Sketchup

[paullap]

Hi I have been looking at the Sketchup program, anyone using it, How difficult is it to use and what level would i need for hobby woodworking please.


Paul

 

[Spectric]

Question whether you need it first, some people like having sketches of their items but not for all. For me I like *** packet drawings and technical drawing packages like Autocad and now Qcad as I am not artistic and am more than happy with 2D.

 

[Luke Barnard]

I'm learning to use it currently to plan out some changes to our garden. I've no experience with design software but am generally good with software. I've found the learning curve quite steep, in that the first 2-3 hours I was banging my head against the wall. But after getting my head around components and how they behave, things are much easier. The biggest thing that helped me was not using the mousepad on a laptop, but a separate mouse made a big difference to how easy it is to use.

 

[Spectric]

The biggest thing that helped me was not using the mousepad on a laptop, but a separate mouse made a big difference to how easy it is to use.

I think that applies to laptops in general, also use a roller ball device as that is also easier.

If you want a 2D layout then use QCAD, I have drawn my house plans using it and also kitchen units. Much easier to learn as well .

 

[paullap]

I already have auto sketch, I might use this and see how I get on

 

[mwinfrance]

Better still, for the wrist and carpal tunnel, use a graphics tablet and pen with your laptop / PC , xp-pen et al do some very nice ones, without the expense of wacom. keep a mouse for mousy things.

 

[Gerry]

Try onshape it's a free online powerful 3d cad system.

 

[Jester129]

@Gerry Thanks for letting us know about onshape! I've discovered that I can now design my own 3d shapes and save them as STL files! Absolutely amazing as far as I had no idea how to do this. I now have some learning to do.

 

[grumpy6165]

I have been using Sketchup for a few years now for woodwork, metal lathe and 3D Printer work. It can be daunting although as with most software most users only use a small part of it regualarly. There are two tutorials by April Wilkerson on Youtube that I found the best introduction to Sketckup and should get anybody up and running in a short time. My only other advice as with any skill is to use it frequently and stick with one piece of software.

 

[Lard]

When I started lecturing nearly 20yrs ago it was a 'pushed in at the deep end' situation where I was provided with literally no material (lecture notes, presentations, plans etc) and so I had to write my own from scratch and needed software to enable me to quickly create 3d drawings/sections/diagrams.....can't remember how but I 'found' SketchUp and was immediately hooked on how quickly and easily I could make models......I created several complex 3d models of buildings containing several layers with highly detailed constructional detail.
Parts of it were steep learning curves but I loved it......at least I did until they released the web version, which virtually stopped me using it efficiently.
On top of that I dipped my toe into 3d printing and got very exasperated with the inability to export 3d SketchUp models without running into loads of model errors.
For what i think you need I would recommend it but if I only offer you one piece of advice.....make sure you use/understand Groups and Components as they'll do you proud.

 

[Kev.k]

Sketch up is good If you want to draw plans to send out to various companies. You know they will be able to open them.

I spent an age doing a house model on live home 3d and no one could open it.

 

[Britman]

Are you looking at the full paid version, the online version or the old and outdated (but still very functional) 2017 make version?

Full paid version is expensive.
Online is free but limited.
The 2017 make version is risky to install, I would only do that on a virtual machine because you have no idea if the 2017 version is full of malware/spyware/trojans because it is not supported by Trimble anymore there are no security updates.

 

[artie]

Try onshape it's a free online powerful 3d cad system.

I abandoned sketchup earlier this year for onshape when I purchased a 3d printer.

It's quite a learning curve for me, but there are fantastic tutorials included and many more on utube.

A small piece of advice however if you need to acquire a skill, lets say make a threaded bolt and nut.

Don't follow the first solution you find without checking out a few more. I spent ages following a tutorial which worked only to find a much simpler one, and them a much simpler one again.