A start-up software to learn and create 3D drawings
Updated January 28, 2020
A start-up software to learn and create 3D drawings
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with SketchUp
It has been widely used in multiple disciplines, especially those that are associated with design including architecture and interior design, structural design, landscape design, manufacture design, etc. SketchUp helps to create 3D drawings for any given design to satisfy varying design requirements.
To provide a visual assistant to the test setup, I have used SketchUp to build a 3D model of the test unit along with a lab picture to show how the elements in the test setup were connected and transferred forces from the applied load. Apart from modeling, SketchUp was also used for sketching a building in my course project. Following the design requirements, I created sketches of plan-view and elevation view of the designed building in SketchUp to build a 3D model of the design. Based on these models, my project team and I can have a 3D visualization of the AutoCAD drawings and better understand the structure of the building which helped improve the design eventually.
To provide a visual assistant to the test setup, I have used SketchUp to build a 3D model of the test unit along with a lab picture to show how the elements in the test setup were connected and transferred forces from the applied load. Apart from modeling, SketchUp was also used for sketching a building in my course project. Following the design requirements, I created sketches of plan-view and elevation view of the designed building in SketchUp to build a 3D model of the design. Based on these models, my project team and I can have a 3D visualization of the AutoCAD drawings and better understand the structure of the building which helped improve the design eventually.
- SketchUp is relatively easy to start learning how to make 3D graphs compared to other programs that are designed for specific disciplines.
- SketchUp is a free software for all users to download and use.
- SketchUp drawings can be directly imported to some more advanced software to further edit.
- Built-in models and elements are limited in this free-edition software to offer help in the computer-aided design.
- Sometimes it is hard to use only SketchUp to create 3D drawings for complicated structures, and one will eventually source to other design software to complete.
- SketchUp focuses on creating 3D drawings. While as recent software advanced, some design products have already integrated with analysis functions which enable users to do structural analysis on the 3D structure. This means the user would not need to export and import the SketchUp drawings, reducing so much time.
SketchUp can be widely used in different design disciplines while some programs such as Revit and SOLIDWORKS are specifically designed for making 3D or 2D drawings related to structures, mechanical components, and building elements. The interface of SketchUp is intuitive, all of the commands in the program can be approached by just clicking buttons. No code experience is needed to start using SketchUp.