WarehouseBlueprint - Warehouse Dynamic Components Extension

Hi all, I have just developed an extension that involves dynamic components for the warehouse environment. You can download the trial version in the below website.

To effectively use the extension, once the dynamic component has been edited in the “component option” correctly, you should “explode” the unit and then “make component”. This will eliminate the formula calculation in the backend.

Do let me know your feedbacks. Thanks.

OK

To begin with, get rid of the music! If these videos are intended for us to zone out while watching somebody use SketchUp to model, they work well. However they fail as either tutorials or promotions. Try no sound and go a bit slower as you demonstrate - perhaps with a bit of explanatory text popping up. Or use sound, but make it informative commentary on what the viewer is seeing.

Next, it appears from the tutorial that, while you might have created an extension that facilitates creation of a single warehouse rack bay as a Dynamic Component, your further use of “Explode” destroys the rack bay’s utility as a Dynamic Component - if my design needs to change, I can’t alter the parameters of the Dynamic Component in Component Options - because they’re no longer there! Instead, I have to start from scratch!

Please tell me: Once I’ve filled a warehouse with racks using your “Create, Array Duplicate (using Move), Explode, Regroup” method, how easy is it to alter if I find my initial assumptions were wrong? If I initially create a warehouse set up to rack 1M tall pallet loads, then find that 1/3 of it must, instead, accommodate 1.5M tall pallet loads, I can see no way to quickly make that change. I’ve got to delete the aisles and start again from scratch!

Please tell me: Say I’ve designed a warehouse with racking filling a 100x100M space. Then the client calls and says they’ve found a cheaper building, but the dimensions are different - now they need racking to fill a 80x125M space. Is my original layout now useless and I start from scratch?

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Thanks for the feedback on the music. I am relatively new to the video creation. Will consider changing that.
These are not tutorials. Rather, the objective is to provide potential users a glimpse of the functionalities. Explanatory text is a good suggestion.

Yes, you are right. Exploding the component does indeed destroy the ability to re-configure the racking.

There are a couple of factors to consider regarding the first scenario.

Firstly, by the time a warehouse designer reach this stage, the chance of changing the racking configuration should be minimal. Most of the time, an AutoCAD drawing should have been done up prior. All the assumptions should have been validated.

Secondly, if indeed a change has to be done, the user can delete the entire layers of racking and recreate again. Duplicating the racking should not take a long time, if the configuration of the first bay is setup correctly.

Thirdly, when I first started learning SketchUp and Dynamic Components, I duplicated a bay (DC) to a row of racking. Subsequently, from the row became a zone, and then finally occupied the entire warehouse. The calculating time required just for placing the racking in the correct locations was long. Once completed, I had to model the rest of the warehouse such as the value-added service area, office area, meeting rooms etc. It was painfully slow.

The lesson I have learnt is to configure the racking and eliminating the formula at the very beginning. The whole work flow becomes much easier.

As to the second scenario you have brought up, I have encountered similar instances as well.

One way is to alter the 100x100m model you have just completed. This however, is not advisable. The reason is because different warehouses might have different pillar spacing. Ultimately, the racking positions have to change. Same goes for the rest of the offices and meeting rooms.

A much quicker way is to create the new 80x125m empty warehouse. Then we start putting in the various components from the previous model such as racking and office equipment.

Creating the various DC in the extension allows the user to configure to the requirement quickly and placing them into the warehouse at the required positions. The concept is similar to building up a LEGO model with the pre-prepared blocks.

Are you able to share with me in these two situations, what solutions will be good in your opinion?

Thank you.

Hi Steven (sjorst), took your advice and did some new videos.

What’s your thought on this?

A proposed layout for a new site that shows the pallet racking, with a dedicated mezzanine on the left and conveyor system for segregating the inventory via dispatch routes.

Rendered image using Maxwell Render.

A warehouse flythrough.

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