introduced in the early 90s. Pro/E does however excel at class A surfaces. about 10 years ago, I created all the models for the new Mack Titan heavy duty truck air intakes with Pro/E (class A surfaces) a partial picture is attached, the large chrome and black component, everything in chrome was my creation. PTC (Pro/E ) also invented parametric and associative modeling.
 

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Hmerkle

Board of Directors, Development Director
Hank
Staff member
Corporate Member
Pro/E and Catia are the industry standard class leading softwares on the market today. SW is actually a Catia product (Dessault systems is the parent company). Catia has long been the tool for creating class A surfaces for automotive and aerospace applications while Pro/E has dominated the mechanical arena since it was introduced in the early 90s. Pro/E does however excel at class A surfaces. about 10 years ago, I created all the models for the new Mack Titan heavy duty truck air intakes with Pro/E (class A surfaces) a partial picture is attached, the large chrome and black component, everything in chrome was my creation. PTC (Pro/E ) also invented parametric and associative modeling.
GEEZ! I forgot about Catia - too many long conference calls with STUPID auto designers! (no practical or "real-world" experience...)
 

ShortRound84

New User
ShortRound
Can you guys recommend the best way to learn SU? I’m struggling to get started but I think this would really help take things to the next level.
 

Bill Clemmons

Bill
Corporate Member
Can you guys recommend the best way to learn SU? I’m struggling to get started but I think this would really help take things to the next level.

There are several tutorial videos you can purchase that take you through step-by-step. Dave Richards, a member here, has one out. I first learned on one by Bob Lang that helped a lot. Of course, there are the SU tutorials themselves, and the ever popular You Tube.

Learning SU just takes time and lots of practice. I would say pick a simple project, like a 4 leg table, and start designing it from scratch. Experiment to see what you can and can't do, and try different approaches. There are usually at least 2 ways to do most operations in SU, just like woodworking.
 

SteveHall

Steve
Corporate Member
Can you guys recommend the best way to learn SU? I’m struggling to get started but I think this would really help take things to the next level.

1. I recommend simply going through each menu and understanding how each item works. SketchUp is a rather basic tool at the core, half the tools are just methods for creating and modifying basic 2D and 3D entities. It used to be simpler to learn because they hadn't added so many supplemental features. Now it is covered in toolbars. Stick to the menus, and...

2. Learn the keyboard shortcuts. There's not that many, but you have to force yourself to memorize the shortcut for each task that you do repetitively. Make sure you understand keyboard entry of dimensions as you create an entity. This makes modeling many times faster and more intuitive. The interface goes away so that you can simply model without thinking.

Hopefully soon, this pandemic will be over and we can hold a little SketchUp workshop for locals.
 

SteveHall

Steve
Corporate Member
Actually, what better time for such a course online?

There are loads of online courses and YouTube resources, but I think the in person feedback loop to be invaluable for some. My thought was three hours, each hour building on the last so people could step in wherever they were comfortable, hour one being very basic computer, hardware, startup, and intro material. Perhaps there's even a long lunch break with another hour or two on more advanced techniques like rendering and animation. Inter- or off-line discussions seem to help in person that also can't be done via video.

All we would need is a little classroom with WiFi and everyone to bring their own hardware/software. I'm thinking a smaller class of 5-9 people might be most productive.
 

smallboat

smallboat
Corporate Member
Shortround- April Wilkerson has a two part Youtube video on Sketchup for Woodworkers.
Part 2 is especially helpful for beginners.

Pay attention to the keyboard shortcuts. It will save you endless mousing around for menu commands.
Also the use of arrow keys to constrain the move and rotate commands.
That one solved a lot of my frustrations with Sketchup.

ChrisG's comparison to learning a foreign language is a good one.
Problem with Sketchup is there are no related languages.
 

smallboat

smallboat
Corporate Member
Its entirely possible to run Sketchup from a track pad.
You have left and right click and swipe up the middle, same as a mouse with scroll wheel.

Just cause you can do it doesn't mean its a good idea. Mouse is much nicer.
 

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