Blue Marble Project

Over the last year, we’ve had the good fortune to be members of the Google SketchUp 7 alpha testing group. Today, Google announced the public release of Google SketchUp Version 7, and with it, a highly anticipated functionality known as Dynamic Components. We’d like to share some thoughts and ideas behind why we think Dynamic Components are a big deal, especially for product manufacturers. 

Dynamic Components allow you to create configurable SketchUp components. For example, say your company has a product catalog of doors. Those doors are probably available in a variety of sizes, materials, and styles. Well, in SketchUp 7, Dynamic Components allow you to program a single SketchUp door with hundreds or even thousands of options so that a SketchUp user can configure that door’s shape, size and material using a few drop-down menus within SketchUp. To paraphrase: Companies like Marvin can now create one SketchUp model of a particular door type that represents hundreds of variations of the door. 

This is a really big deal. Previously, companies had to create, upload and manage thousands of models that each represented an individual, configured option. If they hired us for the task, that meant that we had to spend quite a bit of time and money to convert entire catalogs into 3D. Now, however, we can convert entire catalogs nearly 10x faster resulting in faster turn around times and much lower costs.

As we mentioned earlier, these Dynamic Components are brand new. To learn more about their functionality, check out the videos below as well as the info page on the Google SketchUp website.

If you are interested in a live demo, we’d be glad to show you how Dynamic Components can be used by your company to drive sales and leads for your products. Contact us anytime to set up a meeting.

Our newest addition to the Google 3D Warehouse includes dozens of SketchUp files that contain over 250 textures from the Oceanside Glass Tile Product Line. The Collection also includes textures from OGT’s Mandala product line. We are proud to have played a part in promoting this beautiful, environmentally friendly product line. These high resolution, seamless textures are among the highest quality textures that have ever been made available for SketchUp. For more information about how you can get your hands on the real thing, visit the OGT Website.

We’ve recently created and posted nearly 50 SketchUp models (and counting) for CertainTeed Restoration Millwork. The CertainTeed collections include trimboards, beadboard, full size sheets, a full line of specialty profiles and an array of accessories. CertainTeed came to us looking for 3D Assets to supplement the PDF version of their product catalog. Each of the models that are uploaded to the warehouse link directly to the online catalog, providing easy access to designers and customers looking to specify CertainTeed products.

President of BMP, Mike Tadros, was interviewed for an article about SketchUp for GigaOM. The Article talks about a bunch of great tools and plugins for Google SketchUp that allow designers to make environmentally responsible decisions more fluidly during the early stages of design. The article cites the work that Blue Marble Project has done, creating 3D models of green building products for Google’s 3D Warehouse, as playing a crucial role in the decision making process for designers who are focused on designing greener buildings.

Click Here to read the full article.

Sustainable Industries has released their annual supplemental issue - 2008 Top 10 Green Products. Blue Marble Project is proud to have played a role in the creation of this year’s issue by supplying Sustainable Industries with the 3D computer models that were embedded in the downloadable PDF version of the issue. The 3D SketchUp models can also be downloaded from the Google 3D Warehouse.

BMP was contracted by Velux America to translate their catalog of stunning skylights into a collection of digital 3D models. Architects and designers are now able to download the skylights for free from the Velux collection available on the Google 3D Warehouse.

Full Velux Press Release

Timbron hired us to create a digital catalog of their molding products and make those files available for download on the Google 3D Warehouse. The new Collection of SketchUp models was made available just in time for Timbron to present the 3D files to guests who visited their booth at the GreenBuild ‘07 Conference and Expo which was held recently in Chicago, IL. We were pleased to have had the opportunity to work with such an innovative company and are proud to have helped raise awareness about such a great product.

We first found out about Liberty Valley Doors when we stumbled across their booth at the West Coast Green Expo back in September. With the Green Build Conference coming up around the corner, and in an effort to further the work we’ve done with our ‘Top 10 Green’ collections Liberty Valley Doors was the perfect company to work with. Their beautiful product line of doors that are manufactured using FSC, recycled and salvaged woods make for a stunning collection of textured SketchUp models.

Furthering our commitment to sustainable design and build, we’re announcing the creation of the “Top 10 Green“ collection on the Google 3D Warehouse. Our team modeled several “green” products, places and things, uploaded them to the Top 10 Green collection, and gathered other related content - all in an effort to provide a useful resource to designers focused on sustainability.

We’ve released a sample catalog on the Google 3D Warehouse that we created for Kohler Bath products. Thanks to the kind folks at Kohler for your hospitality during our visit. For all you interior designers and NKBA folks out there, if you’ve never made the trip out to the Kohler campus in WI - it’s definitely worth the trip! What a beautiful town, and what an amazing showroom. Oh, and make sure and bring your golf clubs (something we’ll have to remember to do next time).