back in 2022 it had been sold to trimble for a decade though
LOL, wow, Iām old.
Apologies, I meant to say 2002 (maybe 2003, I canāt remember which class only the teacher).
I showed my son SU Make way back when. Heād play on it for hours!
How did you becpme aware of Twinmotion? I love TM as much as I love sketchup
How old was he when learning? Me not having kids I am curios as to how youngsters could handle SU
Iāll have to count it back and see. Heās 25 now. He took right to it.
I think he was either 7 or 8.
That is amazing does he still use it?
I was looking for a cheaper Lumion software, it was 2019 and they were giving free licenses for a few weeks, I was lucky and found it within this period. I loved it cause it could run on my old MacBook the performance wasnāt the best cause it had an intel integrated graphics, I have an special bond and with that machine and was refusing to upgrade until 2021 when I got my M1 Max MacBook and got involved more on Twinmotion cause the performance is amazing. I still have my old MacBook, after a lot of years of heavy use, 5 semesters of architecture and its thesis and 2,5 years of master wit itās thesis were made with that old machine and it still works like day 1. Itās used by my wife for basic office work and she loves it as well, it was also her first Mac.
He did for a while. He finished his associate in mech engineering a few years ago and now works for Siemens Energy. He used Fusion in school but would do quick models in SU. He designed a speaker box for a friend with it during HS.
Work experience at an architecture office at age 14
Old timer here.
I attended the first trade show of startup @Last Software of Boulder, Colorado in 2000 where the program was launched and won the Community Choice Award.
Back then you could visit their office in Boulder and they would send down a tech guy to coach you on best hardware, nice collegial feel there.
I bought the perpetual license or whatever it was called, now ancient history except I still carry some grievance, not so much for the money, but for loss of cachet at being one of the original users.
2006 introduced as something new in my architectural technology class
2002, when I was studying architecture in the university. I came to visit my best friend. His computer is opening SketchUp and we started playing with it and having fun. Good memories with SketchUp since then.
If I remember right I found Sketchup when it was Google Sketchup, and there was the SketchUcation web site for learning. Been a fan ever since and a pro subscriber for several years now. Itās the only piece of software that I care to pay for nowadays. I also have to say that the free Sketchup for Web is pretty amazing. So glad thereās an reasonably priced piece of software thatās so capable at 3D modeling. And a great community that helps support it, along with the YouTube videos that the Sketchup team are so passionate about.
Same here. Life changing for our Terrace Design business.
We saw an early demonstration (MacWorld Expo or AEC Expo)@Last Software
at the Jacob Javits Center NY (2003) and I remember seeing people huddled around a kiosk and there was a young kid playing with rectangles Pushing and Pulling a crazy massing modelā¦ just having fun, adjusting on the fly, and not worrying about details or dialogs. When I came back around he had windows and door openings and everyone was orbiting around the model so effortlessly. SOLD on it then, but still needed ACAD for outputting 2D Scaled Drawings. Very Impressed when I saw the John Bacus Presentation Building a Presentation from Start to Finish with LayOut - YouTube, Drawings Linked to a Model blew my mind but no real Line types, Line weights, Hatches, etc. made it difficult to justify next to ACAD output. Years later when the Pandemic Hit, we looked at the Development of Sketchup and Layout and found a great Community and lots of Youtube tutorials, so here we are. Sketchup and Layout workflow, no ACAD.
Hi All,
Just saw this topic and felt I wanted to add to the conversation.
I got back into CAD after a 23 year break doing other stuff, my career took a different turn.
Back in 2019, I decided I needed to do something more creative with my time.
Trained as a Mechanical Engineer back in the day when 3D solid modelling software first appeared on the scene I started using Euclid (Matra Datavision) running on a MicroVAX mainframe which was aimed at the Mechanical Engineering Industry , a true parametric solid modelling package. This was back in 1978
Over the years I have used and trained both engineers and architects on how to use various CAD packages. From high end software and everything in between like Euclid,SolidEdge, SolidWorks to AutoCad, MicroStation, RoboCad.
So back to 2019, I looked around at the different products on the market after not using any CAD software as I said for over 23 years during which time things had changed.
After spending some time using various trial versions of software, my main requirements for a package were very clear, I needed to find a very intuitive easy to use system that would allow me to be up and running quickly and had the flexibility to grow as the work evolved.
In the end I settled on two products aimed at two different industries
1. Sketchup for it intuitive and clean screen layout for Architectural work.
2. Fusion360 for mechanical engineering work. Has great import and export capabilities allowing me to work with various industry standard file formats
With both Sketchup and Fusion360 you have access to online tutorials guiding you through the process and functionality of the software
Allowing new users to get up to speed very quickly, meaning you will be producing excellent quality output from both in a short timeframe.
Most CAD software packages these days provide various import export capabilities allowing cross-platform interoperability.
The main difference between packages is down to terminology, they all draw line arc and circles and text meaning you can create geometry and ultimately output a set of drawings for both manufacturing or structural purposes.
Itās clear to me if you understand one CAD package you will be able to map the processes in to another once you get to grips with their specific workflows
Sketchup by far is one of the easiest and most fun packages to use. Its clean and some say simple screen layout for me just adds to help me focus on the viewport and the task at hand.
There are a huge number of add-ons/plugins that enhances the base functionality of Sketchup, when integrated in to your workflow speedup the overall output and add to the fun of using the software depending on your particular business needs.
For example, Medeek BIM for rapid architectural work, providing parametric capability into your Sketchup workflow along with the industry leading Vray7 rendering option for photorealistic output.
The reason I chose Sketchup was, well put simply because of its ease of use flexibility and overall quality of output.
Sketchup have a great support team along with a user community ready and willing to help that alone says a lots about this product.
Why did you choose Sketchup?
I was Production Manager for a large architectural practice in Sydney Australia in the 1990ās so it was my job to understand CAD trends, was already a big user of Alias UpFront ( I actually build the Sydney CBD in UF) in so when SU became available here it was a natural progression and we quickly adapted itā¦
PS we were already using SONATA 3d CAD software on unix machinesā¦ outrageously expensive/specialised and I was always looking to provide 3D capability to everyone in the office (70+).
In the 1990ās I started using CorelDRAW since version 3 for fun, but when I eventually changed jobs working for an Environmental consulting firm, I was asked to do Isometric illustrations of piping structures and various processing equipment for operation and maintenance manuals and proposals. This was a tedious, slow, and time consuming process and extremely stressful when updates or redesigns were required, especially with tight deadlines.
After a few years I realized that something had to change and 3D software was going to be the way to go. I tried Rhino because it was affordable, had good customer service and training. However, I disliked the UI and struggled using some its tools and was not very efficient.
An architect friend from Canada named Ross Mackentosh, whom I met in the Xara Forum, suggested trying SketchUp. So I drove up to Seattle for a trade show where Brad Shell was demoing SU2. That was my beginning.
I have attended all but 1 US bootcamp/conference, also attended those in Vancounver and London (sponsored by Rich Obrien). I feel very fortunate and grateful to have made many friends in the SU community, SketchUcation forum, and in Boulder. Iām retired now, but still find myself using SU ā¦ turned 76 last September.