How is SketchUp beneficial for architects for creating 3D models?

Aug 16
09:55

2016

Prabhat Singh

Prabhat Singh

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Google SketchUp is a tremendous tool that’s been used mainly by civil engineers and architects in the AEC industry. This tool helps create, edit and share 3D models. This article is a sum up about this excellent tool and how SketchUp training can help you grasp immense knowledge about it.

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Every industry possesses several third party tools that prove to be useful in all aspects of drawing quality. For architects using AutoCAD,How is SketchUp beneficial for architects for creating 3D models? Articles Google SketchUp is amongst the list of helpful tools. SketchUp is an outstanding tool used by architects along with civil engineers for creating, editing and sharing 3D models. It’s extremely easy to export SketchUp drawings to AutoCAD. This tool comes in two versions; one is SketchUp Pro and other is a free downloadable version that’s very limited in its use. The free download incorporates integrated tools for use in uploading Google Earth. This tool is part of the same product family as Google Earth. This tool can help you to import a scaled aerial photograph from Google Earth to this tool with the click of a button.

The Pro version of this tool comes with Layout, which is a 2D companion to the tool. With the help of layout you can create professional design documents, dimensioned drawings, and presentation documents from the 3D models you created in the Pro version of the tool. When the model is updated in the Pro version, the changes are automatically updated in Layout.

Well-matched File Formats

One of the several great features of this tool is that it uses a wide variety of file formats, including DXF, DWG, OBJ, FBX, XSI and WRL. If you intend to save time to import a file into ACA, you can also create a screenshot of the file and save it in BMP, JPG, PNG, EPS, PDF and TIF formats for presentation purposes.

Dynamic Components

Components having parametrics can be defined as Dynamic Components. For instance, a cabinet component has doors that open as well as close. Only when a component has parametric data, it’s considered to be dynamic. These components will display with a special badge when parametric data is present. Attaching attributes to a component is what makes it dynamic. Attributes are items such as the component’s description, name, size, location and number of copies. Some of them are predefined, which means that they are inevitably available for every dynamic component. There are custom attributes as well that are unique attributes defined by the developer of the dynamic component.

Every attribute of a component has a value that can be a textual string, a number or the result of a formula. Each attribute along with its associated value is known as an attribute name/value pair. Formulas can comprise of predefined functions, mathematical operators or the values of other attributes, whilst functions are shortcuts that execute an operation, such as calculating the square root of a number. It’s vital to note that the users of this tool can use dynamic components; however, those who have undergone SketchUp training, i.e. the pro version users can only develop dynamic components.

This specific tool has several capabilities for great quality presentation drawings. Learning this tool from a recognised training institute can help you succeed in this specific domain, as there’s nothing better than going to a meeting with splendid drawings that took only a fraction of the time to complete.