From https://bsky.app/profile/freecad.org

Nothing to say, I only want to thank the people developing freecad, the world would be a better place with more people like you.

I've been working on my first larger FreeCAD project. It's a case for the SKR Mini E3 V3 and a mosfet module for a highly customized 3D printer that I'm building. This was the first model that started to shift my philosophy from designing an object to also organizing the project, optimizing for FreeCAD, making redesigns less painful, and troubleshooting FreeCAD issues as needed. General thoughts, takeaways, and questions below:

• FreeCAD is parametric in nature so it is much happier when you change existing constraints or items in sketches rather that deleting and creating new ones.
• The most common (at least for me) way that things would break is that items in the tree would lose their attachment faces or reference geometry. The quickest fix for this was to select the item from the tree, and pick a new face using the "Map Mode" item in the data view.
• Right clicking and moving the tip around in the tree to sensible points before adding whole new sketches keeps things organized. After a complete draft model is done, new features rarely belong at the end of the tree.
• Rename everything as you work, it will keep you from getting lost.
• One the model got big/akward enough disabling recomputes of the body and in sketches and recomputing manually saved my sanity.
• Keeping a Youtube video rolling or a PDF in another window to read during long recomputes also saved my sanity. I have more empathy for the Catia V5 draftsmen at my previous job.
• Using the pattern and multi-transform tool would have saved me some headaches on this project, but for now it's on the list for later.
• Before exporting as an STL it is mandatory (for me) to scan through the tree for any icons denoting possible issues, and then starting at the top click through each feature and view/verify it. Things can still get broken by changes even if there is no error.
• The assembly view and the fasteners workbench add on are a much faster way to check fitment and sizing of things than a 3D print. It takes an extra 15+ minutes but it can save 9 hours. I am still a super newbie at the assembly view.
• Chamfers and fillets can take a really long time to recompute if the surface has changed a lot. It is a life saver to keep them at the very end of the tree and sometimes if enough has changed it is faster to delete them all and just re-make them rather than site through the recomputes. There is probably a better way here so please let me know if you have one.
• The fastest way to get better info is to say something incorrect with confidence on the internet, so please let me know what sounds off or can be improved. If you have any killer tips for project like this let me know!

If you want to look at the model or have some use for the object the FreeCAD design files and STLs are up on Printables. https://www.printables.com/model/1828921-beta-version-the-beehive-case-for-skr-mini-e3-mosf

*I should have added to the title that video is narrated.

I'm trying to move away from vibes, graph paper, and pencil into parametric modeling and I'm running into some performance issues. Is there something obvious that is eating all my cycles? I am open to everything I am doing here being wrong.

The gate I am working on here is about as simple as they get. Flat, easy to lay out on paper or in 2d cad. I could do this in the draft workbench, maybe, but I am looking for the flexibility that making things parametric would give me.

Eventually I would like to start modeling more complex 3D spindles that I have been done by "feel" in the past. I would like to model them to show the customer rather than making samples for a job I may not get.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3800X (16) @ 4.56 GHz

GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT [Discrete]

Memory: 31.25 GiB

Hey everyone!

I'm pretty new to CAD, 3D modeling and 3D printing.

I'm trying to edit a model I found on Printables. My goal is to add a flush top feed to it, similar to this other model. The issue is that FreeCAD keeps freezing for 4–5 minutes on almost every action, making it completely impossible to work with.

Here’s what I’ve done so far (maybe I’m missing something or doing something the software doesn't like):

1. Downloaded the main 3MF file containing all parts.
2. Extracted just the lid as an STL using OrcaSlicer.
3. Repaired the mesh and reduced the face count by 50% using JustFixSTL (since FreeCAD's 'Evaluate & Repair' and 'Evaluate Solid' were throwing errors).
4. In FreeCAD (Mesh Workbench): split the mesh into individual components.
5. Decimating the meshes: -25% on the 4 clips and -75% on the lid (best I found without losing quality).
6. In the Part Workbench: created shapes from the meshes ("Shape from mesh") and converted them to solids ("Convert to solid").
7. Cleaned up: created refined shape copies ("Refine Shape") for each component, then removed the old meshes and intermediate shapes.
8. In Part Design: created a new Body using the lid solid as a BaseFeature.
9. The issue: I make a simple rectangle sketch and try to "Pad" it but FreeCAD freezes and stops responding for 4–5 minutes on every step from there.

Does anyone know why FreeCAD is behaving like this ? Or is there a better workflow to achieve what I'm trying to do ?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Trying to do a very simple first project to get used to operating the program. I have lots of computer drawing experience , but no 3d.

I make the body, pad it, make the sketch for a pocket, but get a red wire frame. I've gone through the validation and cannot find anything wrong, except that it doesn't work.

I don't even know what to ask. So thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I am trying to produce a polar array in Lattice2, but none of the settings that I can see have the 'function' button to allow using VarSet variables. Does Lattice2 not do VarSets or am I missing something?

Create a triangle wave on an edge and why not a sine.

• 00:01` Intro
• 00:33 SineWall performance was abyssmal
• 01:06 TriangleWall
• 01:57 Get the tool
• 02:22 Demo
• 04:34 Interlocking tiles
• 06:32 Finding a vector normal to an edge
• 08:09 It works on non-planar faces (surfaces)

https://github.com/pyro9/GrabBag/tree/master

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COVKF25ttLY

Does anyone know how I can pocket this half tube shape in CAM? I can't get it to work. Perhaps I've created the pocket incorrectly in Part Design? I sketched a circle on the side face and then used 'subtractive cylinder', when I move to CAM and use any of the operations it gives me:

09:12:03 PocketShape.ERROR: Pocket does not support shape Model-Body.Face3

09:12:03 Geom.INFO: Zero working area to process. Check your selection and settings.

Any help or poiting towards specific vids or literature would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm trying to double-check the Δx between two components, but the Δy display is covering it up. Even rotating the model around doesn't get them to move out of each other's way.

Any way to get around this? Is there a menu or a table somewhere that shows all three Δ measurements? Or a way to measure one specific Δ at a time?

I want to replace the (sticky) rubber feet on this track-ball with (slick) 3D printed PLA.

How do I do that? This is not just an oval, alas.

The fillet operation fails on all the selected edges shown. I am experimenting with different tools in this software and I made a sphere with a cutout. I am trying to smooth the cutout's edges, but can't. The chamfer operation also refuses to execute. The exact message is "the fillet is not possible on the selected edges."

I am completely new to CAD in general, so any tips, even if they aren't answering the question will help, thanks!

E visto varios videos de youtube y pues no puedo decir otra cosa mas que es muy contraintuitivo. Al menos para mi. (La primera publicacion que hice buscando amigos aca me mandaron todos alv. Ya vi pq) xd. Pero ps estaria chido tmb tener conocidos de la cdmx sur para retroalimentacion en freecad. ¿Cual a sido su guia para entender el programa? Si pudieran darme algunas recomendaciones se los agradeceria bastante.

Yo por ejemplo que soy carpintero y se utilizar muy poco freecad. No es el mejor sofware para modelar muebles. Pero tengo entendido que freecad es de codigo abierto. Supongo que a de haber. Me gustaria saber si ustedes algun mod /plugin. No importa para que sea.

Hi all,

Coming from Fusion 360, where sketching on a face for pads and pockets is the normal way of working. In FreeCAD I get errors when I go back and change something earlier in the tree: the Attachment Support of the sketch turns out to be empty. Re-attaching it to the face fixes it and the sketch ends up where I want it. (Dev build 26.3, about 3 weeks old, so I know about the toponaming issue.)

Is it common practice in FreeCAD to sketch on planes and project external edges instead of sketching directly on faces?

For some reason, whenever I create a cell in a spreadsheet and give it an alias, lets say Spreadsheet.a1=10, then when I apply it to a feature, for instance a diameter, it works perfectly. However, when I change Spreadsheet.a1=20, nothing happens to the diameter of the feature it created. Moreover, the diameter dimension does not say "Spreadsheet.a1" or any indication of it, it just says 10. I don't know how to fix this. If this is just an attribute of the system then it's clear it was my mistake for even trying something like this over Fusion360.

I'm new at freeCAD, and i need to enter into a project for my college. Is there any way to connect freeCAD with the system that fusion provides ? (i can enter into the folder through the browser, and fusion doesn't work on arch)

Hello dear FreeCAD community,

I am a mechatronics engineer and sometimes I get asked by colleagues or friends to help with CAD related tasks. In this case a cover for a rooftop entry of a material transportation system was needed. I work a lot with sheetmetal myself and already had other similar projects, one of them in the last 2 pictures (unfortunately i don't have the CAD version on this PC but if you are interested I can upload it tomorrow.

Anyway, so I'm not new to CAD, from SolidWorks, SolidEdge, AutoCAD, 3DS to Inventor and some Blender, I think I know what I do most of the time BUT... the workflow to these kind of sheetmetal projects in FreeCAD take me much too long time! I already tried the sheetmetal workbench, but I don't know how to effectively use it with the kind of starting point I have in this and other cases where I need connect vertices and edges in any kind of orientation.

Usually I work as follows:

1. Measure enough point IRL to be able to recreate a precise model of important lines and points in CAD.
2. Create sketches in different planes and in orientations dependent on each others points and lines until the starting conditions are precise enough to start modelling. (see screenshots)
3. Create the attachment geometries (In this case a wooden frame on a roof and a kind of collar which is fixed to a square tunnel running through it into the building. I didn't model the tunnel because it's not interfering with the cover)
4. Model the cover/sheetmetal surfaces with the net of lines that represent the edges.
5. For that I usually use the "Part Builder" function in the Part workbench with 3 vertices, but I would much more prefer the "Ruled Surface" function with 2 edges, because the model would be parametric. Unfortunately the ruled surfaces are buggy as in they often don't create flat surfaces as you can see an one of the screenshots, plus they are buggy with the "3D-Offset" function.
6. Create a shell, 3D-Offset, done. At least the 3D part.
7. To cut the sheetmetal on a CNC-laser I need to unwrap the surfaces to a .dxf file. For that I use the Draft-Workbench. I select the first surface of a connected part then I click the sketcher function to correctly place my view normal (90°) to the surface. Then I project that view and name the drawing. Rinse and repeat.
8. EDIT: In this case I couldn't place a sketch on the surfaces because they are not flat (Maybe because of the 3D-Offset function), so I measured all edges and as seen in the screenshots and created 3 sketches on the XY-plane and manually unwrapping the surfaces by contraining all lines with the meassurments.
9. Now I need to edit the many .dxf files to delete all lines that are not normal to the view. If there are bends I need to connect the separate .dxf files in the correct orientation, which can be quite a brain-twister sometimes.
10. (In this case, for bending) I create separate datum planes normal to the bend line and then project the outlines of the surfaces in a sketch to be able to measure the bend angle (I can't directly measure the angle between the two surfaces of the 3D-Offset as shown in the screenshot)

In this case and also in the one from the last 2 pictures I needed to connect rectangular shapes in different angles and orientations, which produces a lot of triangles which can be bent or welded. In this case I prefer not to weld anything. So it should be 4 parts which will be bent. The sides will be quite a challenge I guess ^^

I really love FreeCAD for all it can do and in most cases I can find a solution by myself as the program really gives us a lot of possibilities and now with AI it's even much easier to get help in seconds.

So my questions to the more FreeCAD-literate people than me here is
A) How can I improve my workflow to get much faster with such problems?
B) How can I create the 2D-projections more easily and also edit it in FreeCAD already? (Until now editing the .dxf files was more easy using other programs, because a projection in the Draft-Workbench can't be edited as far as I know).
C) Is there a way to make lines/points -> surfaces -> shells -> solids parametric with this approach?
D) Is there a better way to get the angles in such a scenario?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AknE8C3P-g_lD3Hv1IEUb6DHgnuCoRF_/view?usp=sharing

EDIT: The file may be a bit messy, because I was getting frustrated at the end and just wanted my .dxf files ^^

I added these revolute joints which are pivot points, but I want to simulate the way that the green body slides on the bottom surface of the golden body, I tried adding a slider joint, but then the revolute joints got stuck and never moved,

So as you know, when you select one line that's apart of a chain of lines that form an edge and attempt to perform a fillet operation, it automatically selects all the other lines and fillets the whole edge. But what if you only want to fillet that line, or maybe just a portion of that line, how would you do that?

The included screenshots aren't the exact situation I want to use this in, I was just wondering how you would do it if you wanted to.
I'm just starting to learn parametric CAD, so any tips will help, thank you!

When i import top view to tech draw page this weird line appears. it goes on and on. My assembly is shown below. Any ideas how to get rid of that line? Thank you in advance 😄 from Slovenia!

The worst thing about my sailboat is, no autohelm, adding considerable challenge to single handing. Correcting this is no small task. While you can buy various solutions from big name vendors, these understandably come without mounts. Fabricating a mount will probably cost several times the price of the unit. I also have concerns about durability of these units in heavy weather, and the likelihood of lock-in with other gear from the same vendor. So I decided to take a run at engineering one of my own. I went with a wheel autohelm scheme:

Inside the motor housing at the bottom is a beefy bldc outrunner with many times the torque of, for example, Raymarine's product. This allows me to go with direct drive, eliminating that noisy and fragile gearbox universally hated by seadogs.

Unexpectedly difficult engineering challenges came up in two places: attaching the slave wheel securely to the wheel spokes, and mounting the drive motor to the existing structure without massively modifying it. The former is usually done with ubolts or similar, but I find that structurally dubious and possibly damaging to the spokes. I worked up a tricky little scheme involving three interlocking parts that clamp exactly to the tapered, cambered spokes, allowing for the post height to be adjusted to adjust for a not perfectly true wheel.

Lofted ellipses, yum.

The mounting system was the most conceptually difficult task. There is not a whole lot of guidance out there. You have this clever pulley arranging floating in space and you need to secure it firmly to the boat without ending up with an ugly mess of struts and plates, and new holes sawn through the fiberglass. Eventually I came up with a system of plates and clamps, drawn in blue in the top image. Remains to be seen how stiff it is in real life.

One more challenge: a pulley system exposed to fingers and ropes needs to be protected from same with a guard. Another element fairly easy to design, but challenging to secure in position so that it doesn't vibrate or jam into the mechanism. Here I ended up doing some tricky compound curve things to create stiffening gussets bonded to the motor housing.

This got me into beziers, ruled surfaces and slicing. Intense stuff. The model ended up fairly simple and robust, though it took some time to get there.

I think I'm ready to order parts now and see if this thing actually works.