#1. "RE: Anyone Here Using Sketchup Pro, or Sketchup Make???" In response to Sid (Reply # 0)
I tried it (regular Sketchup) for a bit. Just didn't get it. When I still worked, I taught myself AutoCAD because I needed it for my job, but just couldn't fathom Sketchup.
"The great object is, that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun." - Patrick Henry
#2. "RE: Anyone Here Using Sketchup Pro, or Sketchup Make???" In response to md2lgyk (Reply # 1)
Glenn, I've been an Autocad user for a very long time and I must say that Sketchup is far easier to learn and use. The commands are so much more intuitive in SU, especially when working with 3D solids. Things seem to flow rather naturally as compared to Autocad where stuff feels labored and esoteric.
The free version is Sketchup Make and is only missing the "Solid Tools"(intersect, union, subtract, trim and split). No real problem there, since the first three (the important ones) are available in a $10 extension from a third party that works seamlessly with SU.
Also, Glenn, you can find tons of helpful videos and other tutorials to make getting started with SU rather a simple matter.
If one wants the whole enchilada, the paid version is much more reasonable than Autocad's $3K+ price tag. Purchase is $599 with a yearly update cost of $99. That yearly fee assures that you are always using the very latest version---unlike having to pay through the nose for a new version every time Autodesk releases a new one for Autocad. I, however, see no compelling reason to go full bore with the paid version since you can tweak the free version (of SU) to do almost everything the paid version does.
. Onward & Upward ! Sid
WINDOWS 10 ASUS P8Z77-V Pro MB Intel i5 3750K CPU 8g Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM Corsair Neutron 250g SSD
#3. "RE: Anyone Here Using Sketchup Pro, or Sketchup Make???" In response to Sid (Reply # 2)
Thanks for the info. I'm not about to spend any substantial amount of money on AutoCAD or Sketchup. I'm retired now and was only playing with SU out of curiosity. I don't really NEED it or any other CAD program any more. The other thing is, such drafting work as I did was before PCs were powerful enough for there to be much widespread use of 3D modeling programs. I think AutoCAD 2002 was about as sophisticated as I ever got. My company switched to SolidWorks just before I retired, and I didn't bother getting even passably familiar with it. By then, others were working for me who could do whatever I needed done.
For the VERY occasional times I need to make any sort of drawing now, I have a freeware 2D program called Solid Edge.
"The great object is, that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun." - Patrick Henry
#4. "RE: Anyone Here Using Sketchup Pro, or Sketchup Make???" In response to md2lgyk (Reply # 3)
Quote:
QUOTE: For the VERY occasional times I need to make any sort of drawing now, I have a freeware 2D program called Solid Edge.
I would bet that you are very smart to stick with your 2D program since you had such an early grounding in traditional drafting, Glenn.
I hadn't thought about this before, but, it's interesting the way we used to visualize everything we drew in those 2D drawing views (plan, elevation, ...) as solid models. Now, solid modelers take all that imaginative thinking away by presenting us with cold, hard, solid views while, at the same time, providing a quantum step kup to more effective product design.
I would also bet that most casual users of solid modeling software are unaware that those elegant 3D renderings have to be rendered as two-dimensional plan and elevation drawings to meet actual production specs.
. Onward & Upward ! Sid
WINDOWS 10 ASUS P8Z77-V Pro MB Intel i5 3750K CPU 8g Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM Corsair Neutron 250g SSD
#5. "RE: Anyone Here Using Sketchup Pro, or Sketchup Make???" In response to Sid (Reply # 4)
All true. Got my first set of drafting (or mechanical drawing, as it used to be called) tools in 1965 when I started college. I well know how much "better" today's 3D renderings are and all the trick things that can be done with them. But the fact is, they simply look "cartoonish" to an old guy like me.
My wife, on the other hand, is an artist and art teacher. About five years ago I bought her an inexpensive program (3D Home Architect) to use for designing the house we were planning to build ourselves and now live in. She thought it was the neatest thing ever, especially the 3D "walkthroughs" she could do with it and the capability to change things like wall colors and cabinet styles with a couple of clicks.
"The great object is, that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun." - Patrick Henry
#6. "RE: Anyone Here Using Sketchup Pro, or Sketchup Make???" In response to md2lgyk (Reply # 5) Sat Oct-25-14 12:43 AM by Sid
Quote:
QUOTE: All true. Got my first set of drafting (or mechanical drawing, as it used to be called) tools in 1965 when I started college. I well know how much "better" today's 3D renderings are and all the trick things that can be done with them. But the fact is, they simply look "cartoonish" to an old guy like me.
Glenn, looks as though from the '65 date that I'm six years older. I took drafting in junior high in seventh grade. However, as enthralled as I was with the mechanical drafting process, when I discovered 2D CAD, I went bananas!
What you say about simple 3D CAD programs made for casual use is definitely true. However, software such as Sketchup is securely embedded in the professional worlds of architecture, product design, construction, and, on, and, on. While 3D Solid Modeling software is typically a real bear to master, Sketchup is rather unique in that, once you learn the first steps of creating simple solids based on primitives such as boxes, cylinders, etc., it becomes rather intuitive to slowly add to your "toolbox" in a natural learning progression. The ultra-frustrating learning curve typical of most solids programs is really softened in SU by the intuitive way the program is structured.
SU was originally a Google project. Under Google's aegis, SU gained a massive following that caught the eye of Trimble who acquired the rights and now runs the show.
Here's an example from the SketchUp Showcase.
. Onward & Upward ! Sid
WINDOWS 10 ASUS P8Z77-V Pro MB Intel i5 3750K CPU 8g Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM Corsair Neutron 250g SSD