Tag: Jeff Levy

Sketchup Applications presentation

Jeff Levy gave an interesting set of hands-on presentations about Google’s Sketchup tool at the 52nd Annual Technical and Educational Conference.  Of course, Sketchup is a free 3D modelling application that uses mesh faces for the conceptual stages of design and graphic arts.  It seems to be most useful for architectural and civil engineering fields.  It also has functionality for mechanical engineering, such as simple physics simulation and animation (with plugins).  Some examples of this may be found on Youtube.   Sketchup Pro is a paid version that has some additional tools, such as Sandbox which allows the user to create natural looking topography.

Levy claims that companies are investing millions of dollars to develop Sketchup plugins.  The Google Sketchup community “has a plethora of models in the 3D warehouse”.  Models of real buildings may be added to Google Earth.  There is also 3D rendering available that has output which is almost like photography.

Levy advises to apply layers to elements within Sketchup.  Apply useful names to those layers.  Layers work differently in Sketchup than other applications as they don’t control visual properties.

Levy stated that his architectural students are asked two questions when they interview for jobs.

Do you know Revit?

Do you know Sketchup?

As with any 3D modelling application, users must learn the best workflows to get desired results.  Levy warns, “you get into trouble if you think like you build,” particularly when applying materials to elements that will be replicated within the model.

One area of difficulty with Sketchup is selection.  The selection window doesn’t have a field of depth.  Levy advices user to be careful in how they select elements, as unintended changes may occur.

Annual Technical & Educational Conference Day 2

Due to timing and problems with my flight, I didn’t get into Kansas City until 12AM last night.  Obviously, this means that I completely missed day 1 of the Annual Technical and Educational Conference.  The schedule for day 1 of the conference was geared towards part 1 of a full two day course covering GD&T principles.

When I arrived to the conference this morning, I was immediately greeted at Registration by Donna Brenton, who help organized the event.  Not long after that, Floyd McWilliams (ADDA President) introduced himself to me.  Olen Parker, ADDA Executive Director, introduced himself right after.  This conference is put on by a very friendly group of individuals with lengthy experience in the field of design drafting.

Day 2 of the conference started out with a brief opening word from McWilliams.  ADDA Board of Directors each introduced themselves to everyone.

The first breakout presentation I attended was by Jeff Levy, who covered Google Sketchup very well.  There was also an interesting presentation and video by Dr. Edward Price, who discussed the Chicago Stormwater Retention System.  After that, I sat in on a portion of the second day of the GD&T training course.  My own presentation in the afternoon covered the establishment of company CAD procedures.  Finally, there was a very engaging presentation by Terry Schultz that covered workplace ethics.  I’ll go into more detail about most of these presentations at a later date.  As I’ve learned from other conferences, it’s a good idea to pace my coverage over the couple of weeks that follow the event.

So far, I’m seeing a lot of value in this event.  The GD&T courses are high quality.  There is enough variety in presentations to justify attendance for just about anyone in the drafting field from all areas, including mechanical engineering, architecture, civil engineering and graphic arts.  There is a lot of focus on covering several CAD applications, including SolidWorks, PTC, AutoCAD and Revit.

It should be noted that I did receive a pass to attend this event, although I’m kinda earning my keep by being a presenter.  No other expenses were covered by the ADDA.