Construction & Working Drawings - Discussion

[beginner]

Hi Dale,

@unknownuser said:

Doesn't sound flawless, so I might have to take certain drawings (ie floorplans, reflected ceiling plans) from SketchUp into one of my Cad programs first on order to accomplish this. Too bad.

Have a look this...
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=47488

[sonder]

@dale said:

@utiler said:

Gee Nick, there must be something you can do about that!!! How do you transfer files to sub- consultants electronically?

This is an excellent question. Our electrical and mechanical engineers all request dxf/dwg drawings as they take our base drawings and build theirs on that.
Can you export layout in dxf/dwg?

Yes you can and in either model or paper space. What I do for my consultants and my floor plans is create a group from slice in the section tool. This accurately isolates simply line work of a plan or section. Then export that group only as a dwg file. They then have a simple background without all the crap that they usually have to erase. So far my structural engineers and surveyors have commented on how my drawings are the easiest to deal with. Pretty funny considering I don't even open ACAD to provide them.

[dale]

Thanks Sonder. That will tilt me over the edge to Layout.
I'm sure there will be lots of questions ahead.

Dale

[bmike]

another recent project:

[porch_unplugged]

@bmike said:

another recent project:

very nice. did you do your foundation details as 2D's in layout?

[bmike]

@porch_unplugged said:

@bmike said:

another recent project:

very nice. did you do your foundation details as 2D's in layout?

the foundation details are 'typical' and were pasted in as a PDF from my engineer.
if you look at the 'Round Barn' project I modeled the foundation details in SketchUp, then detailed in LayOut.

[ccaponigro]

Thought I would jump in here. I'm pretty new to sketchup but have 30 years of acad disappointment under my belt. Right now I use Architectural Desktop for plans and schedules and creating a model from them for all my elevations and layout to present them. I wanted them to look like b/w CD's so I saved the model and changed all the textures to have no color. I would love to do everything in layout but it is hard to give up all the bim and attribute extraction. This is a real project with real clients so it was a leap of faith since I had never used sketchup for a real project before this. We have a permit and it's under construction. The clients love being able to see the model. Constructive criticisum welcome.

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I know the grade is rough but I'm flying by the seat of my pants here.

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Try drawing this in autocad I dare you.

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And some design development for the interiors.

[mwm5053]

Very impresive

[pbacot]

@ccaponigro said:

Thought I would jump in here. I'm pretty new to sketchup but have 30 years of acad disappointment under my belt. Right now I use Architectural Desktop for plans and schedules and creating a model from them for all my elevations and layout to present them. I wanted them to look like b/w CD's so I saved the model and changed all the textures to have no color.

Really nice work! Thanks for posting and the information.
A trick I have used in LO to hide the terrain and create a ground line: trace along the ground line in LO, making a polygon- complete the polygon, below, to mask the terrain with fill, make a duplicate and trim this to use as a thick ground line (without fill)

[ccaponigro]

@pbacot said:

@ccaponigro said:

Thought I would jump in here. I'm pretty new to sketchup but have 30 years of acad disappointment under my belt. Right now I use Architectural Desktop for plans and schedules and creating a model from them for all my elevations and layout to present them. I wanted them to look like b/w CD's so I saved the model and changed all the textures to have no color.

Really nice work! Thanks for posting and the information.
A trick I have used in LO to hide the terrain and create a ground line: trace along the ground line in LO, making a polygon- complete the polygon, below, to mask the terrain with fill, make a duplicate and trim this to use as a thick ground line (without fill)

Thanks! I like that idea and it sure wouldn't hurt to get that terrain turned off.

[pbacot]

Yes, actually don't need the terrain layer to be on, but you may want something to draw the ground line to, at least at first.

[njh]

Hi folks

The plan shown by Sonder looks fantastic! I've tried to attach the one I'm talking about.

I'm just picking up Sketchup and Layout again after a lengthy absence and I'm hoping to adopt it as my full time design package rather than Vectorworks so I have a query about the electrical layout, fans etc on the drawing- are they part of the sketchup model or drawn "on top" of the view in layout?

Apologies if this is explained in the thread somewhere and I've not noticed it.

Neil

Screen grab.pdf

[ArCAD-UK]

I take the line SU is for the 3D modelling bit and LO is for the 2D graphics and notes. Have you looked at the scrapbook facility? That is where you would start to save time if you have an office standard.

[pbacot]

@njh said:

Hi folks

The plan shown by Sonder looks fantastic! I've tried to attach the one I'm talking about.

I'm just picking up Sketchup and Layout again after a lengthy absence and I'm hoping to adopt it as my full time design package rather than Vectorworks so I have a query about the electrical layout, fans etc on the drawing- are they part of the sketchup model or drawn "on top" of the view in layout?

Apologies if this is explained in the thread somewhere and I've not noticed it.

Neil

[attachment=0:358rspb4]<!-- ia0 -->Screen grab.pdf<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment:358rspb4]

Curious to know why switch from VectorWorks (VW OR SU might be my options if my CAD expired--development ended).

The electrical layout by Sonder is done in LO. http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=15911&start=255#p392706

[njh]

Thanks for the link to the part if the post which explained about the lighting layout!

Curious to know why switch from VectorWorks (VW OR SU might be my options if my CAD expired--development ended).

Quick answer is I hope it will be possible to increase speed and accuracy. At the moment I draw everything in 2D in Vectorworks (I'm running architect 2013) so I draw the plans, sections, elevations etc individually. This takes time and leaves me open to errors when updating a plan and not the corresponding section / elevation (or vice-versa). Vectorworks is great but I feel like I could work a bit smarter.

I know that I can model in full 3D in Vectorworks but the learning curve seems pretty steep and I understand from a couple of people who use Vectorworks and Sketchup that they find Sketchup and Layout the fastest way to draw. I'm pretty competent with Sketchup - if perhaps a bit rusty - and I'm beginning to feel my way around Layout.

I'm a sole practitioner and work mainly on domestic alterations and extensions (few new-builds here and there too) but I'm beginning to get involved in larger schemes (complete internal and external re-fit of a largely square 2000m2 office block) so I'm thinking Sketchup and Layout COULD offer me some speed and accuracy improvements for the type of work I do.

I VERY rarely need to share drawings with consultants etc so it seems worth a try?

Neil

[dale]

njh
I have been using Vectorworks since its very first MiniCad version, but stopped upgrading a VW 12.5 because it is so much easier to draw in SketchUp.
Unlike you though, I was doing full 3D in VW, and although I don't remember the learning curve, it was probably because I started so early with the software (or I'm old and my mind is failing)
Like you though, I am ready to make the jump to Layout, since I already do all my preliminary work in SketchUp, it seems a logical step. I currently still export dxf's back to Vectorworks for the final working drawings compiling.
There are a lot of things that I see as failings with Layout, but I was at baseCamp, and I can assure you that The folks at SketchUp are really listening when it comes to Layout.
It seems at the moment though you have to learn the workarounds, (many discussed in this thread), and accept the shortcomings, to get the job done.
There were a lot of folks at the Layout session, who seemed to want Layout to be nothing more than another Cad program. I think this would be a mistake, as Layout offers so much more in terms of presentation potential.
In my discussions, and my question at the session, was essentially asking if it would be possible for the Layout API to be offered to developers, much like the SketchUp API which has spawned so much Ruby brilliance.
In my opinion, this would allow the SketchUp Layout folks to concentrate on the larger picture, while I am sure that we would see ruby developers taking care of the requests for line weights, and arrow types and other details.
I really can't say if this is being seriously considered or not, but I am hopeful.

[njh]

Hi Dale

Thanks for the comments and hopeful speculation about the future of the product. I'm hoping too that Trimble will pick up the ball and run with it to make it an even more useful combined drawing and presentation package.

Like you, I started off with MiniCAD but went to AutoCAD (job change forced it) before returning to Vectorworks at 2010 but in 2D only. Beginning to learn 3D in VW2013 seems a bridge too far...

Neil

[ArCAD-UK]

Hi Neil I've got an Archicad licence. Great piece of software if you do repeat style projects and don't want to do anything that isn't in the box. I'm migrating to SU as I think it is much more focussed as a design tool. Ok it needs development of the many well discussed shortfalls but fingers crossed we should see some great progress soon.

[rtbuild47]

I use LO all the time for Building Regulation and construction drawings and my only
gripe is that to define materials have to use colors or shades, when hatching would be so much more professional.

artybuild

[arcsurvey]

This is my first attempt at a construction drawing for a simple UK lean to extension. I am quite pleased with it but it took a long time to achieve though with practice maybe I can get the time cut down. I find that I get bogged down with the outliner and it takes time to manage my groups. I need to make more use of layers maybe.

I tried to create a hatch pattern rather than using colours to identify the brick and blockwork but it crashed each time I applied it. Not sure why that was.

I cannot decide whether to just model the exteriors in SKP to give the 3D and go back to CAD for the 2D plans or whether to stick with it and try to increase productivity.

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First attempt at a section using skp and layout only