Love and Hate Sketch-Up

Like it or not I have been using SketchUP for a few months trying to make reasonably good drawings of our latest stove.  SketchUp is a great “free” CAD drawing program. However, it is very much “a figure it out as you go” kind of process (IE 2 steps forward and 1 step backwards). I have had my moments of frustration trying to draw something I can visualize but can’t figure out how to draw it in SketchUp. I did not start this process wanting to become a SketchUp “sort of expert” but this is what I have become, like it or not.  Below are a few examples of our new stove.

The second challenge is the design has changed significantly since we arrived in Mexico to accommodate some different internal materials.  And the difficulty – frustration is exacerbated by the fact that I am using my mini computer (10″ screen and no mouse)!

I know a ProE  “Jockey” could make these drawings in no time, but I am no expert in this and I really don’t want to be one.

This design is a small step improvement from our original design which is easier to build, but not the final  design which will be much easier to build and significantly cheaper.