What can Sketchup do?

SketchUp
1

I am looking to learn a CAD program, but I want to make sure I am learning a program that I can use for my goals. I feel like the SketchUp site seems like that are deliberately not telling mew the features. I am not sure when is needed.

Can SketchUp web version create parts list? Can Sketchup web version be download and create a CNC file?

2

What kind of work are you going to use it for, and for whom?

3

SketchUp is often called the ‘un-CAD’ amongst the modellers. This can be an advantage if you don’t have a CAD background, otherwise if you do, it might not meet your expectations.
The free version doesn’t export dxf or dwg, which you probably need for your CNC.
Shop (120 p/y) does export those formats, but depending on how you modelled them, the output might need some tweaking, especially when Arcs are involved. Something that can be easily managed with an extension, but extensions can only be installed in a desktop version of SketchUp.

4

And if you aren’t using it for commercial purposes, but only for personal or hobby use, you can get the old but still free desktop Make 2017 version. It is still very capable. It starts as a trial version of Pro, with all of Pro’s features (as of 2017), but reverts to the Make version after 30 days.

The main features missing in Make vs Pro are:

  • NOT licensed for any form of commercial use
  • no access to the 2D documentation Layout program
  • only a few import and export file types are supported, NOT including most CAD formats
  • a few SketchUp tools are not available (notably Solid Tools) but Intersect Faces can replace most of what Solid Tools can do, just not so easily or quickly
  • a small number of extensions only work in Pro, not Make, mostly the few that rely on Solid Tools

I think but am not 100% sure that there is a free extension for Make that can export to DXF, but not afaik to DWG format.

There’s also an extension that simplifies export for CNC but I can’t remember if it needs Pro.

There’s a long thread about the extension that does this. Search this forum for “Simple DXF” to CNC exporter

5

SketchUp is wonderful and I love it! But it does sound like you might need something like Fusion 360. Download the 30 day SketchUp Pro demo and Fusion 360 and see how they work for you.

6

Simple DXF does NOT require pro.

7

For the foreseeable future, just hobby woodworking work for myself. The benefit of CNC would be for cutting stuff more precisely than I can by hand.

8

Make 2017 should do all you need, then. And will when you need it, be able to use Simple DXF.

And if you are occasionally needing CNC output as DWG, someone on the forum with Pro (me, for example) could export it for you.