SKETCHUP GUIDE FOR WOOD WORKERS

4:08 PM   សៀវភៅកម្មវិធីកុំព្យូទ័រ  គ្មានមតិចូលរួម

For years I’ve wanted to draw my furniture plans in full-size three-dimensional (3D) models. I dreamed of “building” the furniture on the computer as if I were in the shop, shaping each spindle, board, and panel and assembling them into a finished product. Existing two-dimensional (2D) computer-aided design (CAD) systems were okay, but they didn’t let me view the project from any angle or check its integrity as it developed. I wanted a design program that gave me exploded views of assemblies, perspective color images, and the ability to ensure that complex joints fit together properly.
Finally, I found what I wanted—Google SketchUp. I’ve been using this program since 2005 and will never go back to 2D CAD, nor will I enter the shop without first creating a piece in SketchUp.
SketchUp opens up drawing capabilities once available only to professional designers and illustrators using esoteric, expensive CAD systems. Now you can create virtual furniture, using SketchUp to create each piece of wood and hardware, complete with every joint detail. You can view and check every aspect of the furniture with SketchUp’s array of viewing options, including easily created exploded and X-Ray views. With SketchUp, you can design furniture full of complex shapes and angles, such as a Windsor chair or a Chippendale lowboy with cabriole legs. Once you have all the components detailed in the model, you can use SketchUp to generate full-size templates for the shop. That makes construction much simpler, faster, and more accurate, with less reworking and fewer delays to sort out discrepancies. You also gain a better understanding of construction details, which pays off when you tackle the real project in the shop.