Eight instances of that chair as "groups" would equate to8x the file size of one chair, whereas eight instances of that chair as a component would besubstantially less. To illustrate what I amsaying, we can look at a dining room chair. As large models can getdifficult to work with, keeping the file size as small as possible is ideal.
There is also a difference worth noting between their relative file sizes. You can also create component libraries of parts, like cabinet hardware that youuse frequently. Also when you create a component, it will show up in the "in model" category in yourcomponents window. When you edit a component, all the instances of that component will changeaccordingly. First,each instance of a group is independent from other groups, while components are more like "clones"of one another. There are a couple main differences between groups and components that should be noted. To edit a group orcomponent, you can choose "edit group" or "edit component" from the drop down menu or simply doubleclick on the group to open it for editing. Thesegrips allow you to rotate the group around an axis perpendicular to that face. With the move toolenabled, you will notice grips that appear as you hover over the sides of the bounding box. You will notice a bounding box around the grouped geometry. To make a group or component, youselect the geometry you want, right click, then choose "make group" or "make component" from thedrop down menu. Both are setsof geometry that you've designated so that they can be selected, moved, rotated and copied together easily. Understanding groups and components is critical to efficient modeling in SketchUp. By doing this, you can drawtools, racks or benches into the space while keeping this new geometry separate from that of the shop. Then push/pull the face through thewall to reveal the opening.
For the doors and windows, use therectangle tool to draw the openings on the surface of the walls. Next, use the push/pull tool to raise the walls tothe proper height, again typing in a value for an exact height. As with most tools, you canenter a value to determine the amount of offset. By this, Imean it works best to click and hold the mouse button, drag the cursor to establish the exteriorsurface of the wall, then release the button to complete the operation.
This tool seems to work best using the click and drag method. You can pre-select lines in your model touse the offset tool on. This dotindicates the line your offset tool will be working on. Hovering over the floor near one ofthe walls, you will notice a red dot on the line that represents the interior wall surface. To give the walls the proper thickness, use the offset tool. The bottom edges of your walls should form a surface thatwill be the floor of your shop.
#SKETCHUP LAYOUT WINDOWS#
Don't worry about the doors or windows at this point. With the guides set up, use the pencil tool to draw the interiorwalls. When I am laying out a space, I like to start by using the construction guides to lay out thepositions of the interior walls. You will need the interior dimensions of your space includingany doors and windows that you want to represent in your model. Start by opening a new SketchUp document.