Beryl Builds Billerica

Beryl Reid has been busy. In August of 2009, Beryl (a.k.a. BerylDrue) traveled to our Boulder, Colorado office to become a Google Certified Teacher. Then in April of this year, she became a Supermodeler. She liked Boulder so much that she even came back to attend 3D Basecamp 2010 this past September. How much more involved with SketchUp could Beryl get? As it turns out, plenty.

Model of the Billerica Train Station

Though she’s a recently-retired computer teacher from Billerica Memorial High School (in Billerica, Massachusetts) Beryl is still actively involved with the school. This year, she was asked to give a SketchUp demo to the school’s new Introduction to Engineering class. The presentation was such a success that she was asked to return to teach the students more advanced modeling techniques that would ultimately help them geo-model their hometown.

We asked Beryl why she had decided to teach this geo-modeling workshop: “To me it was a chance to get Billerica on the 3D map for the benefit of all those kids who live there and love to explore Google Earth…. There is a lot of colonial history and buildings in the town.”

Workshoppin’ at BMHS.
Mmmmm…cookies. And SketchUp gingerbread houses!
Build a model, get a shirt.

Beryl created the Billerica in 3D website to gather all of the workshop information together – the Billerica in 3D collection, building photos, and various resources and “how-to” guides. You can also check out more pictures from the workshop.

SketchUp Pro Case Study: Daniel Company

This user story comes from Mark Lessmueller at Daniel Company. It came in via the Tell us your story link on the Sketchup Go Green! site.

Daniel Company has switched to Sketchup Pro for the drafting, design, analysis and construction of its air pollution control systems. Sketchup Pro has helped us visualize potential problems in 3D, allowing us to find conflicts on the computer, rather than in the field. This prevents us from wasting material and resources and reduces our carbon footprint. In addition, we can share our drawings and models with anyone across the globe. They can make suggestions directly on the drawings without having to resort to awkward phone conversations about “what change needs to be implemented where”.

This simplicity allows our clients to ensure that there are no intersections with existing equipment onsite during modifications. Additionally, due to the low cost of Sketchup Pro (especially in comparison to similar products), we were able to install Sketchup Pro on virtually all of our engineering computers, rather than just the drafters’ machines. The ability for our engineers to do some of our drafting when the drawings are “bottlenecking” production has proven invaluable.

We are about to begin start-up of the first system we created with SketchUp: a biological system where microorganisms digest the odorous pollutants. The system relies entirely on wastewater treatment plant products to feed the bacteria, rather than the typical method of spraying highly reactive neutralizing chemicals into the polluted airstream. The resultant waste of the bacteria can then be conveyed back into the wastewater treatment plant and treated via the microbes in that system.

While the air pollution control system was originally conceived by the treatment plant’s design consultant engineer, the actual odor control system manufacture was drafted, designed, analyzed, and constructed using Sketchup and LayOut. This includes an air conveyance system, hydraulic profiles, plumbing layouts, water control panels, two 12′ Ø x 40′ tall fiberglass reactors, and two 12′ Ø x 20′ tall fiberglass adsorbers. (Each of the 12′ Ø vessels was made in our shop in accordance to the LayOut files.) As the system is starting up, we are also planning to visualize this model in Google Earth.

Each of the pieces of the ducting (which supplies fresh air to the building and captures the foul air) was modeled in SketchUp and then turned into a cut sheet. Our fiberglass duct, tank, and scrubber shop easily fabricated the individual pieces. Thanks to Sketchup, it is a lot easier to make sure that each piece will fit on a truck (sent from California to Virginia), rather than relying on 2D drafting.

Since this was our first major project in SketchUp, most of it was created using the standard SketchUp tools. The plugins we did use were mostly custom modifications of plugins that were available for alteration. The CenterPoint and Conetop plugins were used to help make pipe transitions and to align pipes. We modified the Mesh Additions and the Parametric scripts to create an “elbow tool”. The PVC piping in the water panels was created with a combination of native SketchUp tools, this “elbow tool” plugin and the CenterPoint plugin.

Since this project, we have created multiple other air pollution control projects using SketchUp and LayOut. We’ve also used quite a few other freeware plugins. (We’re big fans of Fredo6 and Chris Fullmer’s plugins). FredoScale and Joint Push Pull have saved us on a number of more delicate projects, especially where we make a small apparatus and then need to show thickness in the ducting, or building our damper library. And Chris Fullmer’s Shape Bender has helped out quite a bit for other jobs where nothing else seems to work.

We’re now working to model some of our older existing projects in SketchUp and visualize them in Google Earth.

Thanks for sharing your work, Mark!

Supermodeler Story: Zeljko Zdravkovic

Here’s a testimonial from Zeljko Zdravkovic (a.k.a Zex), who told us about his experience geo-modeling his hometown of Belgrade, Serbia.

I started modeling Belgrade because I wanted to create a 3D identity for my city. I first learned that it was possible to add a 3D building to Google Earth several years ago. I was very surprised and curious about this. I had also noticed a number of untextured models in Belgrade, and decided that I wanted to change that.

As is often the case when learning something new, I experienced many false starts. I didn’t know how to use SketchUp, or, publish a model to Google Earth. I tried and tried, in failure. It wasn’t until I noticed a little checkbox labeled “Google Earth Ready” that I realized why my models where not appearing! I laugh about it now, but it was very frustrating then!

I started to make 3D models in the summer of 2009. Today you can see over 500 models that I’ve made. When combined with the work of other geo-modelers, there are over 800 models in Belgrade, and almost 1200 models in all of Serbia (including Belgrade).

With the exception of some buildings and monuments, I’ve finishing nearly 90% of the city area. I’m hoping to complete the entire city by the end of 2011 or beginning of 2012.

Unfortunately, Belgrade area is not available in Building Maker today. If it were, it would certainly have been far faster and easier. But when I finish the entire city, Belgrade is going to be one of the most quality-built 3D cities in Google Earth, and that’s something that I take a lot of pride in—for me, model quality is number one!

Црква Светог Марка (St. Mark’s Church)

Google Earth is an excellent opportunity to promote your city to other people all over the globe. 3D models can benefit a city a lot. People all over the planet can see, learn from and enjoy the architecture of every building we make.

City TV Studio B now uses 3D “New Belgrade” area in Google Earth for traffic service information on their web site. They use a 3D map in their television broadcast. It’s such a fantastic feeling when you see your 3D models on TV, or used by others for very useful purposes.

It is so amazing how Google Earth has enabled the world to become so personal to us. Now anyone can visit every corner of the globe. It’s really amazing to me!