Are you ready for SketchUp 7 news?
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@lewiswadsworth said:
So the owner (!) of Auto-de-sys (maybe it should be "Auto-de-fé") was at the booth at the AIA convention today. He went on and on about people were always sending him SketchUp models that couldn't be 3D printed, and that they ended up completely rebuilding the models and SketchUp was a primitive toy and so forth.
I interrupted him and pointed out that I've never had any problem with getting my SU files made into STL for printing, and that I've helped various firms win major RCP's with SketchUp models and renderings, and even done fairly well myself in a few. He insisted this was not possible; I suggested that I was simply very lucky. He insisted I couldn't turn SketchUp files into STLs. I said I used a script, or if it was too complex I simply imported the file into Rhino and used their STL exporter. I suggested again that perhaps I was just really, really lucky.
He became really, really angry. I thought he might hit me.
I mentioned this to...ahem...another SCF regular in attendance, and she suggested it was because SketchUp is eating away at his retirement fund, and he knows it.
(I did see the demo for their SketchUp-challenger, which is about 80% of the old FormZ tools minus any of the cool NURBS capabilities and with a warmed over SU interface. Yawn.)
I'm hoping that you're wrong. I want their Sketchup challenger to wipe the floor with Sketchup. If that happens then Google will have serious motivation to improve SU. If SU's challengers are nowhere near as good as SU then they don't need to improve.
I know nothing about STL's and 3D printing. Is the script you used your own creation or one that is widely available? If you are one of the few people who can create STL's with SU and the new A-d-s system does it easily I can understand him getting pissed off with you.
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You're a great source of underground info, Lewis.
Very interesting, very interesting
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@lewiswadsworth said:
On a completely different note: I mentioned this in the Ruby forum, but to repeat it here: Elsewhen at the convention, while discussing running SU on Linux, I was asked by a certainly Googler if I had tried the new SU7 beta in Linux under WINE yet. When I did a double-take, he said, "Oh, wait, we haven't let that one out yet, have we?"
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There was a big print of that bathroom rendering of yours (the one with the square sinks and water coming out of the faucet), KB, at the Podium booth. I hadn't realized you did that with Podium.
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Actually, to get the 3D printing goodness you have to shell out for the full FormZ package, $3750 a seat, as I understood them...what a deal for all that early nineties "MAC system 7 interface" glory! The SketchUp clone is $500.
I pulled one of the SU stl Ruby scripts off here:
(Edit: I think it is the same script here. Didier would know:
http://www.crai.archi.fr/rubylibrarydepot/ruby/ )
It doesn't always work, but then Rhino's will. Actually, much of the trick to getting a good STL is disciplined modeling...you have to make sure you don't leave naked edges in your model. SU doesn't have a tool for finding them (if you've been careless) that I know of, but Rhino does.
Even Blender writes STL files. I used it the other day to extract a Blender mesh for reworking in Rhino.
STL export is not a big deal, certainly not worth three grand. A basic 3D printer from Zcorp is only ten grand, and it comes with shelling software. I'll tweak scripts and save my money for the hardware.
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On a completely different note: I mentioned this in the Ruby forum, but to repeat it here: Elsewhen at the convention, while discussing running SU on Linux, I was asked by a certain Googler if I had tried the new SU7 beta in Linux under WINE yet. When I did a double-take, he said, "Oh, wait, we haven't let that one out yet, have we?"
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@lewiswadsworth said:
...asked by a certain Googler if I had tried the new SU7 beta in Linux under WINE yet. When I did a double-take, he said, "Oh, wait, we haven't let that one out yet, have we?"
Bah! Humbug!
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Cool, I'm ready for Sketchup 7.
Wishlist:
- Import / Export gif animated images for use in textures on a model.
- The clipping / slicing bug to be fixed.
- More Speed rendering, especially when the shadows are turned on, in hidden geometry mode and in textures.
- Visual Basic Script functionality along with ruby.
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I did talk about scripting languages with John Bacus. I would have preferred Python to Ruby, personally. Ruby always feels oddly like a debased mark-up language to me, on a grammatical level.
That ain't going to change, it seems, though. They are very happy with the way the Ruby scripting is working out.
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lewiswadsworth: any pics from AIA ? want to see how the big Podium renders came out
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@unknownuser said:
lewiswadsworth: any pics from AIA ? want to see how the big Podium renders came out
Me too
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Cool, I'm looking forward in using the new Sketchup 7.
I may design a 2000 acre maze with it soon. -
Spent the morning of the last day at the AIA meeting in the exhibit hall...sorry I didn't check SCF earlier, or I would have taken a photo of the Podium booth. Your rendering looked pretty good blown up, KB. They said they had some issues with their printer, and couldn't get it as large as they would like.
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And Bryce, in the distance, added, "Yeah, and it's biodegradeable."
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Thanks for the news Lewis.
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I also spoke with Aidan for a while. He said he is enjoying the conspiracy theories expressed here.
Yes there is a SketchUp 7.0--no they haven't let it out even to beta testers yet--no they don't know when because they're still working on it but they think we will like it--yes they made some changes--no they won't say what but they do pay attention to us.
Almost forgot: yeah, there will be some big improvements (unspecified) to Layout as well.
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Other gossip I almost forgot to mention:
You may or may not remember that I teach graduate courses in 3D modeling, design, and illustration at an architecture school. I mentioned to John and Tom that my students were really enthused over Dale's subdivide and smooth tool.
They both asked, "Are tools like that really that useful to architects? Are you really that interested in curvy things?" I replied that FOG and Zaha both taught at the school where I received my degree, so any opinion I expressed was probably a little non-typical. But my students now that I am a teacher myself have constantly asked me for such capabilities, and always disparaged the rigmarole I gave them (pre-S&S)on extruding beziers and messing with the Sandbox tools. And even post-school for me, working in various firms that were not particularly cutting-edge, there had been times when I had to produce more organic forms than SketchUp could easily supply.
They were really interested in my answer. Conspiracy theory #1, anyone?
Also, John asked me if I or my students had any use for the Styles features. In all honesty, no, I told him, although I did have a few projects before Styles came out where I created something like Styles using the old edge display panel and judicious use of Photoshop. I still use a great many other NPR techniques for formal presentation and illustration work, just not edge Styles. However, my students apparently use Styles constantly, mainly to disguise the fact that they are using computers when they present work to the typical Luddite dinosaurs who have appointed themselves as design critics.
John was really, really interested in that answer. Conspiracy theory #2.
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Thanks again for the info Lewis.
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So it seems like the Googlers are following this thread...when I said hello to John Bacus yesterday, he replied, "Oh hi Lewis...sorry you all hate us!"
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Anyway, I was joking with him today about the "SketchUp 7 on Linux" gaffe of the day before, which I described above. I asked him if he could tell me anything about 7 that I could post at SCF.
"Tell them it has...lasers."
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Just goes to show how detached they are. ... sad really.
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@lewiswadsworth said:
I also spoke with Aidan for a while. He said he is enjoying the conspiracy theories expressed here.
Yes there is a SketchUp 7.0--no they haven't let it out even to beta testers yet--no they don't know when because they're still working on it but they think we will like it--yes they made some changes--no they won't say what but they do pay attention to us.
Almost forgot: yeah, there will be some big improvements (unspecified) to Layout as well.
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Cool, hopefully it come soon. I'm planning on creating a 2000 acre maze with Sketchup 7..
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