FreeCAD 0.19 - Basic Part Design Tutorial (English)

[@funkynerd_com]

I've been using FreeCAD for less than 24 hours and this was only the second video I watched and I managed to keep up, learn a bunch of stuff and understood everything. Very easy to follow tutorial, even for absolute noobs like myself. Thanks!

[@mick2d2]

Same here! I learn a little bit more with each of his videos.

[@roykoxley7512]

I am impressed it is a totally different way to look at how freeCAD works

[@ejon]

this could very well be the one of the two most informative FreeCAD tutorials I've seen in my entire life.

[@cobelali]

Trying not to sketch on 3D faces is a hard habit to break, but it's the right way. Thank you for all the guidance.

[@superclips4329]

Came here after 2 years but I have to say that I learnt a lot of great techniques and your explanation was excellent - as good as german engineering! thank you

[@ElTelBaby]

Your English is good... Please keep these tutorials coming as I'm just tinkering with Free Cad in Ubuntu 22.04

[@aubiejazz]

While building the model along with you I was wondering why all the constraint names. When you started building all the formulas then I knew. I also wondered why all the formulas and not just add the dimensions. I came to the conclusion that the formulas were needed to make the model so stable as proven by changing all the pad sketch dimensions in the end of the video. The construction line for the angle of the face was pure genius. Thanks for the video (which I downloaded for later reference) and all the super modeling methods in FreeCAD. GREAT JOB!

[@FreeCADAcademy]

Thanks a lot, Don! Of course, you’re putting a little bit more time and effort into building your models in the first place BUT then you will profit a lot from stable models which are editable with one or two clicks and don’t break when making changes. Might seem a little bit ‚too much‘ for a simple model like the one in the video but it might help later to build more sophisticated and complex models. Still it‘s just a suggestion by me - everyone has to find is own style and Workflow! 👍🏼😊

[@macronom]

Very helpful for people like me who are too lazy to read the tutorial, although they could learn a lot from it. ;)

[@FreeCADAcademy]

Thanks you're not too lazy to watch the video! :D No but to be serious: In the text tutorial there are some suggestions like drawing on 3D geometry faces which you shouldn't do in FreeCAD (as stated in my video on the toponaming problem), therefore I think my video is a good addition to the written tut. :)

[@ianparsons8019]

Thank you for the tutorial. Re-training myself in parametric CAD now and your tutorials have been invaluable. Only have been through #3 on freeCAD today but it has been wonderful.

[@FreeCADAcademy]

great!

[@KnobbyHobby4130]

Thanks for your time making this, I learnt a lot. I loved how you tested the model at the end.

[@pcost]

Your channel is unbelievably awesome! Thank you a lot for coming with it, I have seen all videos and they are awesome.Keep the good job!

[@ianrobinson509]

Excellent piece. Completely logical but I had to rewind several times to fully understand the parametric inputs. Will probably need to revisit this and the Block and Hole tutorial as well!

[@Luczr270]

Learned more by watching a few videos than going through the FreeCAD tutorial

[@laurentiusmichaelgeorge1118]

1. What's the difference between constraints and reference? 2. On 5:45, why does changing the z position value moves the object along the Y_Axis? And which are the reference point of the sketch that we are moving?

[@tushargarg1106]

A part of your question has been answered in the 6th Or 7th comment down your comment in the comment box.

[@MorningCarnival]

This is excellent. I use Freecad for prototyping some ideas for a product I’m working on, it’s a totally new area for me but I’m slowly being able to make more complex parts. Thanks for your effort.

[@headfog7621]

Your English is better then some people I know that only speak English...thanks for your help🤟 subscribed👍

[@alexwatson6530]

I appreciate the way this shows how simple it can be to avoid the topological naming problem. I accidentally encountered tnp the second time I tried to model because I realized I put the measurements in wrong (wrote what would have been cm in as the mm) and upon trying to change the measurements broke it and had to redo the whole thing. So learning how easy I can implement a way to avoid that is amazing.

[@lauriehartley9808]

Lovely piece of work that Flowwie 👏

[@solarenergynow08]

@ 5:45: The rectangle (26x16.7mm) you created is on XZ plane, hence shouldn't the "y" dimension (distance to XZ plane) be the one been modified? apologies for this basic question. Thanks for the helpful video.

[@atakan716]

i have the same question

[@bearsrodshop7067]

Still getting the hang of .19, but helpful to go through all the Q & A below. Lot of good questions and answer's. Flowwie, with you at the helm,,this ship will sail,,thx, & cheers !!

[@NigelSchulz]

Thats a great tutorial, I learnt a lot of new stuff, Im going to work through all of your tutorials and would love to see more covering all of the tools available in the parts workbench, thank you!

[@FreeCADAcademy]

Do you prefer the part WB ?

[@lewiscobb7817]

Flowie ! Great to see you back on the English channel 😊 I picked up a few good tips from this latest video but will have to watch it a few more times for everything to sink into my head 😂 Thanks very much for your work- it's very much appreciated. Cheers from Canada

[@FreeCADAcademy]

Nice to hear from you again Lewis and cheers to Canada! :)

[@lewiscobb7817]

@@FreeCADAcademy Hi Flowie - I'm back again after watching your video a couple more times. I've come across something at 5:49 that may have cleared up some confusion that I've had since I started using FreeCad. When you selected the sketch and then moved it - you were moving it in the Z offset. I could see that the sketch was moving on the screen along the X axis.....this has always confused me. But I think I just figured it out. The Z direction of the offset is in the normal direction to the sketch, not relative to the global xyz coordinate system. Is this correct ?

[@FreeCADAcademy]

@@lewiscobb7817 yes it's called LOCAL coordinate system, and the local Z-coordinate of a plane is always it's normal. I understand that this creates confusion at first!

[@lewiscobb7817]

@@FreeCADAcademy Thanks for the clarification ! I can't believe I never came across any documentation that pointed that out to me - probably just my bad luck. One more step on the road to being able to use FreeCad without rage - LOL. By the way, I came across a reddit post recently and it had this to say about your channel - I could not agree more. - keep up the fantastic work !! ------------- " He (Flowie) has a ton more content on his German Channel than on his English channel but that's completely irrelevant to how good this mans content is. It's phenomenal. It's absolutely superb, sublime, and excellent. Everything this person makes on his english channel, without question, is a must-watch for anyone who wants to learn FreeCAD." --------------

[@kazamanu]

Excellent tutorial, comming from Fusion360 I struggle a bit with freecad but your explanations where clear an I like the fact that you care about the model stability. Thank you.

[@ac300]

this is so much better than the written tutorial...

[@rodneyolinger7955]

I've spent 6 hours trying to recreate the outcome you do in the video. I've started over 4 times. Every time I get to making a hole along a path I get a fatal error. I notice the when I create the sketch for the hole that your result shows a square box on the angle plane. My sketch shows the square box on the angle plane and two lines extending from the upper corners out to the YZ plane where another box is shown. I am using version 0.19, revision 24276. Other than the failure I like your video.

[@rodneyolinger7955]

I sure would like to know why I get the fatal error

[@multimediaadesign]

Thanks for that movie. It best Freecad tutorial for me. It shows so useful procedural workflow.

[@CitizenKate]

Thanks for the great instruction - lots of useful techniques shown here, and you saved us from the dreaded topological naming gotcha!

[@FreeCADAcademy]

Thanks a lot for your nice feedback!

[@RMJ250]

Thankyou, this has explained why and shown how to not sketch on a surface perfectly. I have been using Freecad for a little while and breaking my drawings by needing to change an earlier feature was frustrating me

[@randywetzler5976]

As a Fusion 360 user trying out FreeCAD the terminology seems really strange, e.g. pad/pocket vs. extrude as well as other strange methods I have to say your teaching methods at least have helped me get a basic understanding of the program. Thanks for providing these tutorials!

[@jonathanroberts6205]

Very helpful thank you. I should mention that there were one or two occasions when you moved a bit too quickly, particularly regarding typing in constraints with the Formula Editor. I also should mention that although FreeCAD does pick up and hint you when typing in, for example, pad_name or Constraint eg. .Constraints.box_x_dim it is important to remember the exact name of eg. box_x_dim otherwise, you are sitting there with a red warning "No Attribute Name.." not knowing exactly why. Anyhow, once again, you demonstrate some extremely useful techniques, which I am sure will come in handy later on. Much appreciated.

[@pakmans]

Why is it not recommended to sketch directly into a face?

[@multimediaadesign]

As far I understood it`s because topological naming error. If polygon has some internal ID it may be dynamically changed without any logical reason during stack edition. That ID will be assigned into other face and after that your a new feature will be fixed into a wrong face (other face than you wanted before).

[@saratdas918]

Great way to avoid topological naming problem. Thank you.

[@GarrettBeaubien]

This is a REALLY nice tutorial! Thank you so much for putting this together!

[@FreeCADAcademy]

Thanks a lot

[@jacquesfavre999]

Just awesome tutorial! section at 4.26 is also a great piece of info that I learned here thanks

[@FreeCADAcademy]

Thank you very much! Happy you could learn something here!

[@CapitaineBleuten]

At 5:44, why is it Z value? Isn't it the Y direction???

[@FreeCADAcademy]

It’s the global y direction but the z offset for a plane is always the normal direction of the plane that means it’s it’s local z value of the plane - I know it’s confusing at first but just imagine a plane that is completely twisted in 3d space - you can still offset it normal with its local z value but you could never figure out if you had to use the global x,y and z values

[@koontzman123]

I could follow. Lots of blips along the way, but sorted each one out by redoing, going back and consolidating.

[@davedennis6042]

I follow exactly what you do and it says my sketch is over constrained. I am learning some but you do go a little fast.

[@roythomas4992]

Great tutorials! No time wasted, just to the point in fast pace. Great work! Thank you

[@jsc3417]

Very nice tutorial. One question, when you use the fx to reference to a different length, is it possible to show a list of all constraints predefined? Or do you just have to rely on memory?

[@GreyDeathVaccine]

Instead of using named constraints you could use Spreadsheet and make all names you put there as aliases - there's macro for that :-)

[@anderslundolsen6489]

@@GreyDeathVaccine EasyAlias

[@adriansinclair5323]

Excellent tutorial. I'd love to see a project based set of tutorials i.e. build more complex part or product that is deconstructed into several steps / tutorials. Keep on doing your awesome work.

[@daleeltoft3379]

Cool demo. The only thing I would add is the step to produce the "blueprint" image you have as the intro to your video. After doing a design I will need to produce hardcopy for others to view.

[@Ap-zq7lb]

best tutorials for freecad bigners. Benifited. Thanks.

[@TheSillybits]

I am a technician and I do believe that your methods of creation as well as explanation are very efficient and lead to correct moddeling. I also think, despite I am not an English native speaker as well, your English is pretty good and I am very pleased with your channel as honestly, when I first looked at Freecad I heard my brains cracking. Thanks to you I am getting a hang of it. I have some questions though: 1) If you add these boxes (“arm rests”) at the side (of that “couch”), will they automatically form an integral part of that body / is it a solid ready for printing? Or do they need to be joined? And how about different bodies in a part? Maybe you can make a video about that? 2) Maybe you could make (another) video about using geometry from one plane in another? 3) Would it be an idea for you to have novice modellers send you models they are working on for you to analyze/improve working methods? Hope to hear, cheers and thanks in advance.

[@GazaJimbo]

Hi Flowwie. I am very impressed by the teaching of best practice methods. Do you happen to have a (play)list of all of your English speaking tutorials please?

[@chzbrgla]

@05:01 could you also get the external geometry from your baseprofile sketch and put an equals constraint between the rectangle width and the base profile width? Does that have any disadvantages?

[@FreeCADAcademy]

Yes you could do that. But maybe you want the height and length to be independent from each other? If they should always be equal - then an equal constrain will be the better way, yes!

[@chzbrgla]

@@FreeCADAcademy ok great. same for the angled datum plane in 'front' - I would have defined the plane using two vertexes (not the face) of your profile sketch to define the plane (Align O-X-N) instead of referencing the front angle dimension. Is my understanding of the TNP correct that I can reference vertexes and edges from sketches without a problem, but not 3d objects like faces? The reason I ask is because I hate how FreeCAD has no autocomplete on the named constraints - and I keep forgetting how I named constraints (especially if I don't design the whole thing in one go). Referencing sketches makes it so much easier for me because it's simple see&click :) Just wanted to hear your opinion about this and if I walk into any future problems I don't know about yet.

[@CitizenKate]

1:36 - What is that control sequence that allowed you to rotate the planes? I may have seen it in one of the course videos, but I can't seem to find it now. (I'm working in version 0.20.)

[@CitizenKate]

Never mind - searched elsewhere and found the answer: To put your mouse in rotate *view* mode, press & hold the [shift] key, right-click where you want the center of rotation to be, and move the mouse pointer as desired. Release the [shift] key when the view angle is where you want it.

[@karmanshahid1131]

Thanks for the tutorial. You have brilliant teaching skills.

[@BrainDeadEngineering]

I see $$$ your a natural born teacher. If you was the processor at any my local colleges , I would pay anything to attend your CAD school ! cheers to the mother land ) I'm 59 and teaching a old dog new tricks isn't that easy. I will win this !

[@fernandol.6770]

Awesome educational content! Clear water explanations, thanks a lot!

[@FreeCADAcademy]

Thanks a lot for your support!

[@fernandol.6770]

@@FreeCADAcademy Nah! Thank YOU for YOUR support. I picked up FreeCAD on December 31 2022 with your newbe course, just on new years eve and a couple of hours later went into party mode. Two weeks later I am able to demonstrate CAD for some work interviews and use it for a personal project of building a roll cage for a car I am restoring! You made it possible and I thank you for that!

[@SuvacoDoce]

Hey, excellent tutorial. I just started learning freecad. Could you tell me: how did you turn on these axis XYZ inside 3d view? For example, in 3:35 the 3 axis are show with the 3d perspective of the sketch.

[@FreeCADAcademy]

You have to select the origin in the combo view and then press space bar on the key board. Space bar toggles the visibility

[@desertorenparo]

Wonderful tutorial. Best i have ever seen for this software at the moment.

[@tomthompson7400]

great tutorial , well explained and easy to follow ,

Great tutorial! Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks!!!!

[@illwill1337]

Thanks for the vid. It was very informative with some new features I didn't even know existed. And it saved me from using youtubes crappy auto--translate :)

[@FreeCADAcademy]

hey thanks a lot! so you will be happy to hear that after I hit my first 1000 subscribers here on the English Channel, I will do a lot more English content now!

[@petervancaeseele9832]

Note that in FreeCAD 0.20.2 the "subtractive sweep" command is now called "subtractive pipe". I don't know what version the name change was made.

[@wantafastz28]

Different way of doing things vs how others show it. Thanks.

[@huntro7071]

5:52 how you mived the Square there?...I tried everything i could but i could not able to do it

[@wierd657]

Why is it recommended not to create a sketch directly on the face?

[@FreeCADAcademy]

You can check my video about the ‚most annoying problem in FreeCAD‘ where I talk about the topological naming. Your designs become less consistent and can run into the topological naming problems if you place sketches directly on 3D geometry when you change your designs later.

[@FreezeS]

@@FreeCADAcademy this is what's commonly called a "show stopping bug". Yes, this feature can be easily created in 2 clicks but it's not the recommended way. we need to do a hack and then another hack and another et voila, it's done. So simple!

[@Hopeinformer]

When I get to adding the position of the 2nd sketch, 6:10 in the video, FreeCAD gives me an error saying Property 'Length' not found in '.Length' How do I fix this?

[@Stefan_Boerjesson]

How to get the second and third line of symbols, below the one You just clicked at time 01:18?

[@hamiltongazim7094]

how did you leave the gray appearance, with grid line?

[@BeatSlayer]

04:55 I get the error "No attribute named 'x_dim'. What I have written on the formula editor is: ".Constraints.x_dim" I have followed the naming of baseprofile in the start of the video. Any idea why?

[@theseangle]

You forgot to name the 26mm constraint as "x_dim" at the start of the video

[@linus-IO]

really nice tutorial! had some problems referencing to specific measurements when using the stagelink3 version, but seems to work as expected in the standard 0.019_pre version. I guess the reason is that stagelink3 was forked from master some time ago and are both lacking some functions aswell as including new ones. would be nice with a tutorial about taking measurements (ie on a downloaded step file). have some experience with solidworks and find it quite tricky in freecad, the caliper tool in the manipulator WB seems to be a little bit better than the standard tools.

[@artrock8175]

Another fantastic tutorial! Your videos are extremely helpful!

[@aliasvectoraliasvector246]

A very comprehensive tutorial. Thank you very much! Also that will be great if you show how you create the documentation draft with isometric view and standard planes views. Thank you in advance

[@napalmpig3772]

I have lines on the side of the model after the pad command at 6:38, but they are not there in the video. How do I change that?

[@FreeCADAcademy]

check the "REFINE" option under your properties.

[@napalmpig3772]

@@FreeCADAcademy Do you mean "automatically refine model..." in Part Design preferences? I have checked those but the model didn't change. Can't find any other refine option.

[@napalmpig3772]

@@FreeCADAcademy I started again from the beginning and it worked this time. Thank you! Hope to see more tutorials like this!

[@oupaswoodshop1325]

tried this model with Freecad 0.21.0. The symmetrical ketch dimension gives an error. 17:19:10 The `.FCStd#` backup format is deprecated as of v0.21 and may be removed in future versions. To update, check the 'Preferences->General->Document->Use date and FCBak extension' option. 19:16:04 Recompute failed! 19:16:30 Recompute failed! 19:17:27 Recompute failed! 19:18:09 Recompute failed! 19:22:12 Recompute failed! 19:22:45 Recompute failed! 19:23:03 Delete: Selection not restricted to one sketch and its subelements 19:25:09 Recompute failed! 19:26:08 Recompute failed! 19:26:22 Recompute failed! 19:26:23 Recompute failed! 19:27:25 Recompute failed! 19:30:04 DirectWrite: CreateFontFaceFromHDC() failed (Indicates an error in an input file such as a font file.) for QFontDef(Family="8514oem", pointsize=10, pixelsize=20, styleHint=5, weight=50, stretch=100, hintingPreference=0) LOGFONT("8514oem", lfWidth=0, lfHeight=-20) dpi=120 19:35:00 DirectWrite: CreateFontFaceFromHDC() failed (Indicates an error in an input file such as a font file.) for QFontDef(Family="8514oem", pointsize=10, pixelsize=20, styleHint=5, weight=75, stretch=100, hintingPreference=0) LOGFONT("8514oem", lfWidth=0, lfHeight=-20) dpi=120 19:35:31 Recompute failed! 19:36:51 Recompute failed! 19:41:01 Recompute failed!

[@chebhou3120]

can you define global variables to use in constraints?

[@keithforbes4544]

why did Pad have arrows () around it at 6:14, but not at 8:17?

[@ricardo2004]

Thank you! I'm learning more with your videos :)

[@張懷元-r3n]

sorry... 5:04,【constraints.X_dim 】 freecad red warning "No Attribute Name x_dim" ...how can i fix it... T-T

[@jimviau327]

Another great video, strait to the point. Great job again ! Also, I have these questions, if you please. When filing up dimension values with the Formula editor entry box I found that FreeCAD supply auto suggestions as soon as a first letter is entered. Then the user can select whatever is available that include the letter. For example: B will show BaseProfile ( a name already entered ). Then if you enter C, all words including C or c will appear as choices, like Constraints. Lastly, if the desired dimension name is x_dim, one would start with an x but the auto suggest is not showing choices anymore. Why ? Furthermore, is there a way to see all available entries without having to suggest a starting letter ( which is restrictive to the letter entered) ? Thank.

[@theseangle]

I agree with your critiques about poor autocomplete system in FreeCAD

[@shuvashishroy6006]

Hi, can you please show a tutorial to draw wingwalls of a boxculvert. I know it's easy for you but I am having a hard time to figure it out since the wing walls are at 45 degree outward from the rectangular sections.

[@FreeCADAcademy]

Can’t do personalized tutorials for free unfortunately.

[@shuvashishroy6006]

@@FreeCADAcademy thanks for your reply. I have managed to build a culvert. However, Can you please let me know how to be a patrion? Thanks.

[@brucewilliams6292]

Thank you Flowwie! Really appreciate the tutorial. Do you have an easy way to do multiple threads in Part Design? I tried using the Fastener WB but couldn't figure out how to cut more than one thread at a time.

[@FreeCADAcademy]

have to test this myself first. at the moment I really don’t know!

[@sonik7452]

Можно построить модель проще, если использовать функцию "Внешняя геометрия". You can build a model more easily if you use the "External Geometry" function (Google translation).

[@MisterWestbam]

Thank you, learned a lot!

[@Eadsn]

These indepth tutorials are really wonderfull. I am trying to learn, but get random error now and then. I didn't know that I shouldn't draw on 3d faces. But I have experienced the anoyance when faces gets deleated and the model gets f-ed up. I would be interested to see a guide to structuring projekts, how to handle different parts etc. Great tutorials so far, and I'm looking forward to the next!

[@karasuZanu]

7:17 why this blue button do not works in my working.

[@mostirreverent]

why did you dimension the second rectangle from the plane, and not from the first part?

[@jimdunleavypiano]

Anybody know why my sketch turns light blue and then isn't visible in Part Design view? I've started from scratch with new empty documents 3 times and it keeps on happening.

[@FreeCADAcademy]

Have you switched the construction geometry on? If yes, the symbols in the Toolbar (line rectangle polyline etc. are blue, not white) Otherwise I don’t have an idea..

[@jimdunleavypiano]

@@FreeCADAcademy Thanks for the reply. It was a case of fourth time lucky - I went through it again, and this time I noticed you had a couple of boxes ticked in the sketcher menu that I didn't - Auto update and Hide internal alignment. I can't be sure that's what did it, but it worked fine after I ticked those. These are excellent videos by the way; keep up the good work!

[@iangriffiths2405]

why 16 (commer),7mm time line 5:27

[@keithforbes4544]

you mean the pad at 6:39? it's just the design given

[@earth4s]

Some places in the world use comma instead of period/dot to show a decimal separation.

[@justinthomas6980]

The expression manager and the adjustment arrows dont open on the position axis in my info window when I click on it to try and move the 1st sketch

[@Stefan_Boerjesson]

Do You have a tutorial suitable for a complete newbie having not even a dot in the workspace?

[@sicstar]

Man i just wanted to flip the part on your thumbnail 90° to the right so its properly facing to be 3d printed! :D

[@jlawrence71]

Excellent, Great Job. Really understanding things. Question: Why is using a Datum a best practice Vs. using the front face of 'baseprofile'?

[@badgrandpa8602]

I am having an issue with not being able to create a line of any part of the SKETCH. I can get the cursor to select the "draw line", but i cannot draw a line, or circle or any feature. Can someone point me in the right direction as to how to get started. Greatly appreciate any assistance!

[@riquesan]

A great tutorial!! Thank you!! My question is if I need to add some chanfers and fillets, what would be the best practice to apply? Make the half completely and then mirror everything? How do we do it, in part workbench? Or to continue and applying the fillets and chanfers on both sides? But how to avoid the topological naming errors?

[@FreeCADAcademy]

First I would not recommend mixing Part and Part Design workbench. The example part here in this video can be modeled in both workbenches equally well, but I recommend deciding which workbench you want to use before you start the design. Then (as you mentioned the toponaming) I recommend applying the fillets and chamfers as absolute last features in your model tree. Of course you could apply a pattern or mirror feature on the dress-up features (fillets, chamfers e.g.) but this is typically where you can encounter the toponaming if you change something on your geometry (model tree). So as a best practice: try to make them the last features and always double check their effects on existing geometry when yo change something.

[@riquesan]

@@FreeCADAcademy Yes!! I was looking for a mirror that allow to select the body, but in Part Desing I just found the mirror for features. Thank you again!!! Every video you share are amazing!!

[@robertkras5162]

Nice tutorial. I think the last cut could have been sketched from the rear and the standard pocket could have been used, though you probably more wanted to show how to use the datum plane?

[@GreyDeathVaccine]

Actually, you are wrong. Because you would have to calculate dimensions, because angled 7mm != 7mm perpendicular to the plane. By using datum plane he skipped unnecessary math.

[@babbadge]

I think that's a great alternative solution. The "angled 7mm calculation" could have easily been done in the baseprofile sketch

[@theseangle]

Hello, does FreeCAD have configuration files? Like is it possible for you to share your configuration settings with your viewers?

[@justinthomas6980]

Why doesn't my expression manager open in my combo view window when I click on the axis

[@Iamtechboy]

when changing the z possition of the second sketch i found it grayed out and couldnt be changed , when looking it up i found that it could be possition linked to another sketch but i could find how !!

[@kodak_jack]

As simple as that wiki is, I cannot get even the very first sketch done. I have things on the tree that I do not see in the tools bar. I have to select sketch from the tree because it is not in the tool bar. I select the plane to draw on from the tree as doing what you suggest doesn't happen. What am I doing wrong? I just downloaded my program last week, so, I have to have the latest one. Even if I turn off auto constraints I cannot get it to set the size of a simple line. All I get are error messages no matter what I try to do. Again, what am I doing wrong? Help and thanks.

[@valuepurposemission7517]

question. is there a fundamental reason to not use the back face to run your hole sketch and not have to reference the bottom face. noobie here so ... just curious. :)

[@erfut]

Great tutorial, for us beginners. Thank you

[@fedaykinwolf]

Finally forced from Fusion to FreeCAD... I've done like 5 tutorials, and each one I run into the same problem that is never echoed in these tutorials. I have a "fully constrained sketch" a simple rectangle. (4x coincident, 2x vertical, 2x horizontal, fixed vertical, fixed horizontal, and either centered around origin, or corner on the origin) No matter what i do, when I click "update" and "close" the sketch, no sketch ever shows up in the main viewer, from what i can tell all "parent" items (Body, or body and part) and the sketch itself is toggled "visible"... I can never see the sketch until I double click on the sketch i.e. to edit it... edit the sketch never changed to the "green" color too What did I miss? thanks for your time

[@mostirreverent]

is there a way to have dimensions automaticaly apear when you draw a line, rather then having to click each line and then the dimension tool?

[@pellcorp]

Very helpful videos for newbies like me. I still struggle with fillets and chamfers moving faces even when I am religious about not drawing on faces! I guess that's a separate issue?

[@FreeCADAcademy]

Actually it’s the same issue with the topological naming, but unlike the sketching on faces topic, it’s basically almost impossible to avoid because chamfers, fillets, draft etc. all work on 3D geometry and will always be affected by the toponaming. One thing you could do and what’s often recommended: always use the dress up features (fillets , chamfers e.g.) as absolute last features in your model and don’t create new geometry that’s based on them. So you can easily delete them as the last features of your model tree, make the necessary changes on your model and then recreate fillets etc. again ! Thanks for the question and happy CADing! 👍🏼

[@JesusIsreal72]

How do you keep the blue plane lines up ? My blue plane lines don't show up all the time. -

[@suraiyaanjum2907]

Can anyone explain what is freecad realthunder and how to download it?

[@FreeCADAcademy]

It's an experimental fork of freecad by the developer "Realthunder". He is a very active FreeCAD developer and has his own version of FreeCAD with a lot of features that are not (yet) included in the official FreeCAD releases. Some of them will come to official FreeCAD sooner or later, some may never find their way into FreeCAD. It's a great fork with great improvements, but be careful it is NOT 100% compatible to official FreeCAD. So you might have trouble switching files between both. Thats the reason why I don't use it, allthough it's very good. I want to stay 100% compatible to the official release on my channels. You find it here to download: github.com/realthunder/FreeCAD_assembly3/releases

[@elokjerside8680]

Flowwie, where do i add material to a part to be used for weight calculation? I know where i find the weight but not how to add material to a part for calculation!?

[@FreeCADAcademy]

Hey! You could try this macro here and define the density of your material: wiki.freecadweb.org/Macro_FCInfo