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Great Modeling Software for Simple Needs
November 22, 2017

Great Modeling Software for Simple Needs

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with SketchUp

Our business uses different types of 3D modeling software, but we use SketchUp primarily for on-the-fly drawings or to quickly edit previously drawn renderings. It's great if you want to quickly make a drawing and not necessarily need a full-fledged dimensioned engineering drawing. We find it very intuitive and user-friendly.
  • Very user-friendly.
  • Easy to learn and simple software.
  • Lots of models to use in the 3D warehouse to save time.
  • There are lots of resources for SketchUp to support the user.
  • Exporting/importing files from other programs may not always be compatible.
  • I'm an engineer and I feel SketchUp is more geared towards architects. However, I still find it useful for certain aspects of my job such as creating renderings.
  • Has a tendency to slow down as the file size gets larger. Apparently, it runs on an outdated engine that has trouble with very heavy models.
  • It's good in the sense that you can quickly make a drawing and speeds up the design process. Not sure how to quantify that from a ROI perspective.
  • Also, good for editing an image after the fact. We can easily add a dimension that was forgotten in the original image.
  • Allows team members to understand a design easier than on other software platforms.
It's great to give the customer an overview of how a project will look, but it will never replace the information that a blueprint or engineering drawing can convey. SketchUp is great for the casual user or someone who is just getting started in design work. Other high powered software, such as Solidworks or Inventor is more suited for 3D modeling on a regular basis.
AutoCAD 360, Dropbox for Business
SketchUp is good if you are look for simplistic, quick models that don't need to have a lot of detail. We use this to draw out our preliminary ideas that we share to the whole team. However, once we have a design hashed out, we use a more powerful 3D software to do realistic renderings and engineering drawings. Having said that, I would skip SketchUp if you need realistic renderings or need to create complex models with a lot of texture and detail.