Видео

This is a really great video, and it's interesting to see the limits of FreeCAD on display during it. What you describe as the TNP here I don't think really is. You can see that kind of behavior in the sketcher in 2D when you constrain in such a way that a dimension could be valid in more than one orientation, and is really an issue with the solver not being computationally deterministic. You could imagine ways this could be solved (always having to specify a dimension oriented a direction with respect to origin, for example), but how would you do it that isn't a pain in the UI... The VarSet is a step in the right direction for handling variables, but it's still painful from a UI perspective. Having to go through the list and select each time is easier than referencing spreadsheet variables by hand (with no auto-complete - has that changed?), but man it would be nice if the most relevant measurements were at the top, or were incrementally searchable without keyboard mouse back-and-forth. A little polish in creating new variables would be sweet, too. Instead of having to pre-create, or pre-name, allow clicking on a dimension and just bam bam bam. Right where it needs to be tracked, and always the last dimension created on top. I might have gotten spoiled a bit with Fusion 360's parameter view (which also has some flaws). It's getting there, and it's nice to see. Lesser known FreeCAD feature is the ability to reference pretty much anything by name, you can see an example of it when you do the carbon copy; the sketch originally just references constraint dimensions from the original sketch, of which the disadvantage is the TNP. Super cool once you realize it though, that everything is actually there. UI possible improvement (or non-improvement): Make that sort of stuff visible in tree view of variable editor. I'm a fan of using math and formulas anyway, so it's really satisfying that that is, of course, the best way to avoid TNP -- by referencing from a fixed location, the origin.

good content, albeit at 160 km/hr. Just too fast to comprehend and absorb!!. Cheers

Yepp, that's the thing with FreeCAD: it's often unintuitive (just try applying extrudable text to your model, just *try* it! 😁😜 ) and you always have to figure out how stuff works. The complete opposite are apps like Fusion360 which have a MUCH lower entrance hurdle regarding the UI and functionality. ✌ But hey, hobbyists (f.e. 3D printing) who just use CAD software a few times per month have a hard time finding a suitable software. The free version of *Fusion360* totally got shafted by Autodesk and the paid version is almost 1000 bucks per year. Go figure. The next best thing may be *Shapr3D* which is VERY easy to learn - but also costs 25 bucks per month (299 per year). I guess the "best" solution for us still is FreeCAD. 😜

Wow, that was super useful! I have been using FreeCAD for five years now and it was a pain sometimes. I just changed all the settings as you did and I already know that they will avoid me a lot of headaches! Thank you so much!

Thank you very much! I'm new in the Free Cad and your tutorials are so great ! You got new subscriber here.

I want to ask if I switch from Fusion 360 to Freecad what navigation style should I choose?

Great video. 3d files should always be exchanged as STEP/STP whenever possible, since it is a very clean format with infinite definition. It's like STLnis a JPEG file with finite definition, whereas STP is like a vector file with infinite definition. Not a big fan of exchanging files as 3MF - it's like sharing photos with your friends packaged as PDF - it makes a lot of sense in certain situations, but the vast majority of times you'd just share JPG. By the way, STEP/STP is not a parametric 3d file format. But it is far more precise and editable than mesh/STL.

I just realize even in the v1 of freecad we can only mirror features not "body" in the part design workbench, It's such a let down

Hi, great video! in 3:40 you create a sketch, how do you place the origin in the centre? Thank you

Amazing!

I can tell a Latvian just by hearing the voice

Thanks for your videos, very helpful and great for learning freecad. i would love more videos on designing workflows

Blender is another free option.Plasticity workflow is limited. I found shapr3d to be the easiest and if I had to pay for a CAD that would probably be this one. Learning Freecad 1.0 now, looks very complete, powerful and improved UX, but still steeper learning curve tan shapr3d

FreeCAD should be taught in engineering schools, in the same way linux is used in computer siencie degrees.

When is the release 1.0 coming out? Edit: i mean stable release

It's going to be really nice when we are done with the release candidate part of the move to production schedule, and a flatpak gets generated of the production software that is marked as an actual upgrade of 0.21.2 so that we, who don't trust that the final release won't have breaking effects on models created in the RC releases, from experience, can start using all these wonderful tips.

What do you think of Ondsel, which seems to be FreeCAD with a nicer UI config by default?

One setting you missed is 'pick radius', which makes it easier to select things (edges, points, etc.) without having to click on the exact pixel, and without changing the visual size. I would also leave Draft workbench enabled - there are a lot of useful tools in there, especially if you're importing DXF or STEP files from other programs. Upgrade/downgrade, draft to sketch, move/rotate/scale, and text tools. Mesh workbench is also needed if you want to import and modify STLs. Great guide, I'll definitely try your recommendations of moving the Task panel to the other side of the window, and section view by default.

Great video. Also, raise the volume of your microphone a little.

Another great video. Appreciate you taking the time to explain and show what each setting does, not just rattle off a dozen settings with no context.

The real question is why aren't some of these already set as 'sensible defaults'?

I hope the final version of 1.0 will have an installer.

The thing I think most noticeably reduces friction is replacing the workbench dropdown selector with the tab bar view. This makes jumping between workbenches feel much more like switching between ribbon buttons in other apps. You don't have to pop up the selector, scroll through the list etc. It has done a lot for my former frustration at e.g. switching to Draft for tools that IMO belong in Part. I would absolutely recommend trying out the other two built-in themes and installing and testing OpenTheme, too; if you find some of the tools like Sketcher a bit frustrating, it really might be easier in other colour schemes.

I like to keep all the workbenches enabled, but reorder them so sketcher is at the top, then part design and part. This way pressing W, 1 takes me to the sketcher, W, 2 to part design and W, 3 to part wb.

Did I miss any quality of life settings? Let me know

This is one of the most practical FreeCAD tutorials I’ve ever seen, for an operation that I think a lot of new users want and get tripped up by. You’ve got a great method of explaining and demonstrating common pitfalls, as well as showing useful examples and alternative strategies.

At the beginning with STL and 3mf you operate a conversion from shape to object. I could see a definition of shapes in FreeCAD, but not of objects, what are they ?

Waw, that tutorial Is really nice and useful! Thank you !

awesome.. thanks

excellent tutorial. What addon do You use to show workbench as tabs?

I just learned more about FreeCAD in 13 minutes than in the last 3 months of trying to use it. Thank you.

Talking about not only what are you doing, but also why, is what makes the difference here. Thanks for the video.

thank you. perfect video. life saver features of freecad hidden in plain sight. I hate the UI and it was not so stable when I tried it. Now I will install freecad alongside solidworks which lacks features to work with stl. liked and subscribed. thanks again

Great tutorial, One thing I am having an issue with, I have a Star Wars scout trooper helmet I currently am working on and the face part of the helmet around the eyes area is suppose to got into the visor part at the top of the face portion, but whoever modeled it modeled that part seperated from the visor, the part does not connect to the visor, and its a curved feature, how do I edit curved from a STL file, with no other file format to work from. So that I can merge that part of the face into the visor part of the helmet. Is there a way to make the curves like what is in the step file with no individual faces around the curve.

Great tutorial, thanks. I've been giving it a lot of tries and ended up with Blender for quick mesh modifications. Parametric CADs are not really good for working with meshes. So I use both Blender and FreeCAD now.

Wow, this was very helpful!

Thank you, that is really useful information. I just started with 3D printing and FreeCAD.

Can you please enable the mouse pointer tail? And enable the click indicator thing? Than its a lot easier to follow you mouse clicks. Thank you

Thanks a great video, very useful. One question though how do you centre the stl file if it comes in offset from the origin?

Excellent tutorial! I've always been frustrated by freely available models not being in FreeCAD format - but now I won't have to worry. Thanks for all the info. Liked and subscribed 👍👍

Since I have seen that STP files are supported directly by the slicer, I only use STP for export. However, when I upload my files somewhere, I always upload the FreeCAD file as well. I wish more users would share their FCStd files as well, besides the step files. Btw, nice Tutorial.

Excellent tutorial. FreeCAD is often not very intuitive, but it does have some pretty powerful tools.

Thanks for this timely video. I have just run across a case where the STL file I found need tweaking. As an aside... your first model of a Multigrade filter drawer takes me way back to my days as a B/W darkroom instructor in the days before, and after the introduction of affordable digital camera.

that's great. could you pls share the stl file shown in your tutorial?

Thank you so much! I had no idea about the defeture button. That is very helpful. It would be great to see how you convert the STEP to a standard Part Design part. Great video!

Very nice and concise video, thank you! I used to go into the mesh workbench and it seemed like a lot of screwing around compared to this.

Let me know if you would like to see me redesign the filter holder featured in video for 3D printing

Well explained. Thanks for the video.

Very nice style on your video, excellent English and presentation skills. You have explained complex Freecad information I took ages to understand in a few minutes in an easy to understand style. Well done!

Nice tutorial! How do you decide when to use Alibre or FreeCAD for a certain project?