I keep trying to learn SU and the balking at the learning curve

Just ran across this guy's idea, anyone had any experience with it

Design Wood Project Plans - EZ Magic Drawing Cubes Download

Jay

It appears that it might be an OK product for sketching prismatic shapes of projects that have basically a parallel and perpendicular form but then a good old pencil, ruler & pad work fine for those.
If I would think about using that product to sketch plan views of say a Maloof chair with the intent of extracting full size templates I don't think I could get anything useful.

The people that invest the time learning Sketch-Up seem to like it, it appears to be an excellent product with a fair amount of power.

My "problem" is that I have & use SolidWorks and have gained their certifications in it's use and I just don't care to invest time in learning another lesser product.
I've used Solidworks for everything from entire plant layouts (I previously used AutoCad for those) to complete machines to jigs, fixtures and various product designs. When I was doing contract engineering I designed a number of variants of adjustable pitch propeller hubs, complete drive units and even a non-certified propeller which we in turn made the molds to manufacture composite propellers for air boats.

It's a very expensive product and unless you can recover the investment through some sort of business I would say Sketch-Up seems to be a good investment of time. Even AutoCad is too expensive for the casual user.

Ron,

My problem is absurd in the extreme. I have Solidworks available to me through my work, my computer is loaded with a licensed copy which I can use any time I want. Problem is I have not had any time to learn it. I know just enough to be dangerous. I am sure I am committing some kind of crime, like willful negligence of sumptin'

Greg,
You absolutely want to take advantage of that resource! It's surprisingly easy to gain a working knowledge of SW using their tutorials. I know that you'll find in just a few hours you can begin creating useful solids & from those, working drawings. You'll also find that (similar to AutoCad) there are 1000's upon 1000's of ready made templates on line through user groups. Even starting with a template, you can modify it into exactly what you are looking for. I would however recommend staying away from templates initially and create your own models from scratch (much better for learning the system). Soon after you are motoring along with it you'll also discover that there are very few constraints to your designs, there are dozens of ways to get to where you want & you aren't limited by having to follow steps.
As an example, if you want to create a drawing for a book case you can create every single piece of wood to exact dimensions and then assemble those into the finished project (just as you would if you were building it in the shop). OR You can sketch a plan, front or side view of the book case and then extrude the sketch into a solid by adding a depth to it. The former is the preferred way, which allows you to check dimensions of each piece as you go along for fit (interference, etc.) and the latter is a good way to go if you just need a quick dimensioned shop sketch to work from.

The google sketcher is a fine product which allows everyone access to a good tool for creating drawings. But, if you happen to have access to Solidworks there is no comparison -- it's sort of like comparing a handsaw to a Kapex.

One of the dangers in using fading technology is that at some point you may not find some of the needed components.

For example, a couple of years from now will you still be able to find a pencil?

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John

1 Toolie, 2 XL Festool Polos

I also have access to SW and really like to be able to draw out each part and then make an assembly, if it all works in the assembly stage in SW it will work when you make it .

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I've been reading about Michael Fortune, a very very talented furniture designer builder.

This quote is from a little Lee Valley piece.

"Drawing Skills
Sketching skills are needed for developing designs, presenting them to clients, and for creating the final full-scale drawings from which furniture is built. Although computer technology can be used to aid in the design process, rudimentary hand-drawing skills are still an essential part of creating and building beautiful furniture. I watched Michael draw with the accuracy of a digital camera, which served him well when communicating his ideas to clients. To overcome my lack of drawing talent, Michael suggested using Lawson perspective charts to turn two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional masterpieces. When I first arrived in his studio, I didn't know how I was going to sketch a full-scale drawing of a bed; when I left, I couldn't imagine tackling a project of that size without one."