FreeCAD [Instant]

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Overview

Table of Contents

Author

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Sample Chapters

Learn something new in an Instant! A short, fast, focused guide delivering immediate results.
Packed with simple and interesting examples of python coding for the CAD world.
Understand FreeCAD's approach to modeling and see how Python puts unprecedented power in the hands of users.
Dive into FreeCAD and its underlying scripting language.

Book Details

Language : English
eBook : 70 pages
Release Date : September 2012
ISBN : 1849518866
ISBN 13 : 9781849518864
Author(s) : Daniel Falck, Brad Collette
Topics and Technologies : All Books, Instant, Open Source

Preface
FreeCAD [How-to]
Index

Preface

FreeCAD [How-to]

Getting and installing FreeCAD (Must know)
Understanding the FreeCAD interface (Must know)
CSG modeling in the Part workbench (Must know)
Recording and editing a macro (Should know)
Modeling a simple part with the Draft workbench (Must know)
Rotating and extruding to create parts (Should know)
Creating 3D solids with Python (Become an expert)
Creating a custom dialog to automate a task (Become an expert)
Modeling with constraints (Must know)
Using external constraints (Should know)
Adding or modifying constraints with Python (Become an expert)
Creating a drawing of a part (Should know)
Exporting DXF files for other applications (Should know)
Importing data (Should know)

Index

Daniel Falck

Daniel Falck has over 25 years experience in manufacturing, machining, CAD, CAM, and computer programming. He has worked for Gibson Guitar doing design and prototyping for over 14 years. Currently, he runs the Prototype machine shop at King Cycle Group, in Portland, Oregon (USA), where bicycle components are manufactured. His home shop is full of CNC machining equipment that he uses to create guitar parts for customers, using open source software running on Linux. Over the past 10 years he has worked with open source manufacturing software such as Linuxcnc, APT360, HeeksCAD, FreeCAD, and a myriad of specialized python scripts.

Brad Collette

Brad Collette once designed software for a big company but doesn't like to remember that. These days, he is an entrepreneur, hobbyist, jack-of-all-trades, and a gentleman farmer. He is engaged in a multi-year project to raise two hacker sons. He has contributed to numerous open source projects and is an organizing member of Columbia Gadget Works, central Missouri's finest hackerspace.

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Errata

- 1 submitted: last submission 13 May 2013

Errata type: Typo Page No: 25
Section name: Rotating and extruding to create parts (Should know)
4. Press the Revoke a selected shape button
This should be:
4. Press the Revolve a selected shape button

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What you will learn from this book

Creating 3D solid objects with python
2D draft design and constraint modeling
Turning 2D drawings into 3D objects
Combining simple primitives into complex solids
Recording Macros
Creating objects with code
Importing and exporting data
Creating a Custom python dialog to automate a task
Harnessing the constraints engine with python

In Detail

FreeCAD is a general purpose platform for CAD development. It can be extended to use different workbenches to solve different problems. Targeted squarely at the engineering community, FreeCAD is an open source design application built to be extended. Python, the powerful scripting language, is woven deeply into FreeCAD’s DNA and gives users unprecedented power to automate and invent.

"FreeCAD [How-to]" is a lean, fast tour of FreeCAD's major workbenches and design philosophy. The reader will get a hands-on introduction to several modeling techniques and learn how Python makes macro automation and design possible.

FreeCAD allows users to design in a variety of ways; from drawing 2D designs as lines and circles to combining primitive solids into complex 3D shapes. Objects can even be created or modified by code you write in Python. FreeCAD even allows power users to extend the application itself with new dialogs, panels, and scripts. This book will not only show you how to get started using FreeCAD in a traditional GUI mode, but will teach you how to harness its powerful scripting language for more power.

Approach

Filled with practical, step-by-step instructions and clear explanations for the most important and useful tasks. Get the job done and learn as you go. Written in cookbook style, this book offers many recipes to create objects, import and export data, create 3D solid objects. Each recipe contains step-by-step instructions followed by analysis of what was done in each task and other useful information.

Who this book is for

If you've been toying around with FreeCAD and want to have more control over your work flow then this book is for you.

The reader needs to have basic knowledge of modeling.