Trimble today released SketchUp 2014 , the latest version of its popular 3D modeling platform for architects, engineers, design and construction professionals, as well as members of the global maker co
mmunity. SketchUp 2014 features major enhancements to SketchUp’s 3D Warehouse —the world’s largest repository of free, high-quality, 3D content—as well as new tools that improve the classification of design objects, tighten interoperability with other products used in Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows, and make professional documentation more efficient.
With more than 30 million unique activations in the past year, SketchUp is the most widely used 3D modeling software in the world today. Spanning SketchUp Pro for professional users and SketchUp Make for hobbyists and enthusiasts, the new release marks Trimble’s second major update to SketchUp software in the past 10 months and reinforces the company’s commitment to continuously improve SketchUp with easier ways to create, access, share and collaborate on 2D drawings and 3D models.
“SketchUp’s power lies in its simplicity and flexibility, which has led to its use in projects as diverse as designing a doghouse in the backyard or modeling the bracing for the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York,” said Chris Keating, director of the Architecture Division within the Trimble Buildings Group. “As SketchUp’s professional footprint expands, access to content and broad interoperability are vital issues to our customers. With SketchUp 2014, we’re giving users better tools to easily access the models they need and to ensure those models add value throughout the information modeling process.”
New 3D Warehouse: Where Content is King
SketchUp’s 3D Warehouse is an online repository for finding, storing and sharing useful 3D models. In SketchUp 2014, the 3D Warehouse has been rebuilt, making it easier for users to quickly find the models they need, create and organize their own collections, and share them with the world.
Building upon SketchUp Pro’s Information Modeling Foundation
Since BIM is an increasingly important process for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, Trimble has expanded SketchUp Pro’s interoperability with other commonly used tools and data. The new release provides an easier way for users to participate in the information modeling process by ensuring that their objects and models—and the data connected to them—remain consistently identifiable throughout the BIM workflow.
SketchUp Pro 2014 contains three new features that are specific to information modeling:
“BIM workflows are often complex and rigid processes, and we believe they don’t need to be,” said John Bacus, director of SketchUp product management at Trimble. “With this new release, we are enabling users to participate more effectively at any point in the information modeling process. We’ve added simple tools for adding structured information to a model in a way that is helpful to SketchUp customers, allowing them to easily pass information to others on their project teams, regardless of the tools being used.”
Documentation Done Right
Professional users will also benefit from continued enhancements to the 2D documentation capabilities in SketchUp Pro 2014, such as: auto tags to improve accuracy and reduce repetitive work, smart labels with pre-populated relevant text, and significant improvements in speed for vector-rendered model views.
SketchUp 2014 is available now. Additional information and downloads are available at:www.sketchup.com .