SketchUp is Awesome!

[Jason Hanko]

So I Downloaded Sketchup yesterday, and this thing is so cool!
I was messing around with it and decided to learn how to use the program by modeling out my next project: an awesome looking planer stand for my new DW735 planer! I still need to add the drawers and casters.

The actual concept/design is from Jeff Bratt. Pictures of the real thing are here on Jeff's site: http://home.san.rr.com/jeffnann/Wood...l#Planer_Stand

Now I just need to find time to build it in real life...

[Jim Becker]

You seem to be grasping SketchUp! quickly, Jason. Nice work!

[Jim Fox]

I love sketchup too, easy to fix my mistakes and I don't waste good wood. But looking at the first line in your signature.............I HATE YOUR ATHELETES TOO!

GO BLUE!

[Chris Schumann]

Proud to Hate Michigan Athletics Since 1981

I'm a badger too, Jason, but 1981? Time to let go. As a crayon poster said in a gradeschool a few years ago: Don't be haten.

[Jason Hanko]

Well thats as far back as I can go...unless you can count prenatal hatin' too....

[John Schreiber]

SketchUp is awesome indeed and you are going great guns at it. Keep on going and don't be afraid to ask questions here.

[Jason Hanko]

One Question:
Once you've exploded something, is there any easy way to "un-explode" things once again?
For example - youve a got a table made up of legs (each as a componant) and a top as a separate component. Sometimes I group the whole assembly together, and then a little bit later end up exploding the thing again.
Then if I want to go back and select just one leg for example, I can only seem to re-select either one face of the leg, or the ENTIRE table... hope that makes sense?

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

Hi Jason, Looks like you're off to a great start! Gary Katz has some awesome tutorials on his website. I found them a big help. Cheers!!

[Steven DeMars]

I currently run AutoCAD as an Instrumentation/Controls Designer. But that does not require 3D, so I have never learned 3D in AutoCAD.

Just curious, hat is the output of sketchup . . . ?

Everything I see seems to be rendered conceptual type drawings . . .

Is it capable of generating detailed accurate drawings with dimensions that can be used in CUTLIST?

When you draw in AutoCAD, you draw in real world dimensions. Just like if you were drawing on a huge sheet of paper. I can click any like in AutoCAD and it will tell me precisely the length of that line. You can work out problems . . . .

The drawings I have seen are impressive, but I don't want to suffer the learning curve for something that will not yield drawings like AutoCAD . . .

Attached is drawing I did for a JET Jointer/Planer Mobile Stand. Would Sketchup do something like this.

Thanks, look forward to comments . .
Steve

[tim rowledge]

Yes, SU does things with precise dimensions. Set a line to 6" and it is 6". You can roughly sketch out objects and then nudge and modify them to exact sizes - our you can sketch to get an idea and then quickly re-build with exact dimensions. Which to do depends on your taste and work style

You can developed multiple views (SU calls them 'scenes) where difference parts are emphasized. You can show dimensions in only certain scenes if you want. To prepare production drawings you use Layout (which comes with the pro version) to build a booklet of drawings suitable for slideshows and printing. I've put a simple sample at http://www.rowledge.org/tim/woodwork/OfficeBookcase.pdf to illustrate the possibilities.

[John Schreiber]

One Question:
Once you've exploded something, is there any easy way to "un-explode" things once again?
For example - youve a got a table made up of legs (each as a componant) and a top as a separate component. Sometimes I group the whole assembly together, and then a little bit later end up exploding the thing again.
Then if I want to go back and select just one leg for example, I can only seem to re-select either one face of the leg, or the ENTIRE table... hope that makes sense?

After you have exploded something, you can't go back to where you were. There are a couple of good ways to get the same functionality though.

First, when I was first learning SU, I was disappointed to find that Explode did not create an exploded drawing or anything like that. Explode means to undo the making of a component or a group. That's still very useful.

To do what you want above, you might benefit from putting components inside of other components. For instance for a workbench, there might be four individual legs, each a component and the legs together might be a component called "leg assy".

Another trick which does what you describe more directly is to open up the components list. Under Windows/Components, you can see every thing which you have made as a component in the past. I'm not sure how that works with groups, because I have always found that components are more powerful and don't have any downside in comparison with groups. When you can see the components list, you can separately pull out anything which you have made into a component in the past, even if you have exploded it in place.

Those are ways to work around components, but generally, after I have made a component I don't explode it again. I just edit in place.

Hope that helps. If not, keep asking.

[John Schreiber]

. . . The drawings I have seen are impressive, but I don't want to suffer the learning curve for something that will not yield drawings like AutoCAD . . .
. . .

Steve, I haven't played with AutoCAD except for a little bit years ago, so I can't really compare. If you already have SU installed, try downloading this file from the 3D Warehouse and looking at the individual scenes. I think they show how you can use SU to meet your needs as well as more "sketchy" idea development.

[John Schreiber]

. . . Is it capable of generating detailed accurate drawings with dimensions that can be used in CUTLIST?

There's Ruby plugin which does a lot by itself and can save a file which CUTLIST will read. The most recent version seems to be 4.0. Here's a link.

[Jason Hanko]

There's Ruby plugin which does a lot by itself and can save a file which CUTLIST will read. The most recent version seems to be 4.0. Here's a link.

Wow, what a great plugin! Thanks!!!!

[Bob Lang]

You can't "unexplode", but you can edit groups and components. Select and then right click and pick "edit group" or "edit component" from the drop down menu. If you edit a component, it will also change all the instances of that component in your model. If your legs are all the same component, editing one will change them all which is good in some cases and bad in others.

Here are a couple of things I do-make a copy of the entire model and move it over to some empty space. Now you have two versions and if you don't like the changes you can keep the original. If you like the changes delete the original. I also will pull a component into the model from the components list. A good example is a table leg-I can add mortises by editing the loose component and have them appear in all four legs instantly.

hope this helps,

Bob Lang