Woodworking with FreeCAD

In this video we give an overview on how we design woodworking projects in FreeCAD.
The video contains quite a few fixes and workarounds that make the work with FreeCAD easier and more comfortable.
BLOG: wayofwood.com/w...
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[@WayofWood]

On popular request there will be a slower paced step by step series on how to use FreeCAD in Woodworking: kzbin.info/aero/PL9VmYdF0sBykAJiMAqIxzTTti3i-kvarx

[@WayofWood]

Glad it was helpful to you!

[@Tazanthro]

Oh thank goodness! I was way too overwhelmed with this one. great video none the less. thank you for your efforts.

[@WayofWood]

Let me know if anything is unclear after watching the other videos

[@TheSchane]

0.5 playback speed while having the article open in another tab. Not all the steps are laid out, but I got through it all by pausing, going back, watch again....repeat. (edit: a LOT of pausing/rewinding) This video is a good way to find out that this is an option for woodworkers. it is NOT a tutorial or "how to" by any means. @WayofWood Thank you for making this video, it has made my use of Freecad so much more comprehensive. But like many comments in this community say: please create more in-depth tutorials where each step is laid out and explained. Especially this video as its introduction to Freecad could be a catalyst for beginners to make the decision to jump on board.

[@WayofWood]

In the meantime I‘ve published most steps in slower paced step by step videos...

[@fcviewer_original]

I like that you have shown the complete workflow. This will help newcomers to get started quickly with creating simple boxes

[@WayofWood]

Thank you

[@bp5211]

The voice, the information. Keep it coming.

[@WayofWood]

Thank you!

[@AB-jf9jw]

This is literally one of the best video series on youtube... absolutely spot on, your pacing and conveying of information is brilliant - THANK YOU!

[@WayofWood]

Thanks a lot!

[@williamweatherall8333]

That selecting part to generate drawing will be super helpful. I didn't realize you could do that.

[@WayofWood]

Yes - that's a super useful feature!

[@romangruber6685]

Good tutorials. Not too much talking. Well there is a scrollback button to see what is done. Good Job! I watched so far around 5 videos from this channel. Nicely done. These videos are good as a starting point. The videos are called like something ... Woodworking 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

[@WayofWood]

Thank you!

[@MustafaBirsoz]

Omg. this is wonderful. You changed my world mister

[@WayofWood]

Thank you.

[@MalinowyWampir]

I just wanted to make a wooden box and my brain just exploded. I'll stick to my paper and pencil.

[@TheK3yman]

Very nice. Just one suggestion. I rather watch a slightly longer video with more in deep explanation that quick overview. Keep up good work:)

[@WayofWood]

Krzysztof Rygwelski Thanks for the feedback. Some of the stuff is described in more detail on the website article as describing scrips in a video seems to be boring for a lot of people...

[@WayofWood]

There will be a multipart series of videos that go through the usages of FreeCAD for Woodworking step by step. The first part is now online: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6mviamvf79ga6c

[@ABFextension]

very detailed video, I followed and perfected

[@rwgreene999]

FYI in Freecad V0.19 I have to enter this style formula: #.Material . But that's better than the problems with FreeCad 0.18

[@WayofWood]

Good point. When you enter master it should offer as autocompletion...

[@RichardBronosky]

This is an excellent delivery! Be sure to add links to your play lists in all videos that belong in that list. Makes it more likely that less determined voters will find and watch the whole series. ☮️❤️🌈

[@WayofWood]

Thank you. I will check if I included the link in all videos.

[@adambachmann2633]

I'm more of a visual learner can you make a slower and more in depth tutorial on this? Thanks!

[@WayofWood]

Adam Bachmann Good Push. Let me think about it. I don‘t like „this is how to make a cube“ tutorial style videos but let me think about how to create a few videos over time that address basic concepts in more depth...

[@adambachmann2633]

@@WayofWood If you are not able to, could you suggest any Cad courses that would be good for beginners cause I haven't touched cad since Jr. High way back in 94... LOL I'm rusty and fairly overwhelmed with the FreeCad I've Downloaded to make records of my Woodworking Projects. Thanks Again

[@WayofWood]

Adam Bachmann There are a few good channels that talk about FreeCAD in general - those that I like are unfortunately in German. 😕 I have not seen good tutorials on using FreeCAD for woodworking. Is there something specific you would like to learn?

[@adambachmann2633]

@@WayofWood I would like to learn how to create my own blueprints for my projects, similar to the ones that people read to follow steps for assembling (pre-denominationally, is that a word??, cut/shaped lumbar) furniture they purchased.

[@WayofWood]

There will be a multipart series of videos that go through the usages of FreeCAD for Woodworking step by step. The first part is now online: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6mviamvf79ga6c

[@JeffEngle_rvbuiltfortwo]

The concept of the video is great, but the pace is too fast with not enough description of what keys/actions you are doing. Like others mentioned, more explanation and showing a complete project would be preferable to such a quick "overview" that I can't get working - such as alignment of the parts. Thanks for putting it out here though.

[@WayofWood]

Jeff Engle The first two videos of a step by step series with slower pace are up on the channel. More will follow over the next weeks so that at the end the series should cover the content of the overview video.

[@tnabbott]

I love the way you speed through what you're doing so we cannot follow along.

[@WayofWood]

There are more detailed and slower videos on all the steps on my channel. Have a look.

[@sapiijo3883]

Very nice, keep it going

[@WayofWood]

Thank you!

[@trivender007]

very nice .. thank you!

[@WayofWood]

Thanks a lot!

[@der_jonny]

Mich persönlich würde es freuen, wenn es dieses Video auch in deiner und meiner Muttersprache gibt. Ich behaupte die ist Deutsch ;-)

[@FerdausAlAmin]

Great video

[@WayofWood]

Thank you!

[@nikiforgeorgiev3435]

Great! How to assemble parts manually by just moving them?

[@WayofWood]

Have a look at my recent videos. There is one on the assembly process using the A2plus workbench.

[@kobatre]

awesome

[@WayofWood]

🙏

[@camelCased]

The alias generator fails on 0.21.2 with a message "Unable to complete task" :( Wondering which other free software would be the best for furniture designs? I'm good with Blender3D, but it does not generate things dynamically based on entered values and it cannot create a technical drawing.

[@WayofWood]

I think FreeCAD is among the open source systems the best alternative for furniture designs

[@sylviawylie9218]

First time using this software, instead of using a macro, I found you can manually set an alias in the top-right corner after selecting a cell.

[@hyankov]

If FreeCAD is not optimal for woodworking, what would you recommend instead?

[@WayofWood]

There are some special industry solutions that basically create cabinets or stairs ready for the CNC. For hobby purposes these solutions would be overkill though...

[@gguessyah]

This is an overview of capabilities, not a tutorial, because he runs throw the method.

[@WayofWood]

That's correct. There are individual videos covering all the aspects.

[@ManoloFloyd]

Hi! Thanks! Which software do you think is the best for woodworking? including paid options

[@WayofWood]

Most CAD packages are not really optimal for woodworking. As a hobbyist I settled on FreeCAD (see also some of my videos on this). As a pro I would most likely use a solution from eg my CNC provider that can only create kitchen cabinets but this in a very easy way...

[@ManoloFloyd]

@@WayofWood Thanks for the answer. I'll check your other videos as well.

[@chrisklest1238]

What filetype are you using when saving parts or master? Are you using dwg?

[@WayofWood]

They all have to be native FreeCAD files

[@chrisklest1238]

Thank you for the quick response (while I am actually still working on the project)!@@WayofWood

[@sirobellino]

Hi what would be the ideal software for woodworking, then? 5:16

[@WayofWood]

At the moment I am using FreeCAD and it works quite well

[@RagnarVonLodbrok]

This add-on does not work for me, is buggy and can be replaced by more standard simple features like the draft mode an a macro (like getdimensions) for the cutlist. Also no need for multiple separate parts drawing.

[@WayofWood]

Ragnar Von Lodbrok The addon is still quite beta. You can assemble stuff manually. This just makes parametric designs quite difficult. Building this box only by dynamic placements is possible but it is also so much math that I would in this case rather use OpenScad than plain vanilla FreeCAD. Assembly2+ makes parametric design with constraints quite easy. If it doesn’t work you can contact the author. He is quite responsive and picks up feedback quickly.

[@frotz661]

I don't think this works anymore. All I get is a grainy gray image.

[@russhensel]

This video is now referenced on the FreeCad Wiki on a page: '''[wiki.freecadweb.org/Best_Practices_with_SpreadSheets Best Practices with SpreadSheets - FreeCAD Documentation ]'''. You or your viewers may want to take a look at that page and read/evaluate/learn from it. It is a wiki so you can change the page, or comment in its discussion tab. You can message me, the guy who made this comment.

[@denny0420]

little over a minute in and im already confused, if i get confused this easily maybe CAD aint for me

[@WayofWood]

Maybe have a look at some of the slower paced more step by step videos

[@jeffkhar76]

Thank you for putting this together however, I tried very hard to follow along but unfortunately you go too fast and skip over too much. I think I was able to figure out how to make different parts (I created a top, bottom, and the sides) but I cannot get them to act independently in relation to each other. The best I could do was "transform" the items but this did not (ultimately) produce the desired effect.

[@WayofWood]

Jeff Bennett Sorry for being too fast with the instructions. Have a look at the blog post for some more detailed instructions. Some of the hacks are a bit too complicated to fully explain them in a video. For your particular problem you have to install the A2plus workbench. Go to Tools, Addon manager and install the latest version. You can then select the workbench and use it’s constraint module. Let me know if this works ...

[@jeffkhar76]

Unfortunately that's where I was when I finally gave up. After installing the A2plus addon, the contraint features were greyed out. Also unfortunately, reading through the blog didn't clear anything up for me.

[@WayofWood]

Jeff Bennett My guess is that you have done the intuitive thing and created all the parts in a single file. Intuitively that’s right - unfortunately that’s not how A2+ works at the moment. 😕 Here is what you have to do: * Create a cube in a file and save it as cube1 * Create another cube in another file and save it as cube2 * Close both files and create a new third file and save it as assembly * You can now import the individual parts cube1 and cube2 one by one with the button that shows a plus sign * The constraints buttons in the workbench should work now Let me know if this solves the problem. When I have time I might create a slower pace step-by-step tutorial...

[@jeffkhar76]

@@WayofWood OK, I've responded via twitter

[@WayofWood]

Jeff Bennett I didn’t saw your tweet. Did you tag me?

[@LuminousWatcher]

I followed the video, and the blog, and did learn things, but the pace is too high to follow, and the blog is also lacking details.

[@WayofWood]

There is a full series of videos that is slower paced and goes through the steps one by one. Have a look.

[@LuminousWatcher]

@@WayofWood i will. as aI also wrote, I did learn something.

[@xl000]

It's only parametric if a parameter doesn't change the topology.. Otherwise it's worthless as you're not able to name the results of an operation and refer to them later.

[@WayofWood]

That is not totally correct: A2+ has an „experimental topology naming“ feature that is able to compensate for quite some changes. And you can use A4 if you want to become independent of the topology naming.

[@ABCBom4thgen]

is there such a cad that doesn't work like photoshop where you have a million layers

[@WayofWood]

If you look for something really simple maybe Tinkercad could be for you. It is however not free.

[@user-lj5ed8vh5p]

Здорово!!!

[@WayofWood]

спасибо

[@ahuachapan2]

well... I think a will use pen and paper for my next project.

[@WayofWood]

That's what I do most of the time - I only use CAD when the project becomes really complex ...

[@tomekapompey563]

Quick easy access to many projects with Woodglut plans.