Welcome to our forums! Please introduce yourself :)

ThunderBill2 · June 1, 2015, 4:18am

I learned the basics of woodworking in high school in the 50s and have used DesignCAD in all its incarnations since the late 80s but my first encounter with Sketchup came about three years ago and have been using it exclusively and increasingly for only about the last six or eight months. I consider myself slightly above beginner on SU having had many years of design experience in many flavors. I’m what might be called a master handyman, a.k.a., problem solver supreme. I work alone and bring a wide range of experience to the table.

As I said, SU is relatively new to me and unlike anything I’ve encountered before so I have a few questions on things. I hope the forum has answers.

patrickgray · June 1, 2015, 2:42pm

http://forums.sWho are you, who, who? (show us those pearly whites )
Patrick Gray, there’s a picture on the website http://pistonrobot.com

What is your industry and profession?
I’ve worked at another profession for many years, including that I am an educator. I’ve been working with SketchUP for 2 1/2 years

Where do you use SketchUp? Personally/professionally?
Personally, eventually I will integrate it into teaching, but I’ve got to be sure I totally understand SketchUP first.

Why do you use SketchUp and what is your favorite thing about it? (Besides using it to impress the babes…)
Robots intrigue me, especially walking robots. I’ve watched them for many years and it is remarkable that no one really has gotten the look and feel of
human locomotion correct yet. I feel the critical issue of human appearing walking is to use a structure that uses its form to balance itself against gravity.
The tremendous benefit of an actively balanced structure is that it will have so much more freedom of motion than an inherently balanced structure. In addition,
I feel that one can imagine a general class of structures that have the following features:
They are a structure that can move, they do move, but in all of their motions, they have a constant requirement to keep themselves balanced
It is my hypothesis that this class of structures if their physical geometry and ranges of motions of their joints is very close to that of humans,
Then these structures will move and walk in a manner that is very similar to the look and feel of humans… it’s a hypothesis only at this point

And finally, to the point, wow… is it ever hard to discuss this with anyone in a manner where there is even a chance that they will understand the concept
without using a 3D visual representation… so I decided to put the ideas in a more understandable form via SketchUP models

How proficient are you in SketchUp? Beginner, intermediate, advanced?
sigh beginner only boy oh boy is it ever easy to get lost inside SketchUP models, and, of course, it is truly a world class and very good program,
and every time I ever got lost in a model… it was my fault

What is your current set up? Computer type, SketchUp version…etc. (Your lake house and Ferrari don’t count)
Dell OptiPlex 7010, Win 7 Pro. I use KeyShot for the renderings, whew, those renderings chew up some processing. I constantly window shop for one of the Dell
multicore high end graphics workstations where I could send the renderings over there and let the computer work while I go back to SketchUP, but alas I can’t get
it past the Finance Committee
Do you have a 3DW page with your models, Extensions, or a website you would like to link to or show off to us?
The 3D collection is titled: pistonrobot The website is http://pistonrobot.com The educational videos are created with Camtasia and are on YouTube, all the pistonrobot videos begin with the word Pistonrobot. My advisory group constantly reminds me… I can say in 100 words what most people can say in 5 words
They were pretty specific…never never make a video more than 5 min long. So I just broke the educational sessions into a series of 5 min YouTube videos.
My next planned set is to show how to make robot drawings in SketchUP, their name will be Pistonrobot Little Robot. There’s 13 in the series, they’re almost ready to go,
but I put them on hold so I could create the left leg. Right leg is finally done (27 months, 20 gigs of drawings, 4800 files). So the plan is to send the right and left leg to the 3D Warehouse, and then get the Little Robot videos up to YouTube

Anything else you would like to tell us? (e.g., you once saw a UFO & tried to model it in SketchUp to get a prototype 3D printed…)
The final plan is to propose to Google that they make a pistonrobot building. Inside it would be a series of real pistonrobots that people from all over the world could control. They would send in programming code and Google would run it with real time streaming video so anyone who is interested could watch to see what happens.
This would be run by Google as a place to present advertisements to the people watching and the people sending in programming. There would not be any cost for a person or group to send in programming. It would work very much like the local community tennis courts, people would sign up for a 15 min block of time in advance and when the day and time that they signed up for became available… well… it’s show time

What is your favorite Emoji?
What is an Emoji ?

Do you enjoy long walks on the beach…?
If only I had some time to walk on a beach… so many drawings…so little time

SalvatoreAntonio · June 2, 2015, 10:52am

Who are you, who, who? Hi All, I like bricolage and image processing.

What is your industry and profession? I’m looking for a new job.
Where do you use SketchUp? Personally/professionally? Home use.
Why do you use SketchUp and what is your favorite thing about it? (Besides using it to impress the babes…) I wish to learn something new.
How proficient are you in SketchUp? I’m an absolute beginner
What is your current set up? Small intel netbook, SketchUp Make.
Do you have a 3DW page with your models, Extensions, or a website you would like to link to or show off to us? Before you think I’m trying to capture a teaspoon of visitors in my personal blog, I will say I believe my 3D models will be of very little interest for the advanced users community. They will pass unnoticed for sure, but I promise to share my stuffs all the same.
Anything else you would like to tell us? Every time I save my files the prog crashes - a very disappointing issue for a novice.

What is your favorite Emoji? Never heard about Emoji before I read this line.
Do you enjoy long walks on the beach…? I was born 0.1 miles from the mediterranean coast, so my answer is yes.
Greetings

SketchUpTeam · June 3, 2015, 3:07pm

I moved a post to a new topic: Materials dialog box is incomplete

jack44156 · June 3, 2015, 6:43pm

I am Jake, I help design Solar Fields Using Civil 3D and Sketchup (for a 3D solar site and fly over). I use Sketchup at work to design a 3D model of our 2D sheets to give some of our clients a rough idea on how the site will look as well as showing an estimate of where the shadows might actually touch and using Google Earths Terrain to show what might need to be graded.

I would say I am more of an Intermediate user, I am still getting the hang of advanced details, such as fences, racking, and greenery as well as bending the racking with the contours of google earth.

Work bought me a Dell Precision T1700 with Windows 7 Professional x64, the Intel Xeon E3-1241 v3 @ 3.5GHz CPU, 16gbs of RAM, Quadro k2000 with 2gb of dedicated memory @4GHz all on a 64-bit motherboard. I am using SketchUp Pro 2015.

-Jake

AndrewRubySketch · June 10, 2015, 4:25am

Hi Guys, I am a designer and builder in Sydney Australia www.aadbuild.com . I use Sketchup everyday for design, construction, communication, quantification and specification.
8 years ago I started to mess around with plugins and Ruby programming. The aim was to create a parametric modeling add on for my business that allowed me to design faster.
My vision was not only to work faster, I needed to be able to calculate quantities and use real products. I started a website called www.rubysketch.com 6 years ago. I went to manufacturers that I used and drew up their products, I was delighted by the addition of Dynamic components as it allowed me to create parametric components and add info information inside them. Basically I drew thousands of models and I share them for free on the site. They are all low in poly so they do not slow Sketchup down yet they have enough resolution to be able to be rendered. There are thousands of Sketchup, Revit and Archicad users that use RubySketch everyday so feel free to head on over and get some good quality models for free.
I also created www.plusspec.com, it’s a parametric modeling program that works inside of Sketchup. It adds thousands of adjustable dynamic components and parametric geometry to Sketchup. I needed this to be able to create a model that I could actually build and communicate design intent along with structural intent. To do this it was essential to automate layer creation, component creation , 2D output & a bill of quantities so I could figure out if the design was feasible to build, affordable to the client.
Here is an example of one of my jobs.

it
Here is the model before I started building.

Anyhow, that is me , I look forward to helping out and learning when and where I can. Enjoy your Sketchuping.

arachnode · June 12, 2015, 4:25pm

Who are you, who, who? (show us those pearly whites smiley )

Devin Kendig

What is your industry and profession?

I’m a software engineer, so all industries

Where do you use SketchUp? Personally/professionally?

I bend SketchUp to my will, any place, any time

Why do you use SketchUp and what is your favorite thing about it? (Besides using it to impress the babes...)

SketchUp is a fantastic, simple, and powerful tool. It gives you the basics of what any modeler would need, right out of the box, and if you need anything additional, there’s usually a plugin that will do the trick. If not, contact me, and we can make it happen

How proficient are you in SketchUp? Beginner, intermediate, advanced?

Intermediate/advanced, depends on what you are trying to do
What is your current set up? Computer type, SketchUp version…etc. (Your lake house and Ferrari don’t count)
I have 3 or 4 machines in my house that I use for development. A Macbook Air, a Mac Mini, and a custom built PC that is getting long in the tooth, are my current workstations. The PC is on Windows 8.1, the Macs are both using the latest Yosemite.

Do you have a 3DW page with your models, Extensions, or a website you would like to link to or show off to us?

no

Anything else you would like to tell us? (e.g., you once saw a UFO & tried to model it in SketchUp to get a prototype 3D printed...)

I was the project lead for V-Ray for SketchUp, but have decided to take some time to freelance for a while, travel, spend time with my family, and enjoy life. I’m taking new clients currently, so if you have an idea you want brought to life, let me know.

What is your favorite Emoji?

various hand gestures. They always seem to just barely miss the mark.

Do you enjoy long walks on the beach...?

I have enjoyed walks on the beach at each DevCamp, and loved it every time

Martin_123 · June 12, 2015, 8:56pm

Who are you? I’m Martin.
What is your industry and profession? I’m an engineer formerly in the oil, gas, nuclear and automotive industries.
Where do you use SketchUp? I’ll be using SketchUp for some personal projects which may lead to paid work. One is the layout of a commercial kitchen, the other, if it happens, will be the refurbishment of a Buddhist Centre in Worcester UK.
Why do you use SketchUp? I lost access to my MS Visio disk, so I went on-line for a free package. SketchUp, I believe, is a Google product, and I use Google products because they usually do what it says on the tin.
How proficient are you in SketchUp? Beginner.
What is your current set up? Computer type, SketchUp version…etc. TBA
Do you have a 3DW page with your models, Extensions, or a website you would like to link to or show off to us? Not yet!
Anything else you would like to tell us? Maybe later…!

Hoping to find this a friendly and helpful community, I’ll probably need help, but when I become proficient, I’ll be happy to help others too. Many thanks in advance.

Ok, I must go and post my 1st question…!

3arend · June 18, 2015, 3:37pm

Hi All, My name’s Barend, and I’m the Sales Director of an office furniture manufacturing company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. I mainly use Sketchup to do 3D’s of our furniture ranges, and consider myself as “intermediate”.

SketchUpTeam · June 19, 2015, 3:23pm

I moved a post to a new topic: Change username on forum

delwood · June 22, 2015, 3:12pm

I am Derek - a very old retired cabinet/furniture maker
I have used a Autosketch 2D software for over 10 years - a quick easy drawing tool for projects.

I then got into KITCHENDRAW 3D software and used it in my business with reasonable skill and sold many a kitchen from this package…

I bought SketchUp V5 Pro in March 2006. I was running a business and as time was very short I needed the tools immediately,but had a hard time with the SU learning curve.

Having now retired I still keep reasonably occupied with various projects and thought I would give SU another try. I am again a raw beginner and have to start from scratch, but SU seems to have more to offer ten years on and I have more time to learn.

I am hopeful this time with the many tutorials and support from YouTube that I may have more success than the first time round.

Yes I do also walk on a regular basis sharing the dog walks with my wife on alternate days.

I also keep homing pigeons (as pets) but do not race them. They are out regularly in a glorious flock enjoying life immensely and giving me much pleasure. I also have used drawing packages to design and make lofts, aviaries and internal accessories for them.

My current projects are 1) designing a strong retaining wall in Blocks on footings to raise the land at the end of my garden which slopes off to a 4 ft drop which I intend to back-fill up to the new retaining wall. Kitchendraw is not really the ideal software for this sort of work. So I am looking carefully at the Sandbox Tool for landscaping purposes.

Project 2) is to replace a large flat roof over a ground floor billiard room with a Pantiled Pitched roof to make it more in keeping with the rest of my property. The tricky part is that one end corner of the billiard room is curved round with a radius of 3m which should provide some interesting problems with the rafters and tiling at that point - then of course there is the rainwater guttering.

So all in all I may find myself making numerous visits to the SU Forum

These will keep me occupied for some little time yet I imagine.

Guitarguy · June 22, 2015, 8:40pm

Howdy folks, My name is Sam, Im 25, using sketchup for a few days now, still trying to figure out how to make it talk to things like stl files from thingiverse. I was a Deputy until my leg got pretty badly broken, now I’m…still healing actually haha. I am a professionally trained and certified gunsmith, using sketchup for personal shenanagins with models and other things I can’t buy but that I deeply desire, usually things like coins from the game Fallout, or Judge Dredds’ badge haha.

I’m running Windows 7 on a Dell laptop with an Atom processor.

As for the walks on a beach, I would be happy with being able to walk without a cane by the time this is all said and done haha.

haribon · June 25, 2015, 3:13am

My name is Scott. I work for 21 Acres Center for Local Food and Sustainable Living as a Permaculture Facilitator. I would like to use sketchup to assist with my Permaculture designing. I like how sketchup can let me use our existing maps to create one cohesive one. I am only a beginner, am using Windows 8.1, and have Sketchup Make, but 21 Acres is applying for the Professional grant.

naeembabakheil · June 26, 2015, 3:42am

Who are you, who, who?

I am Naeem Raza

What is your industry and profession?

I am a student of MBA Finance

Where do you use SketchUp? Personally/professionally?

I use Sketchup as hobby no profit,just learning

Why do you use SketchUp and what is your favorite thing about it? (Besides using it to impress the babes…)

Its easy to use and light as compare to other 3d apps…

How proficient are you in SketchUp? Beginner, intermediate, advanced?

I am Beginner just learning as hobby

What is your current set up? Computer type, SketchUp version…etc. (Your lake house and Ferrari don’t count)

I am using Intel Core ix3 10Gb RAM,HIS radeon HD 7790 1BG DDR5 ipower iceq x2 ,using Sketchup 2014 32x

Do you have a 3DW page with your models, Extensions, or a website you would like to link to or show off to us?

No , but like to learn Sketchup so share my new idea with you ppl.

Anything else you would like to tell us? (e.g., you once saw a UFO & tried to model it in SketchUp to get a prototype 3D printed…)

well i like modelling Cars i use other 3d apps but finaly use Sketchup to see 3d Cars …basically i am using Cryengine and want to export 3d modals from Sketchup to CryEngine .

What is your favorite Emoji?

Do you enjoy long walks on the beach…?
Yes

SketchUpTeam · June 26, 2015, 2:53pm

I moved a post to a new topic: High poly model

SketchUpTeam · June 30, 2015, 4:34pm

I moved a post to a new topic: How do you sign out of this forum?

Shooter · June 28, 2015, 7:17pm

Hi! My name is John But they call me “Shooter” Why you ask? Because I engage in the shooting sports such as Sporting Clays, Trap, Skeet and hand gun. I got the free download of Sketchup and was quite impressed about how easy it is to learn and use. I am currently on the 30 day trial of the pro version and are thinking I might keep it. I have Punch Home and Land design that I use for designing buildings for individual and professional use. I got their software called ViaCad thinking it would blend into the H&L program, It won’t. But Sketchup does.

BearDrummer · June 29, 2015, 1:32am

I am Bear, BearDrummer, DaDadadadada (Ask if you want to know), Hey You!, and occasionally Tony. I am an avid old style gamer (pencil, paper and dice style), and a lover of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

I am partner to a beautiful redheaded lady, the dad to a teen and a tween, master to a lab/boxer (mine), housemate to 4 cats, and caretaker for 6 ball pythons (one of which I actually claim for me) and 2 yellow faced red footed tortoises (the tween’s).

I am on disability, partially due to a knee injury incurred during Firefighter training, partially due to carpal tunnel issues, and a few other things. I’ve been everything from a firefighter, to over-the-road driver, to hitch mechanic, to blackjack dealer.

So far, I am using it to model houses in a (paper and dice) role playing game, so those with less “mental map ability” aren’t at a disadvantage. Eventually, we (the redhead and I) hope to model a world we are planning on writing about.

It’s fun! (then again, it’s fun to impress the babes, too)

Most definitely a beginner, as I just lost the “free 30 days”, and it took 3 weeks after I installed it to get started.

I use Windows 8.1 (64bit), Sketchup 15.3.331 (64 bit) on an old Lenovo laptop.

I am sure I will have some of that soon! What’s a 3DW page?

As one would assume with a nickname of “Bear”, I have a fuzzy face.

}8>

Depending on the company, I do! so long as it isn’t stinging nettle season, and I remember to bring 2 bags, one for collecting seashells, and one to pick up stuff that shouldn’t be there…

colin · June 29, 2015, 1:47am

3DW is 3D warehouse, where you could upload some the models you make: