FreeCAD Beginner Tutorial Part Design

[@javaking70]

I've just completed your first 2 tutorials for FreeCAD. This makes so much sense. I'm going to try a few simple parts I will use for my R/C airplanes. I'm hopping to be able to print them out today. They will be very simple. I will check to see if you have a tutorial for a slicer. There seems to be many settings for that. Thank you and please stay safe. Have a good day.

[@JayAnAm]

Sounds great, here is one for 3d printing with Prusa Slicer and Blender : kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6qYo2WjidGIjaM

[@paulreeder5241]

I am a total noob at all of this. It took me about 2 hours to figure out how to use the slicing program Cura. These are some amazing tutorials. I love the straight forward explanation. Also, unlike other videos where the person scrolls and clicks then realizes that wasn't where they wanted to go, so they scroll and click again, and again, and again. Until they find what they are looking for. Totally removes the interest. So, you even forget what he is trying to do. lmao

[@mapascua]

@@JayAnAm hi jayanam! can i ask how did you made the next datum plane in the middle? thank you and at some point i can't use M shortcut idk why.

[@spiderplant]

THANK YOU!!! The auto-constraint bug was fucking up everything and I had no idea why!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

[@teson2000]

At 3:19, how can the sketch be fully constrained? I can't see there's a height for the vertical part containing the hole.

[@jamesb43]

Yes, same here.

[@Oroborus710]

i solved this issue by simply adding a constraint to the left vertical line, this completes the sketch. about 10mm seemed appropriate

[@williamg4272]

Me too. I think that the default behavior for things like 'Auto-Constrain' seems to change based on the version...

[@deltaray3]

FreeCad is very unforgiving.

[@TellerENT]

I cannot believe there are so many people saying that this is helpful. After setting the 17mm and 3 mm constraint, it doesn't complete the object and there is still 1 DoF. You fail to explain any step that you do, what your clicking, and barely what he outcome should be.

[@Loreanchannel]

This tutorial will help only for someone that doesn't know what is the part design

[@GarryHeard]

Well done! Easily understandable and the right (short) length! Bite size lessons are great. They can be squeezed in and don't take forever.

[@JayAnAm]

Yep, thx!

[@lhotse1716]

Great tutorial! A question just to try to understand some of the basics, at 3:13, how did it get fully constrained? How did the vertical parts leading up to the arc at the left part of the sketch get defined? Mine never did

[@ironsidemaster3038]

If you can move the arc, i added a block constraint on it and mine turned green

[@Nerd_Bird]

I had this problem and I "solved" it by remaking the sketch. Somehow each of the line segments were no longer connected, or I had not been close enough to right angles when first trying the sketch- and thus could not solve constraints

FreeCAD is amazing too. Thanks.

[@TacticalAssaultOfficial]

Thanks for making these tutorials! FreeCAD has an incredibly frustrating interface and viewport. This really helps. Keep up the great work!

[@Blue-Scorpion]

Wow! I didn't expect to see this kind of an complex object being created so easily and explained so well. Amazing content! Thank you!

[@luciankristov6436]

The new update has made this an absolute nightmare . I don't understand their thinking. If something works wtf do they feel the need to ruin it with updates. I just downloaded this and its nothing like what you see on KZbin.

[@keithkool]

I recognized your voice (and afterwards your name) from the Blender tutorials! We meet again. lol

[@JayAnAm]

Haha... great! Yes, there will be more FreeCAD tutorials, for me it's the Blender of CAD :-)

[@lukethedrifter4445]

Thanks for this, I’m new to FreeCad, but have been using Solidworks and AutoCad for 3 years, so it’s been confusing for me to do some simple things like this, mainly because the wording and methods in FreeCad are a bit difference. After extruding my initial body without the circle for the hole, I was going to try to sketch it on the face of my part and try to make a hole from that sketch, but it was telling me I couldn’t do that, but I don’t really understand why. I guess if I ever want to do something to make a cut I’ll have to get into the habit of making a plane like you did for the pocket or just including the shape of the hole into the initial sketch. Either way, both seem easier and more in my ballpark than using the boolean stuff like another video did.

[@felixszopos-papp1478]

I always thought cad was so complicated, but your videos make it so simple. I've just finished my first model, and I'm quite proud of how it turned out. Thanks a bunch for inspiring me!

[@odilkhanyakubov]

Hi jayanam. I really love your tutorials and i wish you the best in your life too. Thanks.

[@JayAnAm]

Thx a lot m8, same for you!

[@ACWaveform]

I regret doing all my 3D models in autoCAD. This feels so foreign to me. I feel like I’m making FreeCAD way more complicated than it needs to be. 🙃

[@sin5946]

This is cool, but the software is incredibly buggy

[@idothings6685]

Idk man, this program frustrates the shit outta me. I'm trying to make the most basic shit and it's just impossible. I did one sketch fine, extruded it out fine. Then tried to add another sketch on it, fine. They I click pad on the 2nd sketch and all of sudden everything is gone, so I zoom in and out trying to see where it went, cant find it. So I undo the pad and everything is still gone and now my zoom is stuck on 0.00nm or whatever. Just way too difficult of a program to waste my time on. Like I'm literally just trying to make damn octagon base with a circlular rod sticking out of it (think of a paper towel holder, but much bigger), how fricken hard does that need to be.

[@RoamingOdin0778]

I want to say thank you for your tutorials and how you segment learning the software. I watched another person's tutorial video but it was a long video filled with a bunch of stuff all at once. And the video is good...it's just a bit too fast paced for me it's like non stop action. But your videos. You cover a couple points and a couple relative side notes per video. So there isn't a lot of pausing needed, you are very very clear about what you're doing and you speak in a calm tone at a relaxed pace. Which really helps me to take in the information and apply it better. Your visual content is also happening at a relaxed pace so I'm able to see what you're doing and where to go to do it. I just started watching your tutorials yesterday. And haven't completed them all yet. But I have been able to look at basic designs from thumbnails and photos and make my own general recreation (identical in design but not in specifications). I can't thank you enough, and I will definitely be using your videos as reference material, and recommending it to anyone looking to start in cad, or looking for a return refresher course. Thank you again!

[@nathanwest2304]

I may be stupid alternatively I just missed a step or something has changed in the meantime even after creating a simple square with polyline, having it constrained(and turn green) I find no way to do anything with it, when I try to use "Pad" it says that the shape needs to belong to an active body and no matter what I try, it just doesn't seem to want to work

[@viswanathanm3712]

Hi Jaynam. I like your tutorials.

[@JayAnAm]

Thx m8

[@10percent4DaBigGuy]

i need help! i have been designing something since the year 2000 and i realized a 3d printer is the only way i can build it perfect i have many angles and holes to place in them! its only 3 object i need to print to build the body of my device i hope your tutorials will help me build it if i am successful it will be like reinventing the wheel if it works!

[@blue_jm]

The latest version seems to dislike things starting from the origo. If I build the tutorial off the origo, I have no problems but starting at the origo will lead to errors about conflicting constraints and invalid constrain indexes. I don't know if it's a bug or intended behavior that I don't understand.

[@DeeJay1953]

Thanks great tutorial I look forward to the next one!

[@JayAnAm]

Thanks for watching, more to come

[@theodiggers]

It won't let me add the reflection symmetry constraint across the axes lines

[@methical__]

I don't get the purpose of the datum plane. Why are we doing this? Is it simply to add a sketch on any part of the existing geometry?

[@petercorrigan7963]

I don't see how the sketch was fully defined...only one of the vertical edges was constrained, the other two were not constrained?

[@paulreeder5241]

First thing is I subbed. Thank you so much for a very well executed tutorial. I love the fact that you are so familiar with this program, that you don't have to keep searching for what you want to do. It gets so annoying having to watch the person scroll and click, then scroll and click, then scroll and click. Until they find what they need to continue the tutorial. You, on the other hand, just seamlessly go through the paces and show everything needed to accomplish the task at hand. I thank you for that. I am looking forward to more of your tutorials. You will help me become an expert in no time. I have purchased my first 3D printer, the Anycubic Mega Zero. It is just so awesome. It didn't take me no time to learn how to use it. It was perfect right out of the box. I use other peoples .stl files to make things and I have had no trouble except for the dialing in of the filament. Hopefully with your help, I will be capable of creating and printing my own designs. I am just sooo looking forward to more of your tutorials. Once again, thank you so much.

[@AnAllAroundPlayerMaker]

What was the key command for making the arc?

[@squirrelbong]

I can't select the circle or any of the lines to define them. I click the circle and nothing happens

[@OriginalRed5]

These are the best tutorial videos available for this software! Thanks!

[@JayAnAm]

Thank you!

[@dannyperry8070]

I don't get the holding of M key 3 times to create the arch. I am missing something.

[@kushizzle9220]

if (and hopefully when) i earn money from my ideas in this, i'll donate to you man

[@uccoskun]

Great Videos. Here is a suggestion. you should give them better names so watchers can finds the next videos easier. Here is an example: "FreeCad 01 Beginning Tutorial Part design." Anyway, your videos are really great and easy to follow. Thank you.

[@JayAnAm]

Thanks for the tip

[@iprogeny4877]

your tutorial is not working anymore, i tried to do just the line and it didn't work at all like wtf

[@samuelowens000]

Wait, wasn't there never a constraint on the height? I was following along and when yours turned green I could still drag the circle higher and lower.

[@onokimchi9010]

Same here I am very confused how his Radius and 2 constrains (17mm and 3 mm) turned everything into "green" xD

[@SamA-xu9gy]

Does this program have a smart dimension tool?

[@КостяКот-и1к]

FreeCAD is an analogue of fusion 360???

[@13n1304]

I need to design some 3d printing replacement parts. I have only ever done 3d modelling in Blender and freeCAD is really confusing to me but seeing this short and on point video really helps to unterstand the general workflow and concept. Thanks!

[@JayAnAm]

Great it helped, thx for the comment

[@ReggieRailSystems]

I have an existing .stl file which is a basically circle (intake duct for a quad drone) I want to take the interior vertical wall of the duct and narrow it by 1.58MM and leave the outside diameter and other dimensions as they are. I don't know how to take an existing .stl project and to be able to do this simple task. I can view it from all sides, take measurements, but I cannot extrude the interior vertical wall nor can I do anything with the Project but look at it. How do I modify?/ I'll send you the file if you wish to do a tutorial on existing .stl projects. Thanks, Bob Griffith

[@JonJon501]

Nice! I'm 10 minutes into freecad and am following along well! Thank you!

[@jespero94]

If you were to adjust the surface where the datum plane sits,Will the datum plane then follow the surface? In The same Way a sketch would do If you created it on the surface instead of a datum plane? Or does the datum plane always stay in the same spot?

[@yellina_dio2869]

i cant find my "combo view" how can i return it

[@gorudonu]

Please make more freeCAD tutorials :)

[@johans7119]

Thanks for making such a good quality tutorial. I hope to move from AutoCAD and Vray to FreeCAD and Blender for Architectural use (for everything from technical drawings, plans, and visualizations). I will need a few more tutorials!

[@JayAnAm]

Will do, the next one next week will be how to bring FreeCAD model to Blender, which is also quite basic stuff.

[@louis-alexandrelapointe3884]

Amazing tutorial! very detailed but still short so I keep interest. Need more about FreeCad! Thanks

[@JayAnAm]

Thx, will do!

[@enerbot283]

Why is it so cumbersome in freecad to set dimensions of lines and circle diameters ? I find it so strange to set a circle radius via a "constraint" menu. Since when setting the length of a line or a diameter is a constraint ? That is the issue of freecad : not intuitive at all and made as complicated as can be. Coming from fusion 360 this looks so backward and outdated. Sad :(

[@DominionDroneDaily]

the N key is no longer routed to a tool change keyboard shortcut. When i did it on my own, no matter what I tried, there was still 2 degrees of freedom.

[@DominionDroneDaily]

There is 2 degrees of freedom even after constaining each circle to 2mm & 1mm respectively. Aswell as constraining the bottom line to 17mm & right to 3mm. I know these are arbitrary numbers, but no matter what other form of constraining the sketch Im hit with redundant constraints.

[@TernaryTrout]

Thank you for this, demonstrated all the techniques I needed to model the part I needed...... So helpful :)

[@JayAnAm]

Hey, great you like it!

[@dr.danielkester9313]

Thank you. Perfect beginning tutorial. I'm switching from SolidWorks and own a Mac.

[@EDITMODE]

After following along until 2:20, I get a message sating "recompute failed please check report view" and "failed to converge"

[@EDITMODE]

also after clicking the constrain circle, no window pops up to allow me to change the constraint. I selected my circle and selected the contraint and there is no window that pops up to allow change of degree.

[@Afrocanuk]

I really need to learn this utility.

[@ΑΛΕΧΑΝΔΡΟΣΤΡΙΑΝΤΑΦΥΛΛΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ]

Very good tutorials. I am waiting of new...

[@JayAnAm]

Glad you like them! More will come

[@shriharigitte3518]

how do i freely move my 3d object

[@geneh9210]

Thank you very much for this video. A quick question...is the datum plane necessary? I put the sketch on the front face of the body and created the pocket from there. I'm using FreeCAD 0.20. Is the datum plane recommended based on the topological naming issue?

[@danielbozawoybeavogui5651]

THX for the help :)

[@ДмитроВ-п8и]

I do some small projects occasionally, and every time I start with your tutorial :D

[@CAGonRiv]

Broooooo this shit is cool man!

[@branislavbabic4579]

Auto constraints turn off/on really pissed me off in first video (disappearing sketch). Thank you for "resolving" this bug. Beside that I can understand how this (first) sketch can be fully defined when you (and I in my computer) didn't define height of this sketch...

[@amaccoy]

I'm just starting out with this program (me following this tutorial is actually my first time using it) and I have a problem when I get to 2:48. The text that labels the constraint is ridiculously large and is in the way. I have tried adjusting it in the Preferences but nothing changed. (I did hit 'Apply') How can I fix it?

[@shawngilbert5199]

Thank you for these videos! I am printing my first part thanks to you! It's for my new storage shed that was missing a door guide, but hopefully not for long! 😃

[@humanoiddragon3723]

Thank you this was a wonderful and intuitive explanation and crash course for freeCAD. Thank you immensely!

[@juriytrembach421]

Too fast mouse movements.......

[@explodingbee]

At 3:15 in the video FreeCAD indicates that the 2D sketch is fully constrained. I don't understand that. I don't see any constraint which controls the height of the vertical arm. Why couldn't the height of that arm vary? How is that constrained?

[@JayAnAm]

You are right and tbh I really dont know. There should be 2 degrees of freedom in my opinion and when I recreate it with 0.19 I get the 2 dof for the length of the arm. Perhaps it is a bug.

[@explodingbee]

@@JayAnAm Ok. Thanks for your reply. When I duplicated the 2D drawing as in the video the drawing only turned green and became fully constrained when I set a dimension for the height of the vertical arm. Like you wrote, maybe it is a bug.

[@antonarnoldy2938]

@@explodingbee Same issue for me and resolved in same manner as you.

[@onokimchi9010]

@@JayAnAm ahhhj okay ....since I do this now on 0.19 its not turning green on my side ( did it now twice ^^)

[@stinkyham9050]

Freecad sucks. Since all you Freecad users keep leaving comments on the Fusion 360 tutorials for no reason I figured I'd do the same.

[@jamesb43]

Hmm, after the poly line draw is completed at 2:11, in version 0,19, I am left with 4 degrees of freedom where you have 3. I can’t see any real difference in what I did verse what you did.

[@bratbiswas]

This is awesome. I have one very basic question though - why can't I move or rotate the parts in my editor? The only thing I have been able to use are those tiny arrows on the cube on the top-right corner of the editor and zoom in and out. Click and drag on the empty area has no effect whatsoever. Do I need to be in any specific view or something? I am using Freecad 0.19 on Ubuntu. Sorry for the extreme basic question.

[@Ormsby504]

just starting to learn freecad for small part design. Great video and clear instructions. Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge on this.

[@patrickmckowen2999]

Great tutorial 👍 Not sure what went wrong - 1st attempt at pocket cut out did not show up - restarted from the very beginning and all ok. Cheers

[@featherbrain7147]

You may have solved a problem I was having with sketching on an existing face...must try this, thanks!

[@wavemancali]

I think this video along with your original tutorial will help me design a little motorcycle helmet for my wife's baby yoda. Thank you very much.

[@TheLeontheking]

How can I select points on a mesh when sketching onto its surface via a datum-plane? I know I can go into the function-mode inside constraints to reference other objects and constraints, but is this really the only way of achieving that? Info would be greatly appreciated!

[@now-you-know-it]

This seems to be a nice video/ A few people will have a problem. Some people have poor eye sight and can not follow the small fast moving pointer. Is it possible to make the pointer bigger. This will help us a lot. Thank You

[@valeriucasapu1558]

I don't understand. Why my sketch is with 18 degrees of freedom, not 3 when I repeat and do the same steps?

[@Kicsa]

Yesterday I was mad because it took me so long just to get into the part design. Then I was having issues trying to make pockets. I like your approach, I can't wait to get home and try it, thanks for the video!

[@jmalmsten]

ok I am very much stuck. I have no idea how to close the design... I end up with separate lines or a design where there are some invisible constraints stopping me from adding the constraints I actually want. I call them invisible. Because, I see them in the list as dots. But I have no idea where how to make them not stop me from adding my actual constraint... I try unchecking them, this does nothing as far as I can see. I have tried deleting them, and that lets me add constraints, but the lines seem to not be connected now to the rest of the design, so I only set the constraint to that one line and nothing seems to be connected to it.

[@fjellight]

Thank you so much for making this. Im currently making a gopro mount and this helped out a lot

[@Hopeinformer]

Why do I get an error "Cannot set the datum because the sketch contains conflicting constraints" when trying to define the 3mm length as you do in the video at 3:12?

[@ExplorationTV]

Thanks Jayanam! I have just completed your first 2 tutorials for FreeCAD. You make this look so easy. It was easy to follow your lead. Please expand upon your FreeCAD tutorials to include other workbenches. Thanks again. Exploration TV

[@SilntObsvr]

I just watched through your first two FreeCAD tutorials. Before starting, I couldn't even get a line on the screen. I spent about two hours drawing a part while I watched (sometimes watching a short segment over and over, since I'm on Linux and despite the same version, my menus and yours aren't identical), and at the end, I have a complete base for a film slitter (to convert 120 into either 127 and 16mm, or three strips of 16mm) ready to print -- including slots for the blades to seat in, fillets and chamfers, and pockets for the magnets that will hold the cover on. The cover (which holds the blades) is next. Even better, I have the *knowledge* now to sketch the cover. One Saturday morning well spent. Of course, I still have to find space to set up a 3D printer before I can print the parts, since the nearest library that has a printer is in a different county so I can't get a card. One thing at a time...

[@kelleysislander]

Thanks for the great video... Now once I have closed the the sketch to go do the padding and finish off, how can I get back to the sketch to see the sketch with constraints, dimensions, and that so I could perhaps change the sketch as needed? Thanks ;)

[@Spludgeroo]

No tiny dot for me.

[@kipter]

the theme of this software gives me partmaker nightmare flashbacks

[@tallswede80]

how do you measure something inside a sketch just for reference?

[@eldrugoalex]

Very nice and useful explanation, thanks!

[@Cradley684]

Great video's just what us beginners need steady pace, keep them coming please and Stay Safe my friend !!!

[@tomthompson7400]

This is the first part Ive created ,, now ill do it again without following step by step to see if I have it , but a huge thank you for the tutorials.

[@holans6824]

Thanks a bunch! It would be very helpful, if you'd not only say which tool to use but also the keyboard shortcut. Best wishes!

[@emilianoemo7952]

Why when I want to make a path on the body, it shows me that it is a field. Where am I wrong?

[@jermz79]

Is a datum plane used just as a reference object to attach the rectangle to?

[@44decor44]

please make more freecad tutorials thanks from India.

[@susmaster697]

love your voice

[@sf-gt9co]

hi, how to enable the white grid in sketch view? i got the 0.19 version

[@393division8]

Problems activasting body?

[@ClubXrock]

Quick and to the point - Subscribed! :)

[@kiddkai]

amazing! I can finally create something :D

[@shingabiss]

Well paced and easy to understand.

[@JayAnAm]

Thx a lot

[@badrinair]

Thank you

[@dwylhq874]

Another _superb_ FreeCAD Tutorial Jayanam! Keep up the great work. Thanks! 🚀

[@maequackers5397]

Thanks!