Construction & Working Drawings - Discussion

[pbacot]

Nice drawings Tommy. I think Though, in the future, you should be able to post better resolution, so we can enjoy it more. Looks like you've used SU to evolve your product.

[bmike]

Update on the Round Barn. Its still going up.
Can't really share much... but I've been asked to help template the slate roof.
3 different pitches.
80' dia footprint.
Tapers everywhere.

Concept below, for the middle pitch.
Getting as built conditions from the builder this week. Then will have to generate the slates.
They want to pre-cut as much as they can... over 6000 slates in the lower roof alone.

[otb designworks]

Awesome! Here's hoping the improved vector rendering is, in fact, improved, huh?

Labeling is going to be a treat too, I would image. Sweet frame, btw!

[pbacot]

That's beautiful, Mike. So inspiring while I schlog along with my residential work. Can I come and sweep your studio? Actually it really is encouraging to see this work.

[cotty]

[bmike]

That's beautiful, Mike. So inspiring while I schlog along with my residential work. Can I come and sweep your studio? Actually it really is encouraging to see this work.

Thanks!
Sweep? Ha. You'll trip over the kids toys and have to fight the dog to get in... my commute is up the stairs to my office.

Still amazed that the barn is going to be a working barn. Incredible, really, that they are doing this.

[caronte01]

Hey all.

I've been watching this thread for a while, trying to develop my su/layout workflow based on what' i've seen here and elsewhere. I've produced 1 full set of cd and 2.5 set of permit drawings using su/lo so far. Getting better all the time. I have a scrapbook based on my drawing standards.

I write to tell others about the latest plugin I've found.
viewtopic.php?f=323&t=55072 rich sections

Some may be familiar with it, but for thoses who are not, please try it. It makes the process of creating section faces almost automatic, and hatch materials are based on layer or material. Please give it a look. The setup process may seem a bit cumbersome, but it is not, it's just a matter of creating some additional materials. It has improved my workflow immensely.

Btw, I'm not being payed by pgarmyn it is just that good!

Santiago

[rhciv]

Hello SU Pros! I'm all new here and stuff!!
I have found so much great info on this forum. After reviewing this thread there seems to have been a dry-spell where everybody all but gave up on the LO idea. I attempted to build construction docs in LO back with version 6 and found the wall at some point on every project. I have seen the work displayed lately and am feeling enthusiastic that SU may have overcome the barriers that broke the process for me.
I think one of the biggest issues was pixelated lines when printing. This seems to be fixed with rendering the layer before taking to print. Has anyone else had success CD'ing homes to working drawings using only SU & LO? I am using the PRO Trial to see if I can upgrade.

[TommyK]

I think one of the biggest issues was pixelated lines when printing. This seems to be fixed with rendering the layer before taking to print. Has anyone else had success CD'ing homes to working drawings using only SU & LO? I am using the PRO Trial to see if I can upgrade.

If the scene that you are trying to render is relatively simple, you can use the "Vector" rendering option on a per scene basis. Vector rendering mode, I believe, outputs vector PDF drawings, so should eliminate any pixelations. This is perfect for construction drawings, where textures are not required. The exported PDF also has the benefit of being smaller in file size. If you need to use complex styles or transparent materials, you should also have decent success with the "Hybrid" mode.

Having said all that, I don't tend to get any issues in "Raster" (the standard) mode, if I output the PDF in "High" resolution setting.

I am planning to go completely SU and LO for my next extension project with my CDs. I am planning to use Skalp for detailed sections. Although it's not even out yet, I am completely won over by their videos!

[bulbangs]

Hi everyone, i'm new to using layout to make CDs. Forgive me if this has been asked.

I'm having trouble when inserting sketchup models into layout. I find that corners are rounded rather than sharp.

I can draw a box within layout with sharp corners, but i can't seem to find any way to make the corners of inserted models not rounded.

see image below:

thanks in advance

[zx10r_Gaz]

I have tried to replicate this and found if I changed the output to Raster it seems to have done the trick. Unfortunately the lineweight has been lost, but I'm not sure if this is the correct way to go about it as I have been off SU for a long long while now.

Gaz...

[bulbangs]

Hi everyone, i'm new to using layout to make CDs. Forgive me if this has been asked.

I'm having trouble when inserting sketchup models into layout. I find that corners are rounded rather than sharp.

I can draw a box within layout with sharp corners, but i can't seem to find any way to make the corners of inserted models not rounded.

see image below:

thanks in advance

changing from raster to vector or hybrid sharpens the line quality but does nothing though to achieve what i want: namely, sharp, 90degree corners that aren't rounded.. =(

anyone have any other tips?

[Krisidious]

make sure that all objects have the correct or desired shape style settings.

Capturecorners.JPG

[Charlie__V]

changing from raster to vector or hybrid sharpens the line quality but does nothing though to achieve what i want: namely, sharp, 90degree corners that aren't rounded.. =(

anyone have any other tips?

I had not noticed this before(unfortunately I do not have an answer).......you appear to be very close up in the attached image........are you creating documents at that scale?

Obviously the smaller the scale the less likely one will notice the rounded corners.

Also...It appears (at leat to me)it is related to the pen settings.
IOW.....in an exported .pdf.......if I turn the display pen settings off...the lines are crisp 90°........I know......Still does not help you.

C

[pbacot]

It doesn't look like the shape dialog will help with ports. (this deserves a LO thread-not related to this topic). The SU references all appear to have round endcaps. I think the mention of raster is because raster pixelates the lines so they look squarish.

The only way to square it would be to explode the port so the elements become LO linework which defeats the SU-LO link.

[Tandem]

It doesn't look like the shape dialog will help with ports. (this deserves a LO thread-not related to this topic). The SU references all appear to have round endcaps. I think the mention of raster is because raster pixelates the lines so they look squarish.

The only way to square it would be to explode the port so the elements become LO linework which defeats the SU-LO link.

So where is the documentation when you need it?

I think bulbangs' question does very much belong to this thread as controlling lines in LayOut is at the core of creating construction drawings.

What is the correct workflow? I tried to search the SU Knowledge Base and have to yet find anything there that covers this topic.

A detailed Reference Manual for SU and LO (preferably in PDF) would be very helpful and save everyone a lot of time. I am getting very tired of scouring the web for tidbits of information that should be properly documented by Sketchup.
</rant>

[bmike]

So where is the documentation when you need it?

I think bulbangs' question does very much belong to this thread as controlling lines in LayOut is at the core of creating construction drawings.

yeah, but buried in here, 14 pages deep, few people, including the SU team, will ever see it.

this should be asked in a new thread, and maybe reported as a bug.

[Tandem]

You are right, plus the goal of the OP was to see/show examples of drawings. Sorry, the title throw me off.

[ashscott]

I'm currently working on a project for a kitset company doing some assembly instructions. They have previously just used jpegs from SU to show the parts of the kitset apart so that the user can understand how they fit together but this seems like a frustratingly slow way of doing things. Has anyone managed to do this kind of thing in layout showing parts in different positions based on SU scenes etc?

I tried this a long time ago with proper animation but layout couldn't recognize the animated part positions.

Any clever ideas are much appreciated

[Krisidious]

there are a few exploded view type plugins... I forget the names.

[ashscott]

there are a few exploded view type plugins... I forget the names.

Yeah I have used them, my problem is that layout doesn't seem to recognize their geometry positions unless I save a scene for every single position (like tweens from Keyframe Animation) which is super slow and confusing.

I just wondered if anyone had a more efficient hack for this

[Krisidious]

None of them make the scene for you? I thought they did. made the blown up version and done version.

[ashscott]

Oh perhaps they do. I just haven't seen one that translates those positions to layout - layout seems to only be able to read on position of the geometry for each sketchup file.

Can you remember which plugins you had seen?

[Krisidious]

A have a few ...

http://www.smustard.com/script/ExplodeImplode

viewtopic.php?t=24390


Dave has a tut on it.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/408 ... oded-views

[ashscott]

Both great tools, but layout doesn't recognize the geometry positions

[Krisidious]

what? it doesn't? you're saying you have a scene with the geometry blown up with the plugin and ;layout won't show it as blown up? share the model?

[bmike]

no plugins, but I use my model and then either pull it apart and save scenes, or if i need multiple views use scenes and layers, to keep the camera in the same location. the problem i had with the plugin(s?) i tried was that i always needed to tweak the 'explode' distance depending on the view and the part... if i had to manually adjust them anyways it made sense just to do it by hand.

but that could be tedious if you have lots of products to illustrate.

[ashscott]

what? it doesn't? you're saying you have a scene with the geometry blown up with the plugin and ;layout won't show it as blown up? share the model?

I think we might be missing each other's points. If I have geometry in unexploded position and create scene 1, it will register the geometry in the position. If I then explode that geometry and create scene 2 the geometry will now be registered in the exploded position. If I go back to scene 1 my geometry can switch back (if I've used the right plugins). But when I send that file to layout the geometry is in the same position for both scenes.

but I use my model and then either pull it apart and save scenes

Yeah, I was hoping to avoid this

[sonder]

In case anyone is interested, Trimble came to my office and did an in depth series that will be highlighted in much more detail in the upcoming book I'm co-authoring with Matt Donley.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL ... codO8aATrh

[ashscott]

This is great work Nick. Thanks very much.

I've been working my way through a set of mechanical engineering working drawings and have been surprised how few plugins I really need once I get a good process organized.

I recently heard someone referring to the programming language PHP as "messy" and someone replied that PHP isn't messy but is accessible which means that learners can use it fast and as a result can make a mess but once you know how to use it properly you can do amazing things with it (Facebook runs on PHP).

I feel that Sketchup falls into this category - there is a lot of messy stuff done with SU because it is so accessible (which is great because the barrier to entry is so low) but once you really know how to use it you can create attractive, tidy, practical work.

Nick, you have demonstrated this last point to me many times - thanks.

Video

EDIT: Added the first video for to get people started.