Infrared thermal imaging (thermography) when combined with SketchUp's 3D models has great potential to interactively visualize complex building science issues like heat loss, insulation, moisture leaks, and more. Being able to view 3D models instead of just 2D images makes it possible to see effects on a building's scale. All you need (beyond your SketchUp modeling abilities) is a thermal imaging camera (e.g. the FLIR ONE which is not too expensive). In this video I show you how you can take appropriate thermography images and then apply those to your model.
I actually wrote about this technique a while ago in a blog post and a conference paper. Follow the link at the bottom of this post to learn more about the technique and to see more models. There are even some sample images for download in case you want to try this yourself.
My finished thermography model of the John W. Olver Design Building at UMass Amherst is available on the...
When you need to create complex geometry in SketchUp, it is often better to break an item into positive (solid) parts and negative (void) parts that you can then subtract from each other with SketchUp's Pro's Solid Tools. In this example, I am showing this process for a cast steel structural connector, but the principle applies to many other shapes as well.
Because this process uses solid geometry from beginning to end, the result is also a solid and therefore easily 3D printable.
Side view
My model doesn't replicate the geometry of this piece exactly, but this is an example of such geometry
Tutorial Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrhfJjT8YBQ
Links
Some of the tools I used here are:
SketchUp's built-in tools:
Solid Tools (specifically the Subtract tool)
Parallel-projection camera view
Hide / show
FredoCorner Extension - One of Fredo6's excellent extensions that allows you to round corners
...
In this video tutorial I show how you can take a portrait of a loved one (or yourself) and - using SketchUp - turn it into a revolved object that you can then use as a vase, cup, candle holder etc. This technique is simple and makes for a great gift (e.g. by 3D printing). As a bonus, I show how you can create a face-morphing shape with two portraits.
Keen readers of this blog may know that I covered this technique in a step-by-step tutorial in one of my earliest posts. I had never done a video tutorial on this technique, however, which is hereby remedied.
Tutorial Video
https://youtu.be/d5y5f965YAs
Links
While the basic technique uses only SketchUp's built-in tools, I also demonstrate some of Fredo6's extensions here:
Joint PushPull - An extension that lets you thicken any surface.
FredoSpline - This is useful for creating smooth curves and converting between different curve types.
Curviloft - This lets you "morph" between two outlines.
I hope you find this useful...
In this tutorial I am demonstrating how you can import geometry that was created in SketchUp (and an image) into Trimble Creator so that we can add parametric behavior to it. I cover the basic import workflow, model cleanup, texturing, and parametric sizing here.
Trimble Creator is a tool/service that allows you to create parametric "Live Components" for SketchUp and lets you come up with some cool designs (or product configurators). You can try it for yourself at creator.trimble.com. If you like, you can modify and download the Live Component that I created in this tutorial here.
Tutorial Video
https://youtu.be/pOpmThy1KA8
Have you tried Trimble’s Creator yet? Let me know below in the comments what you think about it.
...
In this video tutorial I create a parametric massing component (as a Live Component) completely from scratch in Trimble Creator. This allows me to cover geometry, parameters, Boolean operations and various user interface details and general processes.
Trimble Creator is a tool/service that allows you to create parametric "Live Components" for SketchUp and lets you come up with some cool designs (or product configurators). You can try it for yourself at creator.trimble.com. If you like, you can modify and download the Live Component that I created in this tutorial here.
Tutorial Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciocDOO_ags
Have you tried Trimble’s Creator yet? Let me know below in the comments what you think about it.
...
