Hi, mrwmrutski.
PowerPoint is an easy prog to learn. Back when I learned it, I was putting out useful presentations after only a few hours. It was fun and there was steady learning, with discoveries made along the way that improved use of the prog as I went along.
Ppt is intended for presentations, not for drafting. But it works pretty good for the latter anyway, more or less. It has some shortcomings that I wished to overcome. I was expecting that SketchUp would be the answer.
I don’t do designing or drawing as a profession or as hobby. It is a sideline, an accessory to getting other things done. So learning (and paying for) something like AutoCad is out of the question.
I checked out SketchUp, and was quite impressed with the first few tutorials. In no time I was building silly houses with extensions, doors and windows, and of course cylinders sticking out of everywhere. It was really easy. I was totally considering showing it off to an architect friend of mine who still uses pencil and paper.
But I’m glad I didn’t because once you try to serious work in SketchUp, the fun ends and the drudgery begins. The intro deceives, it makes it seem easy when it is not. As you suggest, it might take a few months to become comfortable with it.
Although Ppt is not a drafting program, it actually works quite well for this secondary purpose for the relatively simple task that I have.
As I mentioned, I have a cardboard model of my device. The model was built by eye, with several modifications made along the way. It bears the scars of these changes. It is not quite symmetrical either. The measurements that I show in my drawing are the actual dimensions from the model.
The prototype worked really well. So my goal as already mentioned was to improve the model, make it properly symmetrical, and rationalize some geometric inconsistencies. See, the Ppt drawing hides the fact that the box won’t close perfectly, because of 3D geometry. One of the faces has to bend a bit. There are one or two other geometric issues too that I would like to solve. A good 3D prog should be able to fix all these things.
I’m pretty sure SketchUp can do all of this. But for my requirements, it is way too hard to use. And I reject comments from SketchUp fanboys that suggest I am lazy or that I should just put in the effort. That is crazy. Why should I work for months to learn some prog when I can do it in Ppt in a few hours?
And I’m a bit angry about it because the SketchUp interface, GUI and first tutorials imply that it is all so easy. IT’S NOT. I don’t appreciate being deceived.
Anyway, one has to cut one’s losses. I have uninstalled SketchUp. And the prog took one final swipe at me! After the uninstall, a little questionnaire came up asking me why I had uninstalled it. I clicked on “Too hard to learn”. When I submitted my response, the web page came back angrily saying I had neglected to complete one of the fields, and told me completing it was mandatory. I just closed the web page.
Goodbye, SketchUp!