#Freecad lessons software#
#Freecad lessons plus#

#Freecad lessons plus#

adding four times the material thickness to the overall length.Īfter creating all the files following the same schema we make sure the Assembly 2 plus workbench is installed. You can also perform calculations when entering the dimensions, e.g. This would be for example Master#p.Material. This cube gets then dimensions from the spreadsheet in the format filename, hashtag, table name, dot, variable name. To enter a formula for the dimensions we click the blue circle.

We create a new file for each individual board. This Macro can be installed over the Addon Manager of FreeCAD.Īfter having saved the file with the spreadsheet under the filename Master comes the part that is quite cumbersome. We use the Alias Manager Macro to create aliases for these numbers so that we can refer to them by name later. For the box these are the material thickness, as well as the inner width, length and height. The first step is to create this spreadsheet with all the dimensions. In the same way we could also change the material thickness and create tiny boxes as well as large storage containers. We only have to change the parameter in a spreadsheet and the box becomes square.

The big advantage of FreeCAD is that it is fully parametric and you can change dimensions after finishing the design.

#Freecad lessons software#

For a more detailed comparison of different software solutions tale a look at our CAD for makers article.Īs an example we use this Japanese Toolbox design we use in a variety of sizes. A lot of the details are clearly more oriented towards products that have few but rather complex parts – not so much a woodworking project that mainly consists out of simple boards. The article contains quite a few fixes and workarounds that make the work with FreeCAD easier and more comfortable.įreeCAD is an open source software that is mainly geared towards mechanical engineers. Ok, we have stock and work coordinate system defined.In this article we give an overview on how we design woodworking projects in FreeCAD. Let’s set the origin of the coordinate system in the lower left corner at the top of the part. This is the Create Cylinder, which means that in this case we can define the stock as a cylinder.Īnd the method where we can give any allowance is the Extend Model’s Bound Box.Īnd let’s set here allowances of two mm per side in the X and Y axes, 10 mm allowance at the bottom and 1 mm allowance at the top. Then it is worth using another option to specify the dimensions of the stock.īut first let’s check one more method of determining the stock. 1 mm and 10 mm allowane at the bottom to put in a vice. 2 mm allowance per side and a specific allowance at the top of the part e.g. We can assume that the top wall of the stock does not require facingĪnd the top face of the part can be set in the Z0 coordinate.Ĭlick on the face of the part and click the Z = 0 button.īut what if, for example, I would like to specify a specific allowance for each side, e.g. To do this, click on the top of the stock in selected corner and click the Set Origin button.Īt this point, we have symmetrical allowances for each side. Now let’s set the origin of the coordinate system at the top of the stock in the lower left corner. Or click Center in Stock, then the whole part will be placed in the middle of the stock. But to set the part in the middle of the stock we can click the XY in Stock button (first select the part), then the part in XY axes will be placed in the middle of the stock. Because we usually want to machine the whole shape around. And this setting in most cases does not make sense.

We have to specify the length, width and height of the stock.Įnter, for example, As length 110, as width 60 and as height 20.Īnd as you can see the stock increases only one way. The first option is the Create Box, where you can manually specify the dimensions of the stock. In this tab, we determine the dimensions of the stock and the location of the coordinate system origin, I will call it the base.Īs for the stock, we have several options that we can use to determining the dimensions of the stock. Stock and Work Coordinate System – FreeCAD CAMĪfter starting a new CAM project, the settings window opens on the Setup tab.