Wednesday, 28 January 2009

3D printing from SketchUp with CADspan: Now even better




CADspan have released a new version of the plugin that allows 3d printing, and here's a video that explains more:




some of what's new:

* CADspan is now available for both Windows and Mac
* It now supports SketchUp 7 (which we released in November)
* File processing times are about 10x faster
* The system is much more reliable (hooray for beta testing!)

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Via Sketchup Blog

Saturday, 24 January 2009

SketchUp Architectural Plugins from 1001bit.com

1001bits tools is a collection of shareware plugins (Ruby scripts) for
Google Sketchup that are dedicated for architectural works.

Imagine...create 3d models of staircases, spiral staircase,
escalators, walls, doors and windows, and even self-generated roof
rafters, by keying in the parameters, dimensions, then with a simple
mouse click --> they're done! in 3d!


Via sketchup plugins

Saturday, 17 January 2009

Passive Homes Heat Up Around the World

passive house architecture, passive architecture, energy efficient housing, sustainable design, green building, german passive design, passive solar heating, passive cooling


Passive design is architectural design that eliminates the need for mechanical heating and cooling of a building through the use of smart, time-tested heating and cooling strategies such as natural ventilation, solar heat gain and solar shading and efficient insulation. Around 15,000 passive houses have been built around the world in a few short years, yet few are cropping up the United States. Scandinavian and German-speaking countries are sweeping the industry and streamlining the modern family’s heating bill in the process. Passive homes seem to be the next logical step in, well, logical design - German Bauhaus style coupled naturally with Scandinavian modernism, later exploding into what we now know as mid-century modern. Now with 2009 well underway, the world’s budding designers are leaning on the shoulders of sustainability, while passive design is planting its feet in the homelands of Alvar Aalto and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.


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Via Inhabitat

Easily Embed Panoramas into a Blog with 360 Cities

With 360Cities.net you can embed panaoramas into a blog. The company, registered in the Netherlands, is dedicated to promoting
geo-mapped, VR panorama photography and VR photographers around the
world. Aimed at creating a unique global network of members who are
specialists in VR photography their viewing platform is notably
feature-rich. For example, it is easy to embed your panorama directly
in a blog after uploading. The example of the London Eye below is by Tom Mills, an international panoramic photography award winner, Tom's work has been exhibited in England and France.

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Augmented Reality Plugin for Google SketchUp

With ARplug-in, Google Sketch-Up
users are allowed to visualize their 3D models directly in the real
physical space which sorrounds them. In a very precise sense, through
ARplug-in, Sketch-Up 3D models can be visualized out of the digital
workspace directly on users' desktop, by connecting a simple webcam and
by printing a suitable code. The Plug-in provides users with an
advanced visualization functionality which serves two main purposes:
  • Study and analize scaled virtual prototypes in real environments
  • Communicate 3D projects immersively and astonishingly

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Wednesday, 14 January 2009

SketchUp Virtual Construction by D-Studio

Here's a video previewing new project information/project management software in SketchUp which is in development by D-Studio:





Via Sketchup Plugins

Sunday, 11 January 2009

30+ Free Online File Hosting Services

If you are looking for a free file hosting service where you can
store your data so that you can access it from anywhere anytime you
like then here's  some of the most widely used file hosting
services on the internet today.
It's up to you to decide which one you want to go with.

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Cool touchscreen sketchpad

Below is a demo of ILoveSketch, highly intuitive new software that enables designers to create fluid 3D sketches through a gesture-driven interface:


Via Kevin Kelly at The Technium.

Free Software that can Save Energy and Money

I just discovered a post to some valuable free software that can help you save
lots of energy at home while also saving some big bucks!

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