Sketchup and BIM
-
im interested to know how sketch up has improved site awareness of elements not immediately apparent on 2d drawings and how this has improved communication between trades and designers. Any comments from any other forum members would be helpful
For my own part i have found a sketch up model to beneficial in determining scaffolding requirements at an early stage. This has cut down on variation claims and time in negotiation, particularly on detailed structures.
I have also found that because sketch up is usable by a wider audience, more people can have input into aspects of the design in terms of build abilityFrom a clients prospective, particularly because we have a greater input from female colleagues, I have found that they have a more clearer understanding of the final product and it improves their input. Some female colleagues tend to find 2d drawings difficult to visualise (by their own admission and admit some construction issue may arise from this.
again i invite any comments from forum members on their personal experiences, and if they have encouraged others to learn sketch up, and if so, what form has their training taken?
Steve
-
I am using pdf drawings (site layouts) to produce a finished 3d model of a site i am building. However i am finding one or two problems.
firstly, the .pdf file comes in as a whopping file and some of the larger development visualisations would grind my computer to a plate spinning stop.
i have modelled buildings away from the site layout and later imported them as a group and dropped them into position. Is this an efficient way of working? -
@site_manager said:
finding one or two problems.
firstly, the .pdf file comes in as a whopping file and some of the larger development visualisations would grind my computer to a plate spinning stop.
i have modelled buildings away from the site layout and later imported them as a group and dropped them into position. Is this an efficient way of working?try using a pdf printer emulator like PDF995. This will give you another printer in Layout, which will in turn create nice pdf's at 100th the size of Layout's.
switching between vector, raster and hybrid will give you varying results on detail and also program speed. high density model + vector +print to 24x36 pdf can be a doozy. try using the copy from sketchup and paste to layout technique to grab important detail and then it will be vector and efficient.
-
Hi Steve, like minded +1
You've sort of put your finger on the problem, although SU isn't the cure. Construction technology has been on a steep learning curve over the last decade, unfortunately the trades in the real world doing day-to-day construction e.g. extensions & alterations haven't come along for the ride; many still have the mind set that their method used to be okay why should they do it any different now which is also driven by recession and the need to keep costs down.
SU is great for detailing and I've been using it for years but until all operatives either learn to read the detail in the drawing or we develop good building practices that everyone readily appreciates there will continue to be problems on site.
Trevor
-
The point about anyone clients and project personnel understanding 3d is good--if you can put that level or realism in the model. Sometimes it is not possible time-wise to make the model fully representative and you have to be careful to outline what it represents. I think males have the same problems with 2d depending on training. They just have a more practiced way of hiding it when they don't know WTF is being shown.
-
Pbacot
made me giggle did that. i sometimes resort to hitting them over the head with the drawings.
TBH i think the females appreciate it more, and quite honestly their contribution to the design far outperforms the male aspect (once they grasp the design objectives and appearance) -
I know someone is going to shout at me for this one, but it is a problem that is driving me mad.
Simply
I have recreated a design from a 2d set of drawings into a 3d model (a housing project i am currently working on)
i have found a website that has brick samples the architect intends us to use (weinerberger).ok, so i download the sample and now i want to load the sample into my materials, and scale it so the sample accurately represents brick gauge, length and height. This is where i am struggling.
I have used the floating pins to resize the texture so that it reflects course, but the tiling effect is horrible. plus i cannot seem to get the resized panel into my materials. i have tried for hours and been frustrated by my failures.
i am doing something simple wrongly. i have watched tutorials to no avail.What on earth am i doing wrong?
weinerberger also display a larger sample, but horror of horror's they havent put bed joints and perpend in mortar, so the image is see through, is there any way this texture can be made so it isn't almost translucent? (the larger panel) This is a shame because it uses full brick sizes but looks awful applied
-
If you edit the PNG file [in say Gimp or PhotoShop] you can make a new layer below the transparent one that has the required mortar as a solid color... and then export the composite as a new PNG with those [that way you can make several with different mortar colors], then use the PNG to redefine the material's texture using the desired colored mortar in SketchUp. Resize the texture so it is the size desired...
-
Thank you TIG. I don't have photoshop or Gimp, just plain vanilla sketch up on my MAC.
I can see you have done the hard work for me. Thank you once again -
Anything just a little better than the most basic image-editor will do - there are several free ones [like Gimp] that will do what you need...
-
the quickest on a mac
open image in Preview.app
in main menu select 'File' >> 'Export' >> un-check the 'Alpha' box >> Save
import that one into SU...
the mortar will be white, but's it's quick...
john
Advertisement