I'll take a bold step forward and suggest all the BIM gurus on this forum to try out SketchUpBIM. More information here: http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=41840

My friends and I have written it over the past few months. The intention is to provide tools to create intelligent building elements (like beams, columns, slabs etc) inside SketchUp. And the goal is to keep it simple (just like SketchUp itself), while also trying to mimic the accepted process-flows in widely accepted BIM products like Revit and ArchiCAD.

check it out; i'll love to hear feedback!

I'll re-open this thread with some fire: check this out - http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=41840

I think I have got the "framework" bit right. The intention is to create smart architectural objects in SketchUp, so that they can be exported as parametric primitives to other BIM engines. Although, the plugin does not have the import/export functionality yet, but I do believe that I have the right pieces in places to do so in a future version.

@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

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

@brewsky said:

@dan rathbun said:

they were working on an exporter at one time... it never was released as far as I can tell.
http://ifc2skpforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=2515651

An exporter won't be as simple as an importer I guess. Somehow you need to add "building properties" to the "empty" SketchUp geometry.
That's exactly what I want to do, not try to re-build revit/archicad in sketchup, but create simple building elements that can be translated/labeled to meaningful objects, which could be re-used(via IFC) in CAD systems.

• faces can be given thickness and labeled "wall", "floor" or "roof"
• edges can be used as paths for profiles(like my current plugin) and labeled "wall", "floor" or "beam"

OMG! great minds think alike

I have been working on the same exact thing for the past few months! I call it SketchUpBIM. Finally, found some courage yesterday to post it on sketchucation. It provides simple tools to create building elements like walls, floors, slabs etc. in SketchUp. Hopefully soon.. these will go out as IFC; and hopefully u can help me with this

check it out: http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=41840. It might come in handy at your work. other BIM experts, please also feel free to comment!

Dex

b/w I am doing the final reviews of the "Basic Tutorial" video. It should be uploaded by EOD today.

WoW! Thank you for the response and suggestions. I have a pretty long and well thought-off roadmap for this plug-in. In this initial version, it was important to get the basic process-flows right - so that on-going development is possible.

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

2. IFC Import/Export: Another important feature. Allowing seemless import and export is probably the main vision of this plugin. There are some other ideas in our team - like using the apis provided by BIM software (like REVIT, and ARCHICAD) to import parametric geometry. I have seen this method to be more reliable in terms of preserving the element types and element properties. But we'll see; IFC seems to be equally important.

Please feel free to add to the list.

Yep, thanks. I can see it as well

The video completes at 3:45. However, I recorded the text for the remaining time as I planned to keep it along-side a normal sketchup window and demonstrate the difference in efficiency. It took me approx 9 minutes to construct the same building in SketchUp without the plug-in.

let's see if this works

[flash=640,480:3l5ebjvk]http://www.youtube.com/v/0cnSoXKUX6Q[/flash:3l5ebjvk]

i have uploaded a sample video on YouTube. It demonstrates the usage of SketchUpBIM tools for the design of a 3 bedroom residential building.

Check it out: http://youtu.be/0cnSoXKUX6Q

[off:u6di0ueh]This plugin has been quarantined.[/off:u6di0ueh]

SketchUpBIM is a free plugin for Google SketchUp. It provides simple tools that make it easier to model buildings and engineering structures. SketchUpBIM provides tools to create grids, walls, columns, beams, slabs and openings. Elements created with SketchUpBIM seemlessly integrate with all other Google SketchUp geometry and operations. SketchUpBIM helps you to cut down the total time that is required to create a complete building model in Google SketchUp.

Free Version of SketchUpBIM can be Downloaded on the SketchUpBIM website: http://www.sketchupbim.com

(OLD VERSION)
SketchUpBIM Installation
(NEW VERSION)
To download the latest version of SketchUpBIM,
visit the SketchUpBIM website: http://www.sketchupbim.com/Product.html

Basic Tutorial: 14 minutes, will make you an expert with SketchUpBIM
[flash=853,480:u6di0ueh]http://www.youtube.com/v/azATxKce3Pc[/flash:u6di0ueh]

Sample Video: 4 minutes, sample 3 bedroom residential building created with SketchUpBIM
[flash=640,480:u6di0ueh]http://www.youtube.com/v/0cnSoXKUX6Q[/flash:u6di0ueh]

best!
Dex