What were you doing when you were 16? Designing space stations? Well, obviously. Who didn’t? But which CAD software would you choose for such an undertaking? CATIA, ProEngineer, Autocad, Bentley? SketchUp anyone? Eric Yam, joint winner of the NASA Space Settlement Contest used SketchUp to produce a whole range of detailed illustrations and visualisations in a 96 page document!
Now, while Eric probably isn’t the typical 16 year old, he does represent a growing trend regarding the IT literacy of school leavers, which now also extends to 3D design with SketchUp. What this means to you and me is that the generation behind us is born 3D CAD literate. They have tools in their hands we could only dream of. Software companies such as PTC in the past tried to become the de-facto CAD standard by giving away free versions to schools, but these attempts proved fruitless. Indeed, PTC’s ProEngineer has lost much of its market share. It’s too hard to use and too expensive for the mainstream.
What CAD vendors don’t appear to appreciate is that we’re all children when it comes to learning new things. We all start at nothing and work from there. So if software is not useable by children it’s not useable by mainstream adults. Conversely, what works on children will work on adults too.
Worried CAD vendors
Anyone who profits from CAD in any way, either as a user or seller, has a lot to be worried about right now. SketchUp is growing in its user base (and edu base) at an unprecedented level. I was recently at an Autodesk Revit training event where more of the audience questions revolved around SketchUp than the actual product we were there to learn about. And the industry is worried for one very simple reason. They’re starting to lose customer loyalty, and with it their market share. “If you can design a NASA space station with $400 SketchUp Pro, why can’t I use it for my project too?”
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One student a trend does not make. SolidWorks and Autodesk each have stories of high school students making “amazing” 3D models with their software.
SketchUp is not used to design space stations; it is used merely to create conceptual studies. The software lacks the engineering add-ons needed to design the structural, life support, electrical, mechanical, and other systems that truly make up workable designs.
Ralph, I completely agree. Nevertheless, it’s a good example. Having been in industry a while, trying out most CAD products, and also looking at online trends leads me to believe that SketchUp is leaps and bounds more accessible than other CAD software. Most importantly, it’s immensely popular amongst students, and students will be the next generation of decision makers. People use SU for as much of the design process as they can, and then hand over to more “detailed” CAD softwares for further detailing. This distinction may become increasingly blurred in the future for all but the most detailed uses for 3D CAD. Moreover, coders are falling over themselves to develop 3rd party products using SU as a platform as opposed to Autocad, so SU+addons could soon be a stand-alone CAD app.
[...] We came across this post by the Provelo blog. It confirms what a lot of people are saying nowadays: Google SketchUp is taking over the world of 3D design. Yes, CAD vendors are getting worried. [...]