Welcome to Punch! University

The goal of Punch! University is to help you understand how to design with Punch! not just draw with it. Start with the basics and advance your skills with tips and tricks presented in the courses. As you advance your capabilities, give us your feedback. Most importantly .. enjoy the training.

Punch! Software Fundamentals

Course Series Overview

The 'Fundamentals' series focuses on the tasks needed to work through your first home design from start to finish. The material extends beyond the tutorials included with the product and will include in-depth instruction on using the tools to create a complete home design. The course will be presented with practice exercises and each course will apply the material to a complete 'project' house.

f101 - A Punch! Primer: A great place to start for Punch! Software® users who are either unfamiliar with the Punch! user interface or who are only familiar with older versions of Punch! Software. Gain an understanding of the Punch! user interface and how to view your drawing in both 2D and 3D.
f102 - Basic Tools: Learn how to tackle basic tasks that you will use, regardless of how large or small the drawing. Topics will include multiple methods for selecting, moving, and rotating objects. An overview of coordinate systems is included, along with how they are used in Punch!
f103 - Setting Up the Property: Where do you start? Setting up your property to draw the house. You will learn to draw property lines based on field measurements as well as how to customize the lot size. The course also explores two methods of creating a basement and introduces concepts for customized topography.
f104 - Drawing the Building: Every project needs a good foundation to start with. Learn how to create interior and exterior walls, place walls precisely, and customize the wall properties. The lesson progresses from drawing single walls to experimenting with creating multi-story houses. The concept of customized AutoFloors will be introduced.
f105 - Floors and Ceilings: Learn to create floors and ceilings using the automated Floor/Ceiling tool. Because many times individual floor and/or ceiling sections are needed, discussions will also include how to create custom floors and ceilings, using the Flooring tool. Also explored will be other uses of floor sections like creating patio slabs.
f106 - Raising the Roof: The roofing fundamentals course starts off by experimenting with the Roofing Wizard™. This tool is often used when roof design is not a priority. Roofing tools will then be highlighted to learn how to begin creating your own custom roof. Finally, the roofing tools will be used to create the actual roof for the project house. Wall styles and how they are tied to roof styles will also be discussed.
f107 - Adding Doors and Windows: Doors and windows invite friends, family, and sunshine into your home. This portion of the series will work through adding them, precisely, into the plan, styles, and options. Even stacking them on a wall for more flexibility. Using custom doors will be discussed, as well as adding double doors.
f108 - Staircases and Railings: The stairs/railings session deals with adding staircases of different sizes and configurations, as well as railings. You will learn to create straight, L-shaped, and custom U-shaped staircases. Additionally, curved staircases will be discussed, as well as creating custom staircase shapes, using the ‘Convert’ option. Staircases will be created for the project house, including creation of floor openings for the staircases.
f109 - Adding Utilities: Through this workshop you will learn to add plumbing, electric, and HVAC equipment. Additional exercises will hilight precision placement of electrical components, add an air conditioner to a concrete slab, even experiment with drawing enclosures for exposed ventilation ducts.
f110 - Decorating With Colors and Materials: The color segment includes using paint to decorate your Punch! design, dividing walls to provide control over where to apply the paint, and creating custom colors. Using materials will be demonstrated, while learning how to customize the characteristics of the material pattern will be presented. Finally, you will learn how the Decorator Palette™ can be used to speed up the decorating process.
f111 - Trimming up the Drawing: Trim adds architectural detail to the wall surfaces in the home. This course will demonstrate how to apply and remove base and crown trim. Wainscot trim will be discussed as will applying new colors and materials to trim. Additionally there will be an introduction to custom trim styles. Trim will also be used to create a wallpaper border in a room.
f112 - Adding Objects: Drawing the house is just the first step. Next you will fill it with furniture, accessories and more. This course will teach you how to select objects, position objects and resize them. Also, you will learn how to organize a 'favorites' folder for objects that you use often. Applying and stacking accessories will be discussed. The session will explore using 2D symbols and even creating a template of an object layout. Finally, you will learn to use 3D Custom Workshop to create a furniture grouping as well as to creating a glass-top table using transparency.
f113 - Cabinet Layouts: Detail your design with cabinets. For a truly custom kitchen, first the Cabinet Wizard™ is used to build cabinets for your kitchen design. The cabinet object libraries will also be used to assemble cabinet layouts, while discussing how to take cabinets from different libraries and give them a similar appearance.
f114 - Annotating Your Drawing: The annotations course explores the different tools available to detail the drawing with text and dimensions. This will include text formatting and placement options. Also discussed will be the control of text and dimension visibility and color. Text callouts for site features will also be discussed. Exercises will demonstrate different dimensioning styles.
f200 - Hardscapes: Walkways, Driveways, and Patios: Driveways and walkways aren’t just paths to enter your house; they can be important design features in the landscape. This course will explore methods for creating a variety of walkways and driveways. Patios will also be discussed through a demonstration of creating a patio using one material and adding a border of another material.
f201 - Excavating the Landscape: Sometimes you just have to dig a hole. Learn to use the excavation tool to create a hole, of any depth, in the landscape. Through this course you will begin understanding how to customize topography by adding a simple slope to the lot. Use the excavation tool to create a walk-out basement in the slope, as well as on a flat lot.
h500 - Roof Mechanics Series: Controlling Roof Elevations (Intermediate): Your rooflines, and your roof’s overall appearance, are very important aspects to consider in creating appealing designs. In this course, you will acquire an understanding for roofing behaviors and the mechanics by which they function. The main focus concentrates on the roof’s elevation control, what you should expect from their behavior, how a wall interacts with their function, and what you can do to keep your roofs in order.
h501 - Roof Mechanics Series: Controlling Roof Elevations (Intermediate): The soffits of your roof provide a finished edge to your roofline. In this course you will gain an understanding of how to control the direction of the soffit and its overhang. Through the lessons you will see how soffits are affected by the direction of wall placement, the effect of pitching a wall-assisted roof with a soffit and also explore how to create a Wall Assisted Gable Roof.