I am new to SketchUp (2 days old) and so far I am enjoying using it. SketchUp was recommended to me by my CAD Mechanical Professor, due to the arduous time I was having with creating a 3D object in AutoCAD. I spent countless hours attempting to create my final with no light at the nend. When I stared using SketchUp, the light burned so brightly, I am not partially blind (not serious). In just he past couple of days, spening roughtly 8 hours (remember Iam still learrning SketchUp) vs over 30 hours in AutoCAD, and I have made significant headway.
I wanted to share this story, and my project thus far. Even though it is not complete, and it does not have to be perfect, I am happy with the results from a beginner stand point.
ALso to note, the only videos I have watched for assistance were how to use move, drag, copy, lengthen lines, and how to use intersection. Other than that, I am self taught.
I am open to ideas, suggestions, and such as well.
This looks very nice. There are a few stray lines and some edges that could benefit from being hidden on the back side but in general this model is very clean, everything is square and coplanar, congratulations. To take things to the next level you could start to incorporate components and groups more extensively into your models. There is one group containing the front face but the rest of the model is a collection of raw geometry. It’s working OK here but if you needed to edit this model you would soon run into complications. Best practice is to make groups and components of all sections of the model as build it. Especially leveraging the power of components to mirror symmetrical or repeated objects. Most design processes are iterative, with many layers of edits and changes as the process goes along. Using components and groups, and also tags to control visibility of said components and groups makes making changes and re-working sections of the model much easier.
I did notice the plugs are not centered or evenly spaced on the front panel. but I’m not familiar with the object so maybe that’s intentional?
Also consider, Model Info>Units> turn length snapping off, it can lead to misalignments and confusing snapping.
What would you be wanting to do with this model? Many of the typical beginner mistakes (broken surfaces, reversed faces) are not present here, so you are clearly ready to progress, but to know better how to offer advice it would be helpful to know what kind of work you are planning to do with SketchUp. For instance, this model has single surface walls with no thickness, fine for visualization, but not for making construction drawings which might require a wall thickness. Check out the Campus for more learning tracks.
Thank you for the feedback. It is greatly appreceated.
The original model is from a Nintendo Gamecube. Th only dimension given are the basic 3; height, depth, and width. The rest are from me eyeballing the rest from my Nintendo Gamecube.
I just learned about groups today from a video I watched for how to intersect two objects, which is why the front plate is the only group. I took me about 3-4 hours just to get that front plate where it is and was not fun. I am sure there is an easier way to put the 4 created plugs and the 2 lower slots in that plate. Even the 2 lower slots are not as decent as they could be. That is what learning is for.
I am not sure how components work. I know how to create them, but that is the extent of that knowledge.
What are tags?
I know about layers from AutoCad, but did not see anything like that incorperated here.
For the model, I am still in the process of creating the entire GameCube while learning SketchUp. The back is far from complete, and I am still learning the functions of SketchUp.
This model is for a class. My professor is the one who suggested I use SketchUp for this. The model itself does not have to be perfect be any meants. The condition it is in, is more than enough for the class, but I like to increase my knowlege for future reference.
Components and groups are essential to really get cooking in SketchUp. Tags are like layers, and also a crucial part of SketchUp, but as all geometry interacts automatically (sticks together) with SketchUp, it’s important to really understand tags before using them as it can break models if used incorrectly. The Campus link I posted is a great resource to learn all of this.
You posted SketchUp Studio as your version in your profile, is that right?
Tape Measure to set a guide, move/copy that guide to the other side of the panel, using move tool with modifier key. Type “/5” to distribute 4 guides (5 spaces) across the face. Open the group, right to left select the plug geometry, move tool, grab it by the top center, lock the move direction with the right arrow key, move it to the guide. Repeat.
