How to design mezzanine floors
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Hi
My company sells mezzanine floors an I'm looking for a good simple way to create mainly 2D warehouse layouts that I can then design the mezzanine into and then maybe convert to 3D.
I've had a little play with SketchUp this morning and it seems really tricky.
Can anyone show me a good way to do mezzanine design or even for someone to point me in the direction of another piece of software.
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@infinitydreams said:
Hi
My company sells mezzanine floors an I'm looking for a good simple way to create mainly 2D warehouse layouts that I can then design the mezzanine into and then maybe convert to 3D.
I've had a little play with SketchUp this morning and it seems really tricky.
Can anyone show me a good way to do mezzanine design or even for someone to point me in the direction of another piece of software.
If you think Sketchup is tricky then most other tools will be impossible! Sketchup is easy to use and intuitive if you give it chance...
I assume you have a CAD package to do the 2D stuff or at least you get this from others as DWG/DXF format ?
Others will probably want your out put in similar file formats ?
You need a Pro version of Sketchup that can cope with these file imports and exports.
The Pro version also includes Layout - a tool to link you 3D models from your SKP file into 'sheets' so you can export 2D views to scale etc. There are also ways of getting simple 2D out of a SKP.
Sketchup's strength is its quick and simple 3d modeling.
A few tips:-
Group or make Components out of 'separate parts' otherwise your geometry sticks together - useful sometimes but annoying if you haven't separated say the floor slab from the columns and you move one and inadvertently mess up the other. A Group is OK for a one of item BUT if you are likely to reuse several instances of something make it into a Component, then if you edit one all of the others change too - e.g. make your column as a component and model your mezzanine... Later you find that the floor has to lift up and all of the columns are now too short... edit one and adjust its geometry so its correct and all of its 'siblings' are changed too [conversely if you want make just one column different from the rest you use 'make_unique' on it and that one becomes another component that is now separated from the rest].
Layers in a SKP are NOT like in CAD. Model your geometry on Layer0 and put your Group/Component onto a layer. Switch that layer on/off to control visibility - putting geometry onto layers may hide/show things BUT they are all still connected behind the scenes so it's not a recommended way of working. If you floor slab parts are on a MEZZ layer switching that off lets you seen the COLS and BEAM layers etc...
There are lots of free components available, so you don't have to model things like a stair from scratch - download one and adjust it to suit your needs. There are even free 'dynamic' stairs where you can adjust them to suit different FFLs...
You can build up a 'library' of your own separate components [SKPs] that you can then import and reuse on other similar projects - e.g. to make columns, beams, handrails, stairs etc... If you are making 2d junction assemblies then plates/cleats/bolts etc are readily available or easily made/reused...
I'd say give Sketchup a chance - do you have a simple example of what you will normally make, that you could attach to your post so we might understand better... -
I do not know of any semi-automatic Cad system to accomplish your task. IMO, if you don't have a 3d Cad background, and don't have resources to spend at least a month full time learning SketchUp, it is unlikely that you will be able to use any Cad system to do what you propose. Your best bet is to hire someone to build your models, then help you with design and presentation. While you can out source building the basic models, you will need someone in-house to service your clients in a expeditious manner.
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I'm not sure I've got the skill set to get what I want out of sketch up and other application to be honest and even if I did I'm concerned that it would take far too long to create the design.
Ideally I'd like to be about to draw a room/warehouse layout in 2D then plot mezzanine floor components in 2D (adding in the finished floor height etc) and it then creates a 3D image based on preset information.
I have seen this done with a piece of software from Multisuite but don't want to spend 4k on software!
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Do you have in house CAD capabilities at all ?
How do you make shop drawings or get approvals etc ?
Do you have a 2d plan you could post, so we can see what you usually work with.... -
Is Multisuite the autodesk structural steel program? From the brief information provided on their web site, I am guessing that it is far more then you need, and even more difficult to master then is SketchUp.
@unknownuser said:
Ideally I'd like to be about to draw a room/warehouse layout in 2D then plot mezzanine floor components in 2D (adding in the finished floor height etc) and it then creates a 3D image based on preset information.
Again IMO, this is unrealistic to expect, especially with an inexpensive Cad program. I would be pleasantly surprised if Multisuite is able to do this.
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Here's a 5 minute example I made showing some basic steps and imported stairs etc...
MezzExample.skp -
In the US of A, in Hawaii at least, adding floor area (a mezzanine) is based on the number of parking spaces allocated to the existing building. The design of the mezzanine is not as critical as this point. In this situation, a Cad program that can evaluate the "floor area requirement" based on the local building code", and the possibility of adding parking spaces to the project' site plan, may be more relevant then the layout of the mezzanine.
As you can see, I have been up too long, and better go to bed.
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In other words, Form follows Parking.
TIG, is there anything you are NOT adept at? Nice summary.
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