Driving Dimensions

RayOchoa · 15 Feb 2009, 18:25

excuse me but can you use this on more complex things like maybe Automobiles and things like that?

Dmitry Ushakov · 16 Feb 2009, 12:08

Hello Mike,

Thank you for the interest to Driving Dimensions!

We will definitely port our plugin to Mac OS, but first we have to release a Mac version of our geometric solver LGS 3D, which is the base for the plugin. We are already working on that.

Dmitry Ushakov · 16 Feb 2009, 12:17

Dear ilay7k,

Thank you for the interesting idea of the integration of Driving Dimensions with Dynamic Components! We have no particular plans for that yet, but in the forthcoming versions of our plugin one will be able to use variables and formalas when specifying values of driving dimensions.

Dmitry Ushakov · 16 Feb 2009, 12:22

@rayochoa said:

excuse me but can you use this on more complex things like maybe Automobiles and things like that?

Why not? The only limitation of our plugin is that it cannot be used to dimension grouped entities (ones placed inside components).

But if one speaks about automotive design, he/she usually means things like class A surfaces or at least the possibility to specify G0/G1/G2 connections between curves and surfaces. Current version of Driving Dimensions does not support them. In the forthcoming versions we plan to support a tangency constraint with arc curves.

Edson · 18 Feb 2009, 17:52

as usual, windows only!

xrok1 · 18 Feb 2009, 23:12

and there's a prime example of why i don't own a MAC.

it could be a nuclear powered ,thermo dynamic ,speed of light*2 ,quadruple core ,16 pipeline ,32gig of genetically enhanced organic ram computer ,that can read my thoughts but if you can't get the software??????

Mike Lucey · 18 Feb 2009, 23:38

For the Intel Macs its just a matter of switching over to SketchUp via Bootcamp .... a bit mesy but no big deal

Mike

PS: Am I being smug

Edson · 19 Feb 2009, 09:53

@mike lucey said:

For the Intel Macs its just a matter of switching over to SketchUp via Bootcamp .... a bit mesy but no big deal

Mike

PS: Am I being smug

or via Fusion/Parallels, which is even easier...

Gaieus · 19 Feb 2009, 12:25

@edson said:

as usual, windows only!

Don't be impatient, Edson!

@dmitry ushakov said:

We will definitely port our plugin to Mac OS, but first we have to release a Mac version of our geometric solver LGS 3D, which is the base for the plugin. We are already working on that.

xrok1 · 1 Mar 2009, 21:28

@dtrarch said:

Dmitry

2d lines can be used to generate 3d walls and as reference for plan development too.
(Also one can convert lines to construction lines and vice-versa with existing scripts for grid and reference use.)

Parametric line adjustment when developing design schemes is very useful.

A constraint to retain the angle at corners would be helpful in this regard.
(a lock corner/angle/geometry function perhaps)

dtr

could you elaborate on this, i've been looking for a way to do this.

Pixero · 3 Mar 2009, 13:55

Is anyone able to use it on groups/components or inside a group/component?
(I almost never have ungrouped parts in my models.)

Dmitry Ushakov · 12 Mar 2009, 15:30

Dear Driving Dimensions users!

Today we launched the version 1.0 of our DD plugin. You can download it at DrivingDimensions.com. Since October 2008, when we released the version 0.1 more than 5000 users from 95 countries (according to Google Analytics) downloaded preliminary versions (from 0.1 to 0.4). We did not expect such a high demand for parametric plugin for SketchUp - it was a pleasant surprise for us. Thank you for that!

With release 1.0 we are going to attract the attention of professional SketchUp users. So now we propose two versions of our plugin: free and Pro. The free version is not intended for commercial usage and has one functional limitation: you cannot add more than 25 driving dimensions to one SketchUp model. No other limitations exist. We consider this limitation as insignificant for non-professional users, since 25 dimensions are generally enough to play with DD and to create simple parametric models.

Pro versions (for only $45 per single user license) is intended for professional users who create complex designs. For them we also propose a new feature called inreffed dimensions that consists in automatic generation of implied driving dimensions when you draw a rectangle or apply a Push/Pull tool. We have prepared a special tutorial that introduces inferred dimensions feature. This feature can also be switched on in the free version, but be aware that the limit of 25 dimensions is reached very fast with inferred dimensions.

Among other improvements of version 1.0 I can mention:

New look and feel (icons, cursors, message boxes, menus, "About" window)
New types of driving dimensions (between an edge and a face, between two faces)
"Update Dimension Values" tool (in addition to "Update geometry")
Options dialog

Please read the full press release to learn more about Driving Dimensions 1.0. And don't hesitate to criticize
I wish you to enjoy the new parametric possibilities in SketchUp!

xrok1 · 13 Mar 2009, 02:22

awsome! simply awsome!

Mike Lucey · 13 Mar 2009, 05:00

Well done Dmitry on a great product also a well thought out business plan that caters for both Pro and Free users

Mike

Dmitry Ushakov · 5 Jun 2009, 04:03

I have a news for you guys - we are about to release our Driving Dimensions plugin for Google SketchUp running on Mac OS X.

If you are interested in beta testing this software (before the official release), please let me know.

Gaieus · 9 Jun 2009, 18:56

There is a beta out there for Rhino now. I don't use Rhino so have no clue if it's of interest of anyone but well, who knows.

Dmitry Ushakov · 24 Jun 2009, 04:03

Hello everybody!

Yesterday we released version 1.1 of our Driving Dimensions plugin for SketchUp that runs on both Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Mac OS X (10.4+) platforms.

Small functional enhancements include a new help button on the toolbar and improved behavior when selecting dimension arguments. We have also fixed several bugs - thanks to all beta testers! We are very excited to see 10,000 downloads of our plugin since November 2008, thank you for the interest to it!

You can find the full press release here and download the plugin here.

And here is a simple TV pedestal I designed yesterday on Mac to show you how our DD plugin can be applied to control thinkness of shelves when you change the overall dimensions of the predestal (you can download the corresponding model with driving dimensions at 3D warehouse

Mike Lucey · 26 Jun 2009, 10:53

I have the mac version loaded now and have been playing around with DD. One thing worth noting, in my case anyway, was that after loading it is a good idea to go into the settings and not have the plugin automatically start 'doing its thing' when SketchUp is opened.

After loading DD I had forgotten that it was onboard. When I opened SketchUp the next time I was quick to realise DD was there as it was showing the various 'driving dimensions' as I drew.
However I was not in this particular 'design mode' and didn't want to see this process in action. I was importing and drawing from an Acad file. The problem was solved after I read the instructions and played around with the setting and got DD into hide mode. Okay, I know I should read instructions first

My suggestion is that maybe there should be a more obvious switch to hide / unhide DD.

I would also be interested in hearing about the various types of SketchUp designs that people would find Driving Dimensions useful for. I imagine, in my case, I should be able to use it for making short work of some 3D and 2D details that I often do and maybe help to build up a library. DD would appear to be one of those tools that one has in the toolbox and finds uses for it that, even possibly, the developers had not thought of.

Mike

Dmitry Ushakov · 27 Jun 2009, 01:51

Thank you for using our plugin, Mike!
By default the plugin does nothing when you draw your model.
Didn't you change any DD option or used previous versions of our plugin on your computer before?
If you installed it for the first time, DD should be inactive until you manually create any driving dimension. Could you please confirm? (Probably there is a problem on our side?)

Your question about various types of designs with DD is good, and probably some users will share their experience here. I particularly see that DD should be useful inside components (with version 1.1 it is possible!) For example, you can take the TV pedestal model mentioned in my previous note and insert it into your design as a component. Then you use driving dimensions (already existing inside this component) to adjust it for your particular size.

Dmitry Ushakov · 25 Nov 2009, 09:54

Hi there!

We have just released a new version (1.2) of our Driving Dimensions plugin for SketchUp.
What's new in brief:

Support for national languages
Japanese translation of GUI
Less edges and faces are now moved when you edit a driving dimension value
The time required to solve driving dimensions has been significantly reduced
Several compatibility issues with other SketchUp plugins solved

Please read the full press release on ouw website.

We invite all users of the free version of Driving Dimensions to help us with translation of the plug-in to different languages. As compensation, LEDAS will provide all collaborators with Pro licenses of the Driving Dimensions plug-in for SketchUp at no charge.

Please enjoy using our plugin and don't forget to share your ideas with us!