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    [Plugin] SketchUpBIM: Building Modeling made easy!

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    • bigstickB Offline
      bigstick
      last edited by

      I don't want to risk sounding pushy, because I'm really excited to see someone add this functionality to SketchUp, but as I see it, IFC is the de facto standard for BIM interoperability.

      ArchiCAD and Revit are great products, but there are Microstation and Vectorworks as well in the BIM market. IFC ought to be completely independent of any of this, and I think all the apps support it.

      My greatest fear with BIM is fragmentation and lack of interoperability, which will mean that the industry could take 2 steps forward, but 3 steps back.

      Having said that, it's fantastic that you're doing what you're doing, so please keep it up

      [Edit: there is already an app called ifc2skp, and I can put you in contact with them if you want]

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      • thomthomT Offline
        thomthom
        last edited by

        @d_e_x said:

        1. Units: Yep, Metric is important. and T, thanks for the tips/suggestions on the Length class πŸ˜„ I have a few ideas on this myself: after all, my 8 years in the CAD industry should come to good use πŸ˜‰

        I've seen quite a few people new to SketchUp Ruby scripting trying to do the unit conversion manually, which just complicates things. The methods are there to let SU do the work. One just need to beware if one handle Float or Length objects. As some SU's methods returns units as regular floats - in which case it's a float representing inches. Just convert that to a Length - Float.to_l.

        Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
        List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

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        • D Offline
          d_e_x
          last edited by

          @mitcorb said:

          Could one start with an initial floor plate on the ground plane and do the same workflow as shown in the video?

          All SketchUpBIM elements (walls, beams, slabs etc) belong to a particular floor. Also, they are drawn downwards from that particular floor. So in the appended example, 2 walls are drawn on "Elevation 10 ft" (first floor). These wall automatically extend downwards till they hit the level below. In this case, the below level is the ground itself. Hence, there is no need to explicitly draw an additional floor plate.

          @mitcorb said:

          Is it best to work in orthographic view?

          It is recommended: to avoid confusion with the below levels and provide a clean drawing board for each level/floor. However, this is not mandatory, you can rotate the view and keep using the tools. Important thing to keep in mind: the SketchUpBIM tools will always draw on the selected level on the layers dialog. In this case, as "Elevation 10.0 ft" is selected, the tools will snap automatically to draw at this particular level only. I call this a feature, hopefully it will be accepted as one πŸ˜„

          Support01.png

          I will upload a tutorial video by EOD today. This should clear up the process-flows and methodology.

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          • Bob JamesB Offline
            Bob James
            last edited by

            I'm definitely interested.
            I never heard of Building Information Modeling "BIM" before this thread (and Googling it to find out what BIM meant πŸ˜‰ ).
            Certainly for it to be of use it would have to have the capabilities described by pbacot, but as far as I can tell, this is a great start πŸ‘
            Directly cutting windows and doors into thick walls 😲

            i7-4930K 3.4Ghz, 2x GTX780 6GB, 32GB DDR3-1600 ECC, OCZ Vertex 4 500GB, WD Black 3TB, 32TB NAS, 4x 27" Monitors, SpaceMouse Pro, X-keys XK-60

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            • pbacotP Offline
              pbacot
              last edited by

              Looks exciting. The wall layout looks good. The way you cut the windows in the walls is fantastic.

              I imagine this is the basis for many more things.

              However I have to ask: Does this video really represent the way Revit would do things? That you "eyeball" cutting holes into your envelope to create windows? I would think that with BIM I could insert windows by giving the size (or selecting a window from list) and it would be placed at the correct (default/designated) height and might even have some horizontal placement parameters that I can define and use. I would expect the door and window types, complete with casing etc., would become automatically a part of the file (from default designation)--not just holes. Is this actually "next steps" in your development or is BIM different than I imagine?

              Thanks for the posting and the hard work!

              Signed, Not a BIM user--so far.

              Are we ready for a BIM subforum? I See d-e-x has bumped other posts to generate interest

              MacOSX MojaveSketchUp Pro v19 Twilight v2 Thea v3 PowerCADD

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              • jolranJ Offline
                jolran
                last edited by

                D_e_x.

                It's very nice thing to see your enthusiasm and willing to share your plugin. Thanks πŸ‘
                Haven't tried it yet. Little time, no play. But sure looks tasty.

                Something like pbacot wrote, one would expect parametric blocks as a result.
                But that's a different subject. Dynamic Comps are little sketchy to code. Possible to do, but buggy with units if I recall.

                Keep up the good work!
                PS. I wish I could see the code man.. πŸ˜‰ On the other hand I understand why scrambling code.
                It might be the trend to follow.

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                • Bob JamesB Offline
                  Bob James
                  last edited by

                  @pbacot said:

                  Are we ready for a BIM subforum? I See d-e-x has bumped other posts to generate interest

                  I'd say, yes.

                  Personally, I'm not interested in full BIM, but the modeling part that d-e-x has presented is potentially very useful: sort of like Visio in 3D πŸ‘ .

                  i7-4930K 3.4Ghz, 2x GTX780 6GB, 32GB DDR3-1600 ECC, OCZ Vertex 4 500GB, WD Black 3TB, 32TB NAS, 4x 27" Monitors, SpaceMouse Pro, X-keys XK-60

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                  • charly2008C Offline
                    charly2008
                    last edited by

                    Hi Dex,

                    cutting windows and doors directly into walls is really amazing! I do not want to seem impertinent. But would it be possible to make this tool as a separate plugin available? That would be very helpful to the amateur users who does not require the BIM functions.

                    Charly

                    He who makes no mistakes, makes nothing

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                    • D Offline
                      d_e_x
                      last edited by

                      @pbacot said:

                      However I have to ask: Does this video really represent the way Revit would do things? That you "eyeball" cutting holes into your envelope to create windows? I would think that with BIM I could insert windows by giving the size (or selecting a window from list) and it would be placed at the correct (default/designated) height and might even have some horizontal placement parameters that I can define and use. I would expect the door and window types, complete with casing etc., would become automatically a part of the file (from default designation)--not just holes. Is this actually "next steps" in your development or is BIM different than I imagine?

                      @jolran said:

                      Something like pbacot wrote, one would expect parametric blocks as a result.
                      But that's a different subject. Dynamic Comps are little sketchy to code. Possible to do, but buggy with units if I recall.

                      Hi Peter, Joel

                      The opening tool in SketchUpBIM supports both "free-hand drawing" and "accurate positioning" of openings. For accurate positioning, the user can use his keyboard to enter the start and end points of the opening on the wall. This means that the user can place his opening for the window/door at the exact height and horizontal distance as is required. Take a look at the appended screen-shot: I entered (3',3') to start this opening at 3 feet height, and 3 feet horizontal distance. Now, I want to end it at 8' height and 8' horizontal distance. So, I enter (8',8'). As soon as I press Enter, the opening will be placed accurately at this location.

                      Revit follows a very similar process-flow. Openings can be drawn on walls and/or slabs, similar to SketchUpBIM. However, as noted by both of you, these openings are parametric elements that are stored intelligently; once again this is the same in SketchUpBIM.

                      Detailed doors and windows (with casing etc) are components that can/should be inserted into these opening holes after they have been created. For example, in SketchUp you would probably import a door/window model from the 3D warehouse (or create your own) and place it at the location of your opening. Similarly, Revit provides this ability of importing components using something that they call "families".


                      Support02.png

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                      • D Offline
                        d_e_x
                        last edited by

                        @bob james said:

                        I'm definitely interested.
                        I never heard of Building Information Modeling "BIM" before this thread (and Googling it to find out what BIM meant πŸ˜‰ ).
                        Certainly for it to be of use it would have to have the capabilities described by pbacot, but as far as I can tell, this is a great start πŸ‘
                        Directly cutting windows and doors into thick walls 😲

                        Bob,

                        BIM is a "concept" - the more the community thinks about it, the more clear it's definition is going to be. I have been associated with it since 2005, and trust me, every time I have been to a BIM conference, I have heard a new and innovative definition!

                        One of the most important aspects of BIM however, is 'intelligent modeling'. Meaning, that if you draw a column, then it knows that I am a column; or a wall knows that I have a thickness associated with myself, etc. In this first version of this tool, I have tried to focus on this aspect and get the basic "framework" right.

                        If the framework is set up correctly, then it will become relatively easy for me to add BIM specific properties to these architectural primitives. Say tomorrow, I want to add material properties to the walls, or offset to concrete beams etc. Also, this will provide a "unified" interface to import/export such BIM elements to/from SketchUp. So, a long roadmap is ahead - at this time, it is turning out to be very helpful to get your opinions, and hopefully this forum will help me in making this tool popular πŸ˜„

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                        • brewskyB Offline
                          brewsky
                          last edited by

                          Hi Dex!

                          Nice set of features!
                          I'm working on a similar project(less complete but it does IFC export). I'm currently in the process of a complete re-write(improving design/structure/readability).
                          http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=34007&p=299107(just updated with a small revision).

                          Maybee we could join forces?

                          The most important thing for me is to make all my work open source... reading your license... I hope you can be persuaded to change that, would be great if defining BIM could really be a community thing πŸ˜„
                          Also check out: http://osbim.org/, a collection of free BIM projects...

                          Cheers, and keep up the good work!
                          Jan

                          Sketchup BIM-Tools - http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=299107

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                          • bigstickB Offline
                            bigstick
                            last edited by

                            I wonder if there is room for harmonisation of this plugin, and this one:- http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=35798

                            This is such a huge task that I do wonder whether it is too much for one person. The point I made some time ago for creation of a 'framework' which could be used by lots of Ruby coders might still be a relevant one.

                            We have lots of plugins, for windows, doors, stairs, roofs, joists, slabs, foundations, columns, beams etc. Wouldn't it be cool if they were all compliant with this BIM principle!

                            I accept that ensuring consistency with the standard might be tricky, but it might be worth looking into.

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                            • U Offline
                              unclex
                              last edited by

                              How Change Foot to Meter ?

                              thanx for easy use

                              but

                              how change the feet to meter?

                              Like the Picture

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                              • jolranJ Offline
                                jolran
                                last edited by

                                Thanks for the feedback D_e_x. Yeah, know about "families"..

                                Unclex. Unit conversion should be trivial for D_e_x to fix?
                                Like Thomthom suggested.
                                OR heres a version that works in "my plugin" code. I think I saw something similar in one of
                                JIM's plugins.

                                
                                def unitconverter(value) 
                                   conv_val = [1.0, 12.0, 25.4, 2.54, 0.0254]
                                   unit_mode = Sketchup.active_model.options["UnitsOptions"]["LengthUnit"] # 0=inch 1=ft 2=mm 3=cm 4=m
                                   value = value / conv_val[unit_mode]    
                                   return value
                                end
                                

                                However I will switch to Thomthoms suggestion later on. It's more logical and simpler.
                                If I understood him right it should be something like.

                                (value.to_f).to_l
                                

                                Edit: Confirmed it works for me anyway. Thanks ThomThom! A bunch less code.

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                                • D Offline
                                  d_e_x
                                  last edited by

                                  @brewsky said:

                                  reading your license... I hope you can be persuaded to change that, would be great if defining BIM could really be a community thing πŸ˜„

                                  Cheers, and keep up the good work!

                                  Thanks Jan! I am sure my friends and I will come back to you when we start writing the specs for the IFC import/export utility πŸ˜„

                                  b/w SketchUpBIM uses the BSD license which in my knowledge, is the most lenient license in the industry today! As this article (http://opendevice.blogspot.com/2007/06/best-gnu-gpl-vs-bsd-comparison-ever.html) states: "If you want to give your software away for free, use BSD. If you want to share your software, use the GPL."

                                  @bigstick said:

                                  This is such a huge task that I do wonder whether it is too much for one person. The point I made some time ago for creation of a 'framework' which could be used by lots of Ruby coders might still be a relevant one. We have lots of plugins, for windows, doors, stairs, roofs, joists, slabs, foundations, columns, beams etc. Wouldn't it be cool if they were all compliant with this BIM principle!
                                  I accept that ensuring consistency with the standard might be tricky, but it might be worth looking into.

                                  Thanks bigstick, I have downloaded this package. At the first glance, it came to me as more relevant to generic 3d modeling, as opposed to the concept of a "framework" and specifically, building modeling. But defi very interesting πŸ˜„ - I'll take a detailed look at this.

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                                  • D Offline
                                    d_e_x
                                    last edited by

                                    @unclex said:

                                    how change the feet to meter?

                                    @jolran said:

                                    Unit conversion should be trivial for D_e_x to fix?

                                    unclex, joel,

                                    metric units is definitely moving to the top of the development list. However, I do want to spend a few more days before getting back to the code. I would like to collect as much feedback as possible from the community. I want to know if there are any stop-ship bugs, or any other critical features that are important to the people who would like to do "BIM in SketchUp" πŸ˜„

                                    right now.. let me get you excited about the video tutorial. It should be online in another hour!!

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                                    • thomthomT Offline
                                      thomthom
                                      last edited by

                                      @jolran said:

                                      (value.to_f).to_l
                                      

                                      Do you need to_f.to_l ?

                                      Remember, you have Numeric.to_l and String.to_l. You might be doing more conversion than needed.

                                      SU's Ruby API has methods built in so you really do not need to do much work yourself. If you find yourself doing conversion methods, you might be reinventing the wheel.

                                      Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                                      List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

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                                      • D Offline
                                        d_e_x
                                        last edited by

                                        Here is the "Basic Tutorial" for SketchUpBIM. It is about 12 minutes. Request to all users to spend these 12 minutes to get a quick start!

                                        [flash=853,480:2f7tt5ah]http://www.youtube.com/v/QYdVhomvwYk[/flash:2f7tt5ah]

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                                        • jolranJ Offline
                                          jolran
                                          last edited by

                                          @unknownuser said:

                                          Do you need to_f.to_l ?

                                          Hmm, yes the way I did it. I got an error "cannot convert to float" at first.
                                          But now I see you mentionString.to_l. Doh! Totally overlooked that πŸ‘Š . It should do the trick. (The value is coming as a string from webdialog)
                                          Think there was some problems in values coming from dialog at that time.

                                          @unknownuser said:

                                          SU's Ruby API has methods built in so you really do not need to do much work yourself. If you find yourself doing conversion methods, you might be reinventing the wheel.

                                          That's why I brought the subject up here(again), since some users has requested metrics and I got the impression d_e_x was gonna try invent some new method. I could be wrong of course, but just tried to help πŸ˜„

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                                          • brewskyB Offline
                                            brewsky
                                            last edited by

                                            @d_e_x said:

                                            b/w SketchUpBIM uses the BSD license which in my knowledge, is the most lenient license in the industry today!

                                            Hi Dex,

                                            I'm no license expert, but BSD sounds ok.

                                            You might want to check your license file's exact contents, the way I read it it seems to be a bit more restrictive than you meant it to be πŸ˜‰. It says "is not permitted" where I would expect "are permitted provided that..."

                                            Cheers,
                                            Jan

                                            Sketchup BIM-Tools - http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=299107

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