Learning FreeCad with These Basic Steps

[@D3v611]

Seriously.... After DAYS of looking through tutorials, i literally learned more in these 20 minutes than the hours i wasted on other videos.... Superb!!

[@weekend.writer]

This is what I call a talented teacher! 10/ 10

[@oldgeek29577]

Thanks for teaching an old man how to do it. I learned more in this

[@MagicHawkeye]

KZbin allows for video playback speed tweaking under the gear icon. You can speed them up, or slow them down. I agree: this is an excellent tutorial.

[@ThalassTKynn]

Freecad is pretty great. It's not perfect, and not as polished as some commercial CAD programs. But for hobbyists like me it's perfect. There are heaps of tutorials on youtube, too.

[@luizcarlosquerido2943]

Blender is opensource and VERY VERY VERY polished. There are no interest by FreeCad to improve, this is it.

[@fannyalbi9040]

@@luizcarlosquerido2943blender is too technical. learning curve is steep for a novice

[@rusername]

​​@@luizcarlosquerido2943 blender != CAD Hope you understand

[@rickhalverson2252]

Why are you here watching basic steps to learning freeCAD if you're so happy with another program? That doesn't even make sense. ​@@luizcarlosquerido2943

[@ZeFoxii]

Saying that FreeCad is not perfect is an understatement, it downright sucks compared to fusion360. Mainly because it doesn’t auto snap lines and allow the user to make a sketch 3d without 10 extra obnoxious steps the cad modeler should be assuming, it should be editable by the user, in case of a problem. Not forced by default. if I could have the fusion360 full experience 1:1 from free cad I’d shitcan fusion immediately while giving them the double birds but until then free cad is foreign and alien to normal users especially when compared to fusion.

[@nightwing2012]

One heck of a tutorial. Fast... No bloat... Just the needed skills shown! Good job!

[@Rusty_B_And_The_Gang]

No pain, no gain

[@ted_van_loon]

and the speed is not to tracgically slow, but at the same time also not just jumping over/past thigns at random points. if I had a second screen this would be great to follow in real time.

[@KevinCarbonaro]

I learnt more from this video about using Freecad than anywhere else. Thanks! What I realised is that most of the time I know what I want to do, but do not know the terminology used to search about it. For example, it would not be straight-forward for a beginner to guess that you need to use a pocket to create a hole. Keep these tutorials coming :)

[@bill4639]

Honestly, he is talking WAY too fast and the resolution on his camera is terrible. There are much better videos out there.

[@MagicHawkeye]

@@bill4639 - Honestly, if you think someone is talking way too fast, you can slow down the playback speed and solve that problem. For what it's worth, I was actually playing this at 1.25x recorded speed, and low resolution (to save bandwidth), and found it understandable. Your mileage may vary.

[@Zmit]

It really does not matter for the part you created in this video, yet worth mentioning; instead of increasing the depth dimension of a hole, choose the feature "through hole" (many CAD systems offer an option to select last surface to "punch" through. When designing plastics parts a general rule is to ad a rounding to all concave transitions of stressed/load bearing features. And lastly a DFA tip: always add a chamfer to surfaces that has to be pushed over another part (and a rounding to any feature that has to go into a hole ... but here the boom arm is already round).

[@atom6_]

Equal, horizontal, vertical and symmetrical constraints will improve and speed up your workflow quite a bit. Especially with the holes, create one and the rest will automatically follow the constraints. This is key when your designs become more complex and requires changes. Also note that you can adjust the way the mouse navigation works in many different ways - in preferences > display > navigation

[@Sembazuru]

Watching him do his constraints and the pocket reminds me of people who center text with multiple spaces and paginate with multiple enters in word processors. Yes, those will work, but it is more precise and more forgiving of future edits to use the proper alignment/constraint tools within the software package...

[@Appregator]

One surprisingly useful Workbench in FreeCAD is Spreadsheet. It makes your design parametric. So you link the dimensions to the drawing and instead of tweaking numbers in the drawing one just goes to the spreadsheet and changes the values. The spreadsheet operates similarly to a normal spreadsheet where values can be formulated to calculate the value. Also there is a macro which one can use to make it easier to make a cell name alias something descriptive. So for example instead of say cell C4 it can be called "Width".

[@zibingotaeam3716]

as far as perspective controls go, you don't even need to go in to settings, just click on the little icon in the bottom left corner.

[@clytle374]

Been using freecad for a long long time. Thanks for helping beginners out, it's a very important part of Freecad. Getting started is the hardest part. After a while you find it fun to figure out the easiest or best way to do stuff.

[@jmilton041]

Trying to get away from Fusion 360 I've watched 10+ videos on basics of FreeCad. This is by far the most helpful and straightforward one I've seen.

[@originalhotrodder4337]

I've learned how to model in OnShape, then Fusion 360 then back to OnShape and all along tried to model with FreeCad but gave up before getting to make anything in FreeCad, until watching this video. Thank you for keeping it simple enough to get a model finished with FreeCad. I now know that I will be able to use FreeCad to create all my 3D models. I really wanted to use FreeCad because it's the only free CAD software that allows me to create things I want to sell. I'm going to be watching your other FreeCad videos, thank you again!!!

[@jonathanraypollard]

Perfection! I am a game designer, with extensive knowledge on Game Engines and their UX/UI. This tutorial was a great, well paced, perfect beginning examples with demonstrated steps that can be easily followed along with on a second monitor. Only fumble was the right-click to get out of the tool at the beginning, but you hammered that point home for the rest of the tutorial. Well done, you have my gratitude!

[@the_joernal]

Direct and straightforward guide... and fun as well. As a mechanical engg it's great to see that I can stay on linux and not need to switch to windows all the time when I need CAD software. Thanks.

[@PaulG.x]

You can actually import an image such as the one for the Pi . Then adjust the scale so that it is correct with respect to the FreeCAD units. Then you can build your model around the image. If you can get 3 axis view images ,then you can attach each one to a relevant plane in the 3D view

[@sigmata0]

I just started playing with FreeCAD and obviously came in contact with the wall of daunt. Thanks for this it's just what I needed to go forward! 🙂

[@ezedjay]

Haha - This teacher knows how to explain things. Seriously - This is by far the best tutorial to get started with freecad. Thanks 🙏

[@erniepaj]

Love the straightforward, teach by example route. Exactly what a beginner would need to learn this quickly. Great tutorial.

[@weekend.writer]

I agree. This is the way to go.

[@brianmi40]

You'll get better over time quickly. You can constrain opposing corners symmetrical to the origin to lock down the original Sketch faster, and you can Mirror one post across the centerline to get it on the other side rather than draw each and lastly apply Hole through all rather then needing a dimension. If you draw the circle starting on the vertical line, it will already be constrained to center left and right. Same thing, Mirror the holes and you can constrain them equal as opposed to dimensioning each. But kudos for already having a design sense of how to realize what you have in mind. That's a critical skill. Also, a "fill-lay" is a "filet" or steak. But a CAD rounded corner is a "fill-et", with a hard T sound.

[@NovaspiritTech]

i love this comment, not only is it educational, you go about it very politely. thank you!

[@timinwsac]

I've been using freecad for a number of years now, for designing parts for 3d printing, and while I would go about this project somewhat differently it's a good introduction video. One thing people should know is that freecad has a few "quirks" that will drive you nuts. But once you become aware what causes them and how to avoid them they're not much of a problem.

[@hornox4life]

And if your used to Catia or solid works you will find it unacceptable, tormenting even.

[@timinwsac]

@@hornox4life Well I tell ya I've used solidworks for a couple of years and it's not crash proof. True it's more elegant than freecad but it comes with a hefty price tag. As a veteran I was able to get it for twenty dollars a year for the student license. Why did I switch to freecad? Because there was no guarantee that at the end of the year solidworks would offer me the same discount.

[@TheScotsalan]

​@@hornox4lifeThats for sure. I have been a decade on solidworks, and moving to freecad made me want to throw the laptop out the window. But once I got the basics it started to click. But, I went back to solidworks for a couple of weeks, and returning to freecad today, all I had learned had gone. 😂🤣.

[@davidcooper3871]

The Real Thunder link branch for FreeCAD addresses the problem.

[@stowjer]

This was brilliant! Many thanks. I had to suffer through many FreeCad tutorials explaining lots of minute detail, but this taught me so much in a short space of time! Thank you

[@user-kv6jh9tt9n]

This was FANTASTIC, I am super bad at math and design but after watching this I feel like I have actually learned something. I am just now getting into 3 D printing and I really wanted to learn to make my own useful items but had no idea what to do. This I feel is a great starting point for me. Thank You so much for this!

[@tonypitsacota2513]

Thank you for the very nice video. 3 months of CAD in college was reduced to 17 minutes thanks to you.

[@guyfontenot]

By far the best video for raw beginners. Well explained and easy to follow. Made my first custom desk light base to replace the broken one using this video and it was perfect.

[@antt3717]

Absolutely amazing. Just the tutorial I was looking for. Learning the basics to get you started is so important and in 20 min you started my journey. Thank you so much. 😊

[@BenEehayeh]

Learning FreeCad is a serious endeavor, and there has been a lack of useful tutorials. Thank you for walking through a simple project to show the usage process. Big help. 👍

[@kwisatzhaderach1458]

Are you kidding? There are plenty of useful tutorials that have been on YT for FreeCAD going on YEARS.

[@BenEehayeh]

@@kwisatzhaderach1458Here is a Gom Jebar for you. I'm a research junkie. I don't rely on one person's perspective for any subject I research, mostly because people don't know how to explain things properly. After five or more videos, of at least four FreeCad tutorial creators, I did not have the ability to start a project, draw a shape, or modify a shape. It annoyed me so much I removed FreeCad from my computer. In this video here, "Learn FreeCad with These Basic Steps" gave me hope, that I could build a simple part in FreeCad. Because of this video I reinstalled FreeCad. This content creator did what everyother tutorial I consumed failed at, a simple project hand holding walk through. Every tutorial should begin this way. 90% of guitar song tutorials do this.

[@dylanmacintosh]

Wow... I really struggled more than I thought with this program, but after pausing and rewatching your tutorial over 3 days I finally made my breakthrough and got over my hurdle. Thanks so much for showing the "long way" of this program, as now it's starting to make perfect sense to me.

[@forgottencameras]

Man this was my hurdle too. I'd been trying to apply TinkerCAD principals to FreeCAD, which was tripping me up really bad. But now I can get some basic, precise designs in, all in about 15 minutes. I love the fast pace you taught this, as it kept me from getting bored and matched about how fast I like to blow through things. Thank you so much!

[@beaudamien]

Very detailed explanation. I really appreciate your help with this because I was looking for a really easy program to use with my printer. I tried Bambu labs, but to me it’s worthless. Again thank you for sharing this information. 😊😊

[@GloomRng]

Just want to let you know i open this vid every time i need to make a new jig for work, it is excellent , thankyou so much.

[@nibblesful]

That external geometry tip has blown my mind. Up until now I've calculated the previous shape and created construction lines manually mathematically. True life saver

[@etxgaming2303]

I love walk-throughs like this that are straight to the point. I'm just starting to learn so this was very helpful. Thank you.

[@danielstanfill4321]

These types of videos do an excellent job of demonstrating that the presenter can use the software. Little attempt is ever made to show the viewer the thought process, the why, such that the viewer can see the logic and flow together. This, the viewer only sees a quick series of clicks that can barely, if at all, be followed, and never digest the rational behind the use of the software. More often than not, the viewer will find the video as impairing as the software, and turn away with their negative impressions reinforced.

[@jakespeaks6095]

7:20 literally made me say "OHHHH THATS HUGE" because I had no clue that was a option when building off a existing part. My life will be much easier now thank you sir.

[@nigelweighell4479]

Thanks for the tutorial. I was you when I first downloaded FreeCad, I could not get started. You have managed to get me through the first stages. Thank you again.

[@eligraves9606]

Been years since I've used cadd and wanted to try this out but it was daunting. I gained a lot from this video, Thanks.

[@qlens4635]

It worked! That's my first successful project on FreeCAD! Thank you!

[@knucklehead83]

I hope you have more tutorials for FreeCAD. I was watching some other tutorials and I couldn't follow along. There was just too much unnecessary information muddling up the concepts. You laid it out so simply. Great video.

[@kabaottoemulsion1869]

OMG this is the first video I have seen explaining how to design 3D files for beginner! Thank you so much! Now It is close for me to make a decision for purchasing a 3d printer!

[@RobertSzabo76]

Very clear and exhaustive explanation. I use to look to freecad in the past just to close it immediately after terrified. But after your video I regain my courage. 👍

[@5665metcalfe]

After watching a few videos i was still lost 10min into this video and i was able to make what i wanted. He explains why you need to do this a certain way not just clicking and saying do this do that. Thanks you for the video.

[@sinabayat3654]

Thank you. Youre tutorial has been very useful to me. I'm trying to switch from blender to freecad. And I was worried I may not be able to do much on this software. Thank you again for making this a very simple task.

[@davidrandall4001]

That was really good, have been hesitant to dive into yet another cad program but this video has convinced me to give it a shot. If you by chance to do more on this subject, I'm listening.

[@majicMix911]

Nice taste of FreeCAD. Definently need to watch more lessons as I am confused as to what constraints I need, and where to place them.

[@powerwagon3731]

This is all new to me, but as a old time drafter I picked it up fairly quickly. One suggestion is the inner diameter should have been more than 180 degrees maybe 185 degrees so it would clip on your tube but that is a minor suggestion. Just subscribed as your presentation is great!

[@rays14ful]

wow. That was the best video I have seen. All my little questions got answered without wasting hours and hours. Thank you.

[@testusersg]

Just a tip. Normally for pocket I'll just put "thru all" instead of "dimension". Less the hassle of figuring the value, and if the thickness changes, there's no need to adjust the value (if it's meant to cut thru all anyway). For the holes, just create 1 hole and use multi-transform and 2 mirror transformation works well.

[@wallypizza323]

By far the best tutorial for somebody brand new to FreeCAD.

[@54114142]

Have been using FreeCad quite a lot and still learned something. GREAT tutorial! Super compact!

[@bradleygambino5021]

Awesome! I am a huge CadSTD user, except it is 2D only. So for me to jump into FreeCAD, you really have helped me a lot!

[@paddlerpaul2577]

Amazing tutorial. Thank you. I have learned more from your video than i have in the last day of trying to figure out freecad. Thank you.

[@martinsrensen5049]

I have spent hours trying to learn to create my own simple designs. This cleared up all the confusion for me. It is a very good entry video. I see a lot of suggestions in the comments to impove but i think that would just have made the video much longer and difficult to follow for a beginner. So thats learning for another day. Thanks for making the video and keeping it simple 🙂

[@Rubensgardens.Skogsmuseum]

Congrats, Freecad! I got to sketching a box and then I had to google for half an hour and was still unable to follow this tutorial. Going back to Fusion 360 even though it sucks. Spent too many days on it to quit and start over.

[@rsv-code7004]

Wow, this video was a great crash course! I can't believe how fast it got me up and running with FreeCad. Thanks!

[@mikewalloch8657]

Great video! The first thing I noticed is it looks very much like CATIA V5. I'm sure that's no accident. I'm mainly a SOLIDWORKS guy, but I also use CATIA, so after seeing your video I'm pretty sure I could pick FreeCAD up without much trouble. Thanks for the insight!

[@AndyMorrisArt]

That was amazing! I'm completely new to 3D rendering and I just need to know some basics to create a more professional looking rendering than I currently have with my hand-drawn sketches. This inspires me, thank you.

[@Failfer]

this was the first freecad vid I was able to fully sit through, it was really good and thank you

[@markusallport1276]

I followed along and did not miss a step. It took me 2 hours to watch and copy, but I did it lol I made one on the resin printer and another on the filament printer, both turned out great! Thanks

[@f3rn4ndoTenBatsu]

Man, this was the video I was looking after.. so intuitive and clear. Now I can properly start doing my own designs. Thanks for the info!

[@FrogSquadOfficial]

External geometry was the button I missed to make this program work for me, thank you.

[@willbingo]

For an absolute beginner to freecad this video helped out so much 👍

[@The_Nameless_Entity]

Dude. Thank you so much! I had downloaded about 3 different cad software to try and everyone I backed away from because it looked so intimidating and difficult to use. Now that I have a basic understanding from your video, I can experiment with cad. Instant sub! Thanks!! Aloha from Hawaii.

[@michaelcooper5490]

Don that was awesome, I have since installed freecad and learning to use it. Thank you for this video.

[@noahpittman]

What an amazing video! Thank you for this content. Never used any CAD software before & now feel very confident experinmenting with design. Cheers!

[@the4thj]

Best FreeCad tute I have found so far, thank you. It gives me a good start.

[@waynefilkins8394]

My problem is I finally learned freecad workflow and while I can't do much with imported stl's, I got really good at creating stuff from scratch, that's where it really shines, but the problem is I didn't use it for a couple months and forgot how it works lol...now I gotta relearn it again. Hoping this video helps me get that info back.

[@equesfuscus]

Super easy to follow. I followed you and built the identical part. I don't need that part, but I can start trying things I need. Thank you.

[@davidnguyenvu7807]

Thanks. We are very easy to understand and you give instruction so that everyone can do it. You are truly a great teacher .I really like your instructions.

[@brennanweber22]

This was a great video. I am just learning freecad for 3D Printing. I am working through some intro books, but this video really helped tie everything together to get started.

[@scottydo5282]

Probably the best CAD tutorial I've seen in a long time. Well done dude

[@calebskinner9348]

Thank you for this. I've been struggling with freecad for a while, but this kind of gets me to where I am with Fusion.

[@learn2smile]

Thank you. Several videos didn't describe the constraints as well and I have been struggling, after coming from Fusion.. Great video.

[@waynetomlinson35]

Freecad beginer tutorial was a great help, never thaught i could grasp it but you made it easy to follow, thank you.

[@clairemack2750]

You have no idea how much this helped me... I was so overwhelmed!

[@surveyminghing5994]

this video is really useful to illustrate the basic operation and function of the drafting for a simple component. Help many new beginners understand the principle of FREECAD!!!!!!! That was concentrated the basic concepts for the beginners!

[@3dprintedhardware]

@NovaspiritTech A lot of people knock on FreeCAD saying that it's too limited. That might be true if you're designing a jet engine for a f22 fighter jet or rocket engines for NASA but for almost everyone interested in getting into CAD it is more than adequate. I designed a whole 3d printable tool set using FreeCAD and had no problems.

[@pshames]

Great demo Don. I am new to the 3D printing hobby and woould really like to design my own models. FreeCAD looks like the way to go. I really appreciate the time you took to make and post this video

[@whackstro5184]

I definitely appreciate the effort put into this video. However, I finished it still feeling confused about how to do many basic things in FreeCAD. A lot of details are glossed over, like what constraint symbols specifically mean and what each type does. It also doesn't really touch on many of the tools available. For example, instead of free-handing a rectangle and centering the object by manually constraining corner vertices to the origin, you can just use the "Centered Rectangle" tool and draw it out from the plane origin, skipping a few tedious steps. Just wanted to let anyone who still feels confused know that you aren't alone!

[@naralas4737]

The constrain geometry stuff on the new sketches wasn't super clear but I think I understand. Other than that tiny note, this is absolutely the best freeCAD into I have seen and I would love it if you kept going with videos as you learned new stuff.

[@nhohensee]

God bless you sir. Your training video here was clear, concise, and easy to follow. Just like you said, easy to pick up the ball and run with it after you learn these basics.

[@Zodliness]

Simply put, invaluable information no 3D printer enthusiast should ignore! 👍

[@justinholden5536]

thank you so much made my very first Free Cad 😀 Great Lesson.👍Please Keep them coming

[@Pushing00]

This helped me a lot, I made my first bit holder. Thank you for helping open this world for me!!

[@BonesFamily-f5m]

Dude... I have been intimidated by FreeCad for so long. This was super helpful!

[@mralxndr2846]

Thank you very much for the tutorial. i didnt know which program to use to start learning in the world of 3d parts creation and you really helped me out here. It wasnt to long or too short and i could understand and follow through while not being overwhelmed. Great Video ! =)

[@lfbarni]

I tried starting with Ondsel, never been so happy switching a tool. For some reason Ondsel is extremely buggy while FreeCAD is slick! Crazy, in my mind they were the same. Anyways, this helped me a lot, thanks!

[@whatsupwithyoudude]

This is tryly the only tut you need for your intro class. Thank you sir.

[@jesusnieto6911]

The most helpful totorial ive seen i was actually avle to retain some of things you didnt go in too deep and you stuck with the basics i.e constranting everytbing onstead of just copying. Thanks man i creayed a rough sketch of a gated shifter for my car hopefilly theyll let me cut one up at work

[@woulf1031]

Excellent Tutorial for beginners. After this Video i am able to design Basic stuff on my own.

[@jonathanroberts7100]

You really did a fantastic job of this tutorial, which has saved me many hours of scratching my head. Thanks heaps!

[@ianlarson5313]

actually more approachable than many of the videos by people who know the program really well

[@dnczardnczar]

Just started with FreeCad (3rd day now) and I'm a long way from understanding how it works. Your video here was a great help. Particularly with constraints. Have to say though, it would have been a great help if you went a bit slower. But hey, thank you.

[@edwardroscoe9020]

This is a great tutorial, I was worried that free cad would be a nightmare to learn but this has made the first few steps so easy!

[@beatlessteve1010]

Excellent instructional on Freecad. I was exactly like you not knowing where to start with this software because I am used to something like old-school Autocad, where you have a design sheet with coordinates and crosshairs and basically you start with measurements and use your mouse to snap to coordinates.

[@marktorres3852]

Pretty good tutorial. I do see the similarities between Freecad and Solidworks (Solidworks user here), although I thought it would've been much better if you did show some commands that would make the part building quicker and more efficient. For instance, you could've made just one hole (or two holes) on the surface, specify the dimensions, then just mirror onto the other side. In doing the longer route that you presented, it's just taking extra time dimensioning each and every hole (also can be prone to accidentally making a tiny mistake by mis-typing and giving an incorrect value to one of the holes). The same goes for the holders - just make one then mirror onto the other side. You can ensure that dimensions are the same and they are symmetrical. I'm hoping that these commands (i.e., mirror, linear pattern, circular pattern) can also be done with Freecad (that I'm interested in knowing), as it they are basic in Solidworks and Autocad. I'd like to try out Freecad later on, as it is free and you don't have to pay thousands of dollars for a license.

[@orvilleclisby6748]

For over twelve years, ive been using an old desktop with Windows XP off-line to run an old version of Turbocad. The computer runs well, with no issues.

[@sacriptex5870]

dude you Rock!! I learn so much with your video!! God bless you and your Family! Greetings from Brazil

[@lighteningwawa]

Thank you so much! Among all of the freeCAD videos you explain the concept the best.

[@FlorenceDosh]

Thanks. A good beginners tutorial using the minimum number of concepts. There are other constraints that make for a better design but that would best be for a follow on tutorial. For example, the idea would be to place the upper left hole and then make the upper right horizontal constrained. Then place the lower right and make the upper right vertically constrained. Similar for lowe4r left. Then do it all over again but use a rectangle and use the symmetry constraints on opposite corners and the center then set horizontal and vertical sizes. These last ways are better but not for your first drawing.

[@MrKILLAKA]

I’ve been thinking about going and taking a class to learn some of the commercial cad programs, decided to mess with some free ones to get a feel for the whole process before I spend money on a class lol. This video was pretty easy to follow and most comments have good tips… I think. My only “complaint” is not showing how to copy or mirror things but I’ll figure it out. Downloading it now 👍🏻

[@treeoflifeenterprises]

thanks for the tutorial/howto. this pursuaded me that 3d cad was acheivable, and i bought my first 3d printer.

[@ooglek]

This is an excellent video! I was so confused by how to build my own piece. Now with your video, I made my first piece! I've got a few tweaks to go, but you've simplified the process and made it understandable. Thanks!!! FreeCad FTW!