By Vuthisa
Today, 3D design is the heart of product innovation. It enables engineers and inventors to take ideas and fleeting concepts and turn them into physical products that deliver value. For many discrete manufacturers, revenue growth, product development efficiency, quality and cost reduction would not be possible without it.
Therefore for anyone out there wanting to express their designs in 3D, we highly recommend Google SketchUp, which is free. If you’re a novice when it comes to creating 3D drawings, and not keen on AUTOCAD, then SketchUp is for you. One can eventually upgrade to Google SketchUp Pro once you have become accustomed to its features. The Pro version have many advantages over free version, but is generally speaking a little more user-friendly. You can export your models in DXF and DWG format, but CAD users all seem to experience difficulty opening them up. It is better to use LayOut (free with Pro) and hand the manufacturer the PDF showing detailed dimensions and diagrams. LayOut is linked to SketchUp so whatever changes you make in SketchUp will automatically reflect in the LayOut presentation. In Pro you can also string together a series of scenes and make a video/fly-through (AVI format). Look out for promotional codes offered by the SketchUp team (official SketchUp blog) as you can get 100 USD or 20% (which amounts to the same thing) off on your upgrade from the free version. The cost of the upgrade is approximately 495 USD. You can upload 3D models to the Google 3D Warehouse or download models into SketchUp or upload photo realistic models (called geo-modeling) into Google Earth for everyone to see. Here is an example of a 3D model that was recently uploaded or view it in Google Earth, but remember to tick the 3D buildings layer. If you get stuck using SketchUp visit the new official Google SketchUp Help Forum or view some video tutorials here.
We also offer our services as freelance 3D artists. Compared to other CAD design houses we have less overheads and are able to offer a more affordable consulting rate. Over the years we have been able to develop several of our own products with the Sketchup 3D modeling software and can definitely vouch for it as a professional 3D drawing tool. So in a nutshell we can create 3D objects from a 2D environment for display purposes on a pamphlet or website, or conceptualize a design from simple hand drawn 2D sketches. These 3D drawings can then be set out back into a product specification sheet, which is simple to follow by a light engineering works or architect.
We can also upload 3D models to a 3D Warehouse, to send your clients to view products in 3D and upload photo realistic models of your business premises. The latter is called Geo-modeling and is a very exciting development in today’s ever expanding digital world. Please note Geo-modeling uploads to Google Earth has been retired on 1 October 2013 until further notice.
In summary, we do:
- 3D Models (SketchUp)
- 2D component specification sheets (Layout)
- Geo-modeling (inside Google Earth)
Send your request through on the following order forms and we will revert as soon as possible:
3D Modeling (Prototypes and 2D spec sheets): Order Form
Geo Modeling (Models are uploaded to Google Earth): Order Form
