I am a k-12 digital integration teacher/ technology director. Looking for validation to use sketchup pro 2015 as the primary CAD software for 9-12. Is sketchup sufficient to teach/train students who graduate high school and go to university programs or technical schools or do we need to use AutoCad? My feeling is SketchUp seems like it does a great job time-to-product and it gets the concepts and fundamentals in place. By the time they get to college if they want to step up they can learn the CAD software used there (or on the job). I may be off base here. I would like validation either way.
SU is not a CAD program, and it does not position itself as such in the marketplace. It is a 3D modeling program. If you are concerned about 2D drafting that conforms to all prevailing standards insofar as things like line conventions, dimensioning and tolerancing, and use of symbology are concerned, SU will not be able to perform as a drafting tool at that level.
If you tell us more about your criteria for a CAD program and your teaching objectives for your students, we can give you a detailed response as to SU’s ability to deliver on those requirements.
You don’t necessarily need AutoCAD to do production-level drafting. There are less expensive work-alikes that can do that very well.
-Gully