SketchUp: an Overview. By Norm Berls

Transcription

1 SketchUp: an Overview By Norm Berls

2 Objectives and Non-Objectives Introduction to the SketchUp mindset. Highlights Best Practices Pitfalls Not a Class Won t cover every aspect

3 Hardware Toshiba laptop S70B Intel i7 2.6 GHz 16 Gb memory 64 bit system (Windows 7) Mouse 2 buttons + wheel/button Left-Button: Primary Selection Tool Objects Tools Right-Button : Secondary Selection Tool Tool Options Wheel Button: Multifunction Roll: Pan / Zoom, List Scrolling Click: Quick Orb

4 About SketchUp Running 2016 version today version became available recently A real no-kidding 3D drawing tool. Difficult to use as a 2D drawing tool. Depends on color to communicate information to you. If you are color blind, you are at a great disadvantage in SketchUp. Very good as a drawing and prototyping tool. Imperfect as a final engineering drawing tool.

5 Learning SketchUp Many YouTube tutorial videos (mostly about architecture). One book: SketchUp 2014 for Dummies Mostly about architecture. Instructions often leave out critical information. Not up to date with most recent SketchUp (2017) Still, is a fair study aide and reference. SketchUp has a tutorial facility under Help

6 More About SketchUp Originally conceived as an architect s tool SketchUp will run without the Internet but, it will complain if the Internet is not available. Need Internet for help facility. Export tools: 2D drawings of 3D objects Animations

7 Still More About SketchUp Currently owned by Trimble (surveying company) 30 day trial download free After 30 days, some functionality goes away Still usable as a drawing package Support for surveying (geodesy and cartography tools)

8 The Inference Engine SketchUp often needs a lot of precise information to draw something. It can be very cumbersome to input all this info by hand. SketchUp contains an Inference Engine that runs when you activate a tool and makes assumptions about what you are trying to do. These assumptions are automatically translated into parameter settings. This can be very helpful but, if you don t know that it is going on, it can be very annoying and confusing. Open Inference Demo line tool. (Close project)

9 General Layout, Four Important Tools Open Select Note and demo menu pulldowns. Note and demo tool bars. Note and demo tray. The four most important tools are Select, Orbit, Zoom and Zoom Extents. You will use them constant3ly. Demo the tools.

10 After Select Demo

11 SketchUp: Starting a Project Start SketchUp Pick a template under Options. I prefer 3D Printing Inches Click Start Using SketchUp Window > Model Info > Units Length Units Decimal Inches Precision Enable Length Snapping (Important) Angle Units Precision 0.0 Enable Angle Snapping 1.0 Snapping (Automatic jump to a point) Inference engine at work means look for points on a circle 1.0 degrees apart Click-Enter to set defaults.

12 Demo Continued: Still Getting Started Perspective mode is nice but a pain when you are trying to draw. I prefer Parallel mode for creating and editing drawings. Camera > Parallel Projection

13 Demo Continued: Still Getting Started Select initial group and Delete it. Rotate blue vertical axis to appear vertical via Orbit and Pan Tools.

14 Result After Start Demo 3 Axes Red = Left-Right Green = Front-Back Blue = Up-Down Keep colors and their directional meanings constantly in mind when using SketchUp. Axis orientations are key information for the Inference Engine.

15 About Exact Dimensions Open a new project and set it up. To draw something: Select a tool (e.g. Line) Drag mouse to position cursor at starting point Left-Click and drag to draw Measurements Box at lower right will show size of the object you drew. It can be very difficult to draw something to a precision of When you let up on Left-Click, you can type in an exact size for the graphical object you just drew. Click-Enter to force SketchUp to accept exact size.

16 Cube Demo Create 2x2x2 cube SketchUp works with Lines (also called Edges) Lines are always drawn in black. Lines have length, but no height or width. SketchUp works with Faces (flat planes). Faces have no thickness. But Faces have two sides Each side of a Face can have a different color or texture. When a set of polylines all fall in the same plane, SketchUp automatically detects it and creates a Face. Faces can be dragged with Push/Pull tool to create solids. (Keep new project open)

17 Result of Cube Demo

18 About Push/Pull Push/Pull only works on Faces. When you Push/Pull a Face through a space, what SketchUp does depends on whether that space is empty or filled by material. Empty space will be filled with new material. Filled space will be emptied of material. Partially empty and partially filled space will be both filled and emptied. The exact details are controlled by the Inference Engine.

19 #10 SHCS Edges and Faces are sufficient to draw very complex parts.

20 Circle Demo Draw a 1.0 circle centered on the top of the cube. Use Tape Measure Tool to find center of cube. Draw circle. Type 0.5 (Radius) and Enter. Use Push/Pull to drag circle into cylinder. Type 2.0 to specify depth of hole and Enter. (Keep project open)

21 Result Circle Demo

22 Demo: Color and Texture Painting with Color Painting with Texture Continue with result of Circle Demo Select top On Default Tray click on Outliner Scroll to Materials Select Colors Select a color Select Paint Bucket Paint selected face Select a side face On Default Tray Scroll to Materials Select Metal Select Metal Steel Textured Select Paint Bucket Paint selected face

23 Result of Color/Texture Demo

24 Demo: Group and Explode Open ColorTexture Edit > Select All Edit > Make Group Look in Default Tray Rename Group Oops, left out other stuff. Select Object Right-Click > Explode Look in Default Tray (Keep project open)

25 Result of Group/Explode Demo

26 Demo: Hide, Unhide, Undo, Redo Continue from Group/Explode Demo Select a face. Right-Click > Hide Select a line Right-Click > Hide Caution: Hide is next to Erase in the menu Mistakes can be reversed with Edit > Undo A mistaken Undo can be reversed with Redo If you intend to click Hide but mistakenly click Erase and don t realize it Edit > Unhide > All

27 Result of Hide, Unhide, Undo, Redo Demo

28 Demo: Orbit, Zoom, Pan, Zoom Extents Open ColorTexture Orbit Zoom Pan Zoom Extents

29 Result of Orbit, Zoom, Pan, Zoom Extents Demo

30 Demo: Organizing a Complex Project Inspect Project Open BestFrontRest1 128 Parts Window > Model Info > Statistics > Entire Model View statistics Default Tray Right-Click BestFrontRest1 Right-Click > Expand All Show nested components Edit a Group What if you want to edit just one part? Click on part to select Right-Click > Edit Component Edit > Close Group/Component In Default Tray Scroll to top Select BestRifleRest1 Zoom Extents

31 Result of Organize Demo

32 Demo: Hide Some Parts On the Default Tray Parts have been organized into Groups. Use Right-Click to select and hide Groups. Leave Clamping Assembly visible. Note + icon on Clamping Assembly Click on + to expand Clamping Assembly. Groups can be made of Groups. Hide Clamping Mechanism Group. Expand Clamping Base Assembly Group. Hide everything except Base Part. Zoom Extents. Close Group (because we were editing)

33 Result of Hide Demo

34 Demo: Export a Picture How did I get the 2d picture of the part for Power Point? File > Export > 2D Graphic Supply directory and file name. Use JPG format.

35 Best Practices from Grouping and Visibility Completely draw every part. No missing lines. No missing faces. Set color by selecting whole group. Set texture by selecting whole group. Control visibility by group.

36 Demo: Standard Views, Scenes, Animation Standard Scenes Open BestRifleRest1 Select Camera Select Standard Views Select Top Zoom Extents Adding a Scene I like to create scenes for each of the standard views. View Animation Add Scene Rename Scene Top Exclude from Animation About Animation Examine each scene Run Animation Stop Animation Set export parameters Show how to export animation

37 Animation Demo Result (a movie)

38 Demo 12: Intersecting Objects Open Intersect Goal: drill a second hole perpendicular to the first. Two Groups Cube Cylinder Occupy same space but don t intersect Select both groups Left-Click cube. Shift, Left-Click cylinder Right-Click > Intersect Faces > With Selection Explode both Groups Erase unneeded lines and surfaces. Problem: circular intersection face on cube can t be selected. Only the face of the cube can be selected. Solution: redraw one arc line of the circle. Circular face can now be selected and deleted.

39 Intersect Demo Result

40 Demo: Smooth Lines, Smooth Object Open Smooth Select line, smooth it, Undo. If you do the same thing to every vertical line on the cylinder, you get cylinder two. Select third cylinder Soften/Smooth Edges

41 Smooth Demo Result

42 Demo: The trouble with circles (1) Open CircleTrouble_1 Draw Parallel lines along length of cylinders. One pair defines a surface and the other does not. Draw diagonal across missing surface. Any three points determine a plane. Proves that the four points do not lie in a common plane. Zoom circles and note misalignment. Select > Erase misaligned circle. When you draw a circle, make sure the radius line is parallel to one of the major axes (red, green, blue) if you can. Redraw 0.5 inch circle aligned to red axis. Redraw circle flank lines.

43 Demo: The Trouble with Circles (2) When you draw a circle, you specify a center point and a radius. SketchUp also needs a plane to draw the circle in. The Inference Engine supplies the plane. When you draw a circle, carefully note the orientation of the circle. Make sure it is on the plane you want. If it is not, you will have to experiment with the orbit tool to get the Inference Engine to pick another plane. When the center is not on some other plane, the Inference Engine will pick a plane perpendicular to one of the major axes (red, green, blue). Open CircleTrouble_2 Draw a circle on each of the three planes.

44 Demo: The Trouble with Circles (3) Drawing a round hole in a circular object is difficult with SketchUp. When Sketchup draws a circle on the surface of a cylindrical object, it has to pick one of the flat faces of the cylinder as the plane on which to draw the circle. This can create trouble. Open CircleTrouble_3 The solution is to draw a plane exactly tangent to the cylinder at the center of the desired circle. SketchUp will use this plane to draw the circle on. Examine circle from end of cylinder. Unhide TangentSquare group. Draw circle 0.5 inch circle on tangent plane. Examine new circle from end of cylinder.

45 The trouble with circles (4) SketchUp doesn t actually draw circles. What it does is draw polygons with enough equal sides that the polygon resembles a circle. You can set the number of sides of a circlepolygon to most any number you want. Click on the circle tool to get into circle mode. If the box at the lower right says Sides, you can type your number anywhere and click Enter. Then draw your circle. If the box at the lower right says Radius, you can type your number anywhere, followed by an s and click Enter. Then draw your circle. The more sides on each circle, the slower SketchUp will run. 360 is an excessive number of sides. 24 (the default) is much more reasonable.

46 Demo: The First Rotation Method Open Rotation_1 Select the Group Orient group so left hexagon faces you Find center of left end of hex rod. Click on Rotate tool Click on center of hexagon Move cursor directly right and Left-Click to create a handle point. Rotate the object counter-clockwise about 15 degrees. Type 15.0 and Click-Enter. Click ESC key and click on Select tool. Edit > Delete Guides Edit > Select None

47 First Rotation Method Result

48 Demo: The Second Rotation Method Open Rotate_2 Select the object you want to rotate. Determine two points to serve as a rotation axis. Here this will be the far right and far left points on the facing hexagon. Click on the Rotation Tool to turn it on. Left-Click on the first point and hold the button down. Drag the cursor to the second point and let the button up. Move the cursor directly up and Left-Click to establish a handle. Rotate counter-clockwise about 15.0 degrees. Type 15.0 and Click-Enter. Click ESC key and click on Select tool. Edit > Select None

49 Second Rotation Method Result

50 Importing Projects into Projects Problem: Insert a #10 SHCS into a drilled and counter-bored hole. Solution: Import a set of #10 SHCS into the project and maneuver one into position.

51 Demo: Import a SHCS and position it Open: Import File>Import>MachineScrew_#10A Position cursor and Left-Click Select the screws. Right-Click > Explode Select smallest screw Copy and Paste in Place Use Move tool to maneuver screw into place.

52 Result of Import a SHCS Demo

53 Dimensioning Problem: How to add dimensioning to a project. Dimensioning tool not on upper menu. Available on Tools pulldown menu. Available on Left Column menu.

54 Demo: Add a dimension to a project Open: LatheAngleTool_2 Left-Click on Dimension icon. Move to first point on line to be dimensioned, Left-Click. Move to second point on line to be dimensioned, Left-Click. Drag in direction you want annotation to lay and when satisfied, Left-Click.

55 Demo: Editing a Dimension A dimension is a third kind of object in addition to edges and faces. Dimensions can be edited. SketchUp contains special editors for editing dimensions. Use Select tool to select a dimension: Left-Click. Right-Click on selected object to bring up special menu. Note how text behaves under Orbit tool. Text is a fourth kind of object.

56 Result of Dimension Demo

57 Follow Me Follow Me is a Sketchup tool that allows you to easily create complex drawings of things like pipelines. It starts with a polygon and a polyline that is perpendicular to the plane of the polygon. The polygon is then automatically moved along the polyline to create a solid object. Open PipeExtrude

58 Demo: Follow Me Open PipeExtrude Select everything with a box Unselect the circle by: Hold down Shift Left-Click on circle line Left-Click on circle face Left-Click on Follow Me Right-Click on the circle face

59 Result of Follow Me Demo

60 Yet Another Demo of Follow Me Open Spring Edit > Select All Unselect circle Left-Click on Follow Me Ooops!!! The spring polyline contains so many line segments that are so small relative to the circle that Sketchup cannot compute the Follow Me object. Hide the circle Unhide the square group Repeat the Follow Me procedure Select and Smooth

61 How s That for a Spring?

62 3D Warehouse SketchUp contains an Internet link to the Trimble 3D Warehouse. There are free projects out there you can copy. For example there are many metal lathes. I copied one for this presentation.

63 Metal Lathe from 3D Warehouse.

64 Extension Warehouse SketchUp contains an Internet link to the Trimble Extension Warehouse. An Extension is an extra bit of programmed functionality that you can download and add to SketchUp I have added extensions to my copy of SketchUp: Flattext allows text printing on any surface in SketchUp. Curve Maker draws different types of spiral curves. Bezier Curves draws very smooth curved lines. Flattext cost $9 but, the other two were free.

65 Demo: Curve and Spiral Extensions Open: Alfano_1 The background engraving is a demo by Sam Alfano. I captured it off YouTube and made a JPG file of it. I then Imported this file into SketchUp. Draw Bezier curve and edit it. Draw Spiral curve and edit it.

66 Results of Curve and Spiral demo

67 SketchUp Bugs SketchUp is a large complex program. All such programs contain bugs. The problems I have seen have involved a lot of move, rotate and resize operations. SketchUp can lock up and no longer respond to commands. Save your work. Close and restart SketchUp.

68 Lest we forget SketchUp contains and works with four basic objects: 1. Edges (Lines) 2. Faces 3. Dimensions 4. Text Fundamentally, SketchUp is a simple-minded system.

69 Access to Sketchup Tools and Options 1. Top menu of pulldowns. 2. Top and left side icon bars. 3. Right side Tray scroll list of options for tools. 4. Right-Click on a selected object will reveal popup menu.

70 Conclusions about SketchUp Free Relatively easy to learn Smart software that can really help you out (inference engine) A real 3D drawing tool but, not really a mechanical drawing tool Good control of object visibility Good organizational tools (groups and groups within groups) Extra functionality available as extensions Export 2D drawings Animations Owned and supported by a major corporation. In 5 years time SketchUp is still going to be a viable product being developed and supported.

71 The End