shop design help

[Jeff Cremers]

Ok I have used the design tool on grizzly's website.
But I see all these 3D versions from google sketch up but how do y'all get the tools so accurate looking. I think I'm missing something here.


Also what is the sketch up software that you think is best and easiest to use.

Thanks
jeff

[Rick Hubbard]

Ok I have used the design tool on grizzly's website.
But I see all these 3D versions from google sketch up but how do y'all get the tools so accurate looking. I think I'm missing something here.


Also what is the sketch up software that you think is best and easiest to use.

Thanks
jeff

Hi Jeff-

There are 2 versions of Sketchup: One is the “Pro” version that sells for around $500. The other is a freebie from Google that is, well, FREE. Do a Google search on it and you can find it and download it FREE.

The basic functionality of both versions are the same. The defining difference between the two is that you can import CAD files into the Pro version (and a few other minor things as well).

The learning curve for the application seems a bit steep, but at some point you’ll have one of those “Ah Ha” moments and you’ll be off and running. My life has never been the same since I had MY “Ah Ha” moment.

Google even has an online repository (called the 3-D warehouse) where there are TONS of prebuilt models that you can download and use (and even modify).

I highly recommend that you give it a try.

Rick

[Jeff Cremers]

Thanks for the tips
Jeff

[Dennis Peacock]

I use the free version of Sketchup and really like it. Like what's already been stated...the learning curve is a bit steep. :)

[Hans Braul]

I have spent considerable hours trying to climb up that learning curve and have yet to reach that moment. I guess it's just a matter of practice but I just never seem to allow myself the time to sit and figure stuff out. There are just so many other things to do. I spend most of my working life at a computer so it soon starts to feel like work. I really do need to get over it though, as I have several major projects that need to be designed and I need a 3d sense of what they will look like before I start. Is there any way to speed up the process, other than just keep plugging away and use the help screens?

[Don Bullock]

Hans,
I fully agree with you. SketchUp if far from "user friendly" and I don't have the time to devote to learning it. A piece of graph paper and some tool outlines like some I found over on the Fine Woodworking site can be just as helpful for laying out a shop like the OP wants. For my new garage/shop I'm using Home Design Studio from Punch Software on my iMac. It's similar to SketchUp for laying out a shop and designing a building, but I think it has more building design tools than SketchUp.

For furniture design, I guess we'll need to learn SktchUp for that.:eek:;):D

[Ken Ganshirt]

I have spent considerable hours trying to climb up that learning curve and have yet to reach that moment. I guess it's just a matter of practice but I just never seem to allow myself the time to sit and figure stuff out. There are just so many other things to do. I spend most of my working life at a computer so it soon starts to feel like work. I really do need to get over it though, as I have several major projects that need to be designed and I need a 3d sense of what they will look like before I start. Is there any way to speed up the process, other than just keep plugging away and use the help screens?
Hi Hans,

If you go online to the Google Sketchup site you will find a number of videos and self-paced tutorials (http://sketchup.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=13680). They are a great way to learn the basics. It's surprising how much you can do with just the basic operations.

Don, I think Sketchup is actually quite user-friendly. I compare it to the other programs I've tried to use for design work and there is no comparison. I've never been able to become the least bit comfortable with any of the CAD programs, never mind proficient. With Sketchup I was able to create a complete 3D workup of my shop and the tools in it with only a minor amount of effort ... by comparison. I worked through the tutorials and within an hour or so of messing around aftwerwards I had a moderately accurate representation of my shop.

Too many people expect to sit down with a program that will allow them to do incredibly complicated stuff, like creating 3-D drawings, and be able to use it effectively in no time at all. Worse, most folks who want to be able to instantly use these drafting programs like drafting experts have no training or experience with drafting. It's about as unrealistic as expecting to buy a high quality set of golf clubs and be able to shoot sub-100 rounds with no lessons and an hour of practice. For the average person it just ain't gonna happen.

It's not that Sketchup is complicated. It's the things we want to do with it that are complicated. When you think about it in that context, Sketchup is admirably simple.

Having said that, I haven't used Sketchup in months so the next time I use it I expect, and will plan, to go through at least some of the video tutorials again to refresh myself. Same as I plan to hit the driving range a few times after a winter without playing golf.

...ken...

[Don Bullock]

...
Too many people expect to sit down with a program that will allow them to do incredibly complicated stuff, like creating 3-D drawings, and be able to use it effectively in no time at all. Worse, most folks who want to be able to instantly use these drafting programs like drafting experts have no training or experience with drafting. It's about as unrealistic as expecting to buy a high quality set of golf clubs and be able to shoot sub-100 rounds with no lessons and an hour of practice. For the average person it just ain't gonna happen.
...

Ken, I respectfully disagree. I've been working with computers for a long time and I do have a lot of actual "paper/pencil" drafting experience including a lot of 3-D work. In my opinion SketchUp is far more difficult than it needs to be. In this modern age with some fantastic computer programs it is not too much to ask that one be able to sit down and do "complicated stuff" on the computer. The concept on "user friendly software" has been around for quite some time. I can do a lot of complicated things with my computer that I only dreamed possible just a few years ago. Creating a "user friendly" 3-D program shouldn't be all that difficult to do.