Nothing could be further from good practice. Product manufacturers are tempted to simply import their existing CAD files into SketchUp and then post them directly to 3D Warehouse, hoping to leverage their existing 3D content. Model geometry representing the product’s physical dimensions, visualisation data giving the object a recognizable appearance, and behavioral data such as detection, maintenance and clearance zones, that enable the object to be positioned in the same manner as the product itself. Object standards vary, but all include information content that defines the product: Typically they are used to flesh out larger works, not as standalone models. A great SketchUp product model is one that performs well in the context of a larger model (a building, a park, a floor plan etc). Product manufacturers, in general, should model for visualization, design, or specifying not for manufacturing. When these types of models are brought directly into SketchUp, however, they can immediately bog down the performance of the model, and many times will hamper the usefulness of the larger context model. To do this, a great deal of detail is required of the CAD models. Many products are modeled using engineering CAD programs to allow the models to drive the manufacturing process and machinery. Reducing polygon count Polygon count matters Refer to the article Working with components in SketchUp for more information on reloading components. Note, even here, there is very little difference between the 1409 version and the 288 poly version, and the latter may be just fine for the entire design process.
Then when the designer wants to produce a walk through animation for the client, the higher polygon version can be re-loaded into the model. The additional number of polygons can give better resolution to ray-traced images, but these extra polygons will cripple the efficient working of the overall model.įor this simple hanging light fixture, low poly versions of the fixture work well when laying out the design and playing with arrangements. High level of detail models are sometimes requested by designers wanting to produce high resolution renderings of their designs.
Some manufacturers might benefit from providing two versions of their products, with a low and a high level of detail. The level of detail in SketchUp models refers to the complexity (materials, nesting levels) and number of polygons used to represent geometry. Minimize the nesting of components and groups.When to use hidden instead of smooth edges.Reduce polygon count using smoothed edges.