Inventors Time to Sketchup

Article in a sentence: Download Sketch Up so you can begin experiencing your invention in 3D for FREE!

by Brian Gates July 2007

If you have ever sketched on a napkin or played around with drawing in MS paint to express your invention, boy do we have a solution for you! While these methods are great for getting your ideas out of your head and into the heads of everyone else, they lack the ability to change the viewing angle without you having to redraw everything. Well that has all changed thanks to the 3D modeling program called Sketch Up.

Sketch Up has been around for a few years and is by far one of the easiest 3D modeling programs around. Users start by drawing a simple 2D shape that can be pulled or pushed into a 3D form. From there users can add different surfaces or features to arrive at a final design. The interface is extremely user friendly with the modeling experience being very straight forward. Even if you are new to the 3D modeling world Sketch Up provides you with the perfect balance of ease of use and quality of model.

This all sounds well and good but how much does this application cost?
Ready for this…NOTHING, ZIP, Zero. It’s 100% FREE!

In 2006 Google bought the company that produced Sketch Up and began offering the program for free to everyone in hopes that users will eventually model the world. If you are familiar with Google Earth you will remember seeing some 3D models of buildings as you explored large cities. Those 3D models of buildings were all modeled in Sketch Up and the two programs, Sketch Up and Google Earth, now work seamlessly together.

While Sketch Up was targeted to help the architectural community in its ability to quickly create 3D shapes, the simple modeling method is perfect for creating you invention. If you haven’t tried the application, I highly recommend downloading it to give it a try. Sketch Up will have a huge impact on the inventor community as it will allow us to begin moving from the 2D realm of design, to the 3D world, just like the big companies.

Design My Idea & Sketch Up

Why are we advertising a program that impacts our services? Well to be honest, it makes our services that much better. A Sketch Up model is great for getting the proportions and style of your invention, but the application lacks the precision of a 3D CAD package.

When an inventor has created a Sketch Up model of their invention, we are able to add the precision and exactness required for production. The Sketch Up model saves us time, the inventor money and ensures that the product reflects exactly what the inventor envisioned on the first try. (A Sketch Up model is not required for any services by Design My Idea)

Additionally if the inventor has requested us to model the invention from scratch, we are able to provide them with a completed model to view and manipulate in Sketch Up. Not only does the inventor get photo realistic renderings of their invention provided by Design My Idea, but they now have the ability to spin the model around, remove parts and even print out their own views.

Pretty cool stuff, in my opinion… Download Sketch Up Here >>

To download a PDF tutorial covering a Travel Mug modeling example for SketchUP Click Here
To view a VirtuType of the SketchUp model follow this link: Travel Mug VirtuType

Design My Idea