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    • oliofundefined
      oliof
      last edited by

      Also, the Mechatronic Workbench looks like it could be useful for people building 3d printers and similar machines.

      <>RatRig V-Minion Fly Super5Pro RRF<> V-Core 3.1 IDEX k*****r <> RatRig V-Minion SKR 2 Marlin<>

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      • arhiundefined
        arhi @oliof
        last edited by

        @oliof I don't mind UX in the freeCAD, took a day to figure out the basics and so far so good ... as for the mechatronic - noticed, installed, didn't try it .. I see there is really a lot of wb's available, had no time to try them all

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        • droftartsundefined
          droftarts administrators
          last edited by

          Had a brief play around with FreeCAD last night, and was pleasantly surprised! Last version I tried was 0.16, 2 or 3 years ago, and couldn’t get on with it. Used the video @oliof linked. One other change to the UI I made was to change input method from ‘OpenInventor’ to ‘CAD’, as otherwise you have to use a modifier key to place a point.

          Mostly moving from Fusion to FreeCAD feels like moving from Adobe Illustrator to Inkscape; a bit clunky and not as polished, but quickly useable, and with more familiarity, should do everything I need.

          Ian

          Bed-slinger - Mini5+ WiFi/1LC | RRP Fisher v1 - D2 WiFi | Polargraph - D2 WiFi | TronXY X5S - 6HC/Roto | CNC router - 6HC | Tractus3D T1250 - D2 Eth

          oliofundefined zaptaundefined 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • oliofundefined
            oliof @droftarts
            last edited by

            For beginners, this short series of intro tutorials by DrVax could be useful

            <>RatRig V-Minion Fly Super5Pro RRF<> V-Core 3.1 IDEX k*****r <> RatRig V-Minion SKR 2 Marlin<>

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            • zaptaundefined
              zapta @droftarts
              last edited by

              @droftarts said in FreeCAD:

              I tried was 0.16, 2 or 3 years ago, and couldn’t get on with it.

              The recent Fusion license changes gave FreeCad a lot of visibility (I see in other forums as well), which will most likely be translated to a critical mass and increased development velocity.

              JoergS5undefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • JoergS5undefined
                JoergS5 @zapta
                last edited by

                @zapta I tried Freecad 2 years ago and abandoned due to instability. It would be great news if Freecad is better now and gets momentum.

                arhiundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • arhiundefined
                  arhi @JoergS5
                  last edited by

                  @JoergS5 just the difference 6 months ago and today is huge and compared to last year release it's huuuuge improvement... IMHO it moved from "I cannot use this no matter how much I want to" to "I can use this, it's not ideal, polished, perfect... but it is very usable"

                  JoergS5undefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • JoergS5undefined
                    JoergS5 @arhi
                    last edited by

                    @arhi I saw it's implemented with C++, so it should be possible to change code if necessary by some of us. I'll give FreeCAD a try again.

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                    • droftartsundefined
                      droftarts administrators
                      last edited by

                      Off topic, but relevant and not sure where else to post it: AutoDesk announces that STEP export will remain in Fusion 360 personal licence: https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/changes-to-fusion-360-for-personal-use/

                      However, now I’ve started using FreeCAD I’m going to persist; I like having my documents on my machine, and I realise the cloud part of F360 always bothered me. And AutoDesk could always change their mind again!

                      Ian

                      Bed-slinger - Mini5+ WiFi/1LC | RRP Fisher v1 - D2 WiFi | Polargraph - D2 WiFi | TronXY X5S - 6HC/Roto | CNC router - 6HC | Tractus3D T1250 - D2 Eth

                      zaptaundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • zaptaundefined
                        zapta @droftarts
                        last edited by

                        @droftarts, thanks for the update.

                        Yesterday I spent a hour or two downloading STEP and STL files of my Fusion 360, as I saw it the main problem with the new license model.

                        However, it clicked with me that I need to move to something more stable than a free Autodesk and FreeCad seems to be a good choice, especially now that it's gaining momentum.

                        They also have a donation page https://liberapay.com/FreeCAD/income/

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                        • jens55undefined
                          jens55
                          last edited by

                          I decided to give FreeCad another shot as well but was stopped in my tracks when I tried to work on an object from thingiverse and edit it.
                          I used this method:

                          You can convert a mesh to a solid model that FreeCAD can work with with a few easy steps:

                          Note: an object needs to be selected before starting the command. Starting from step 2 you need to select the last object in the tree.

                          menu Part --> Create shape from mesh
                          menu Part --> Convert to solid
                          Optional: menu Part --> Refine shape
                          

                          The STL from your link has many, many facets and the created solid is massive. Step 3 takes a long time to complete and does not work fully. You may be able to work with it, but things might be slow.

                          Step one worked ok but step two threw an error saying the shape is not a shell.
                          I have not been able to get past that error.
                          Has anyone managed to do that conversion - a fairly important feature!

                          JoergS5undefined arhiundefined 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • JoergS5undefined
                            JoergS5 @jens55
                            last edited by

                            @jens55 said in FreeCAD:

                            shape is not a shell.

                            there are some wikis handling this error:
                            https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?t=6643
                            https://wiki.freecadweb.org/FreeCAD_and_Mesh_Import
                            Seems to be a problem with the object itself (holes, self intersecting surfaces).

                            jens55undefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • matt3oundefined
                              matt3o
                              last edited by matt3o

                              gosh I'd love to use freecad on a regular basis, I find it to be usable and at the end you can design basically anything, the only problem is that it takes three times the time than with onshape (my weapon of choice). As a maker I don't care if my designs end up to the public domain, actually I like that, but I understand that onshape might close or limit functionalities at any time, so it's good to keep an eye on really open alternatives.

                              Still as a hobbyist I have very limited time and knowing I have to spend half a hour on something it may take 5 minutes it's really painful.

                              I'll see if I can help freecad development (being with code, docs or money) in the hope it will get a better workflow with time.

                              Anything thanks @arhi for the shout out

                              arhiundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • arhiundefined
                                arhi @jens55
                                last edited by

                                @jens55 said in FreeCAD:

                                tried to work on an object from thingiverse and edit it.

                                FreeCAD is not very useful for editing mesh files (I never managed to do useful edit of a mesh in f360 neither) but in a pinch, you can do it (slow and painful but ..) ... For me, it is faster to redo the whole part from scratch as a solid based on stl than to edit stl. For small STL edits I suggest using a mesh editing tool (I use Art of Illusion .. there are, other, better ones like blender..)

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                                • PCRundefined
                                  PCR
                                  last edited by

                                  https://w3-mediapool.hm.edu/mediapool/media/fk03/fk03_lokal/verbundlabore/kca/rpmlab/fk03_rp_stl_to_solid_r1.pdf

                                  its a good guide 😉 But in german

                                  arhiundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • arhiundefined
                                    arhi @matt3o
                                    last edited by

                                    @matt3o said in FreeCAD:

                                    gosh I'd love to use freecad on a regular basis, I find it to be usable and at the end you can design basically anything, the only problem is that it takes three times the time than with onshape (my weapon of choice). As a maker I don't care if my designs end up to the public domain, actually I like that, but I understand that onshape might close or limit functionalities at any time, so it's good to keep an eye on really open alternatives.

                                    Still as a hobbyist I have very limited time and knowing I have to spend half a hour on something it may take 5 minutes it's really painful.

                                    I'll see if I can freecad development (being with code, docs or money) in the hope it will get a better workflow with time.

                                    Interesting. I used onShape for a long while (for me the best "free" tool out there, especially as I come from solidworks background) and stopped when they changed policy, not 'cause I have issue with publicity - I give source to all my 3d work anyhow so that's not a problem (like the f360 changes attm are not too big of a deal for me) but 'cause this is a move in wrong direction for me and they can change that at any time locking me out of my stuff and I don't want that.

                                    Now wrt freeCAD being slower to work with, when was the last time you tried? What release you tried. Release they have out there is imho unusable, it is too slow and too unstable, but the pre-release .19 is very very usable. Takes a bit time to figure out how to do stuff but then it becomes fast and productive. The sketching is a bit sketchy 😞 and finiky but one gets around that after few days of using it

                                    matt3oundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • arhiundefined
                                      arhi @PCR
                                      last edited by

                                      @PCR that url does not work for me ?

                                      JoergS5undefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • JoergS5undefined
                                        JoergS5 @arhi
                                        last edited by JoergS5

                                        @arhi for me the link works. It's a guide to convert stl to step with Catia or FreeCAD.

                                        arhiundefined 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • arhiundefined
                                          arhi @JoergS5
                                          last edited by

                                          @JoergS5 interesting, it works now, was 404 when I tested first time

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                                          • arhiundefined
                                            arhi
                                            last edited by

                                            I was trying to make installer for freecad .19 for days now and finally decided to see what they are doing for .19 prerelease and I see they are shooting .z for a portable "install" ... looks like they have the same issue .. the NSIS tool they used originally has a 2G limit and when the size of the app goes over 2G the darn thing won't work. Anyhow unpacking the archive anywhere works and looks like it's using home dir to store all the running data, config, workbenches etc etc .. so no install required

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