NewB, needing a little direction upfront.

Post here for help on using FreeCAD's graphical user interface (GUI).
Forum rules
and Helpful information
IMPORTANT: Please click here and read this first, before asking for help

Also, be nice to others! Read the FreeCAD code of conduct!
Dempsy
Posts: 36
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2017 9:52 pm

NewB, needing a little direction upfront.

Post by Dempsy »

OS: Windows 7
Word size of OS: 64-bit
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.16.6706 (Git)
Build type: Release
Branch: releases/FreeCAD-0-16
Hash: f86a4e411ff7848dea98d7242f43b7774bee8fa0
Python version: 2.7.8
Qt version: 4.8.7
Coin version: 4.0.0a
OCC version: 6.8.0.oce-0.17

I am new to all of this stuff. It was suggested that I use this program as opposed to Blender to create a file to utilize on a cnc plasma cutting machine. I've scanned and watched 4 or 5 tutorial videos, read much of the user manual etc., scanned and read many of the posts in the forum, it can be quite confusing. I'm interested in creating a file of a simple geometry basically consisting of a rectangle with a few wholes so that a sheet metal cnc plasma cutter can read the file. The plasma cutter uses DXF. What workbench would be best to build something like this in?
Any help would be appreciated.
P.S. Noticed your youtube stuff at the bottom of the posts. I'll check them out a little later.
Last edited by Dempsy on Thu Feb 16, 2017 2:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
bejant
Veteran
Posts: 6075
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2013 3:06 pm

Re: NewB, needing a little direction upfront.

Post by bejant »

Hi Dempsey, and welcome. My suggestion is to use the Draft WB and draw on the X=Y plane.

Another option is to use Sketcher to create your geometry and then use the Draft WB > Bi-Directionally Convert tool to change the Sketcher items to Draft WB geometry, then export that as .dxf. The disadvantage is that you'd have to learn Sketcher, but doing so might not be too difficult.
User avatar
NormandC
Veteran
Posts: 18587
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:52 pm
Location: Québec, Canada

Re: NewB, needing a little direction upfront.

Post by NormandC »

Hi,
bejant wrote:Another option is to use Sketcher to create your geometry and then use the Draft WB > Bi-Directionally Convert tool to change the Sketcher items to Draft WB geometry, then export that as .dxf.
The conversion step is unnecessary, a sketch can be exported directly to DXF.

In either case (Draft or Sketcher), remember to create your geometry on the XY plane.

There's another possibility: since all you want is to create a 2D drawing, why not use a dedicated 2D CAD program? You won't have all the "overhead" of the 3D stuff to complicate the GUI. Good choices are LibreCAD, QCad or DraftSight.
Dempsy
Posts: 36
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2017 9:52 pm

Re: NewB, needing a little direction upfront.

Post by Dempsy »

Hi Dempsey, and welcome. My suggestion is to use the Draft WB and draw on the X=Y plane.
Thank you bejant. I had a little (info overload, if you would) on all of this stuff. With what I learned so far, it seemed like that was the one to use. I'll keep practicing that workbench. I am curious as to the LebreCAD and the DraftSight though since it is a simple 2D process. I guess if you imagine burning a simple [ Pegboard ] similar to a tool pegboard above a tool or work bench. A simple square with a few wholes in it.
There's another possibility: since all you want is to create a 2D drawing, why not use a dedicated 2D CAD program? You won't have all the "overhead" of the 3D stuff to complicate the GUI. Good choices are LibreCAD, QCad or DraftSight.
Thank you NormandC. Sounds great. Still learning some of the basic concepts on all of this stuff. I guess I would be right that cutting a piece of sheet metal on a plasma cutter is just a 2D and not a 3D project. I wasn't sure what would dictate the difference.
Of the two, LibreCad and DraftSight, what would be your opinion of the two to be the simplest?

Thank, Dempsy.
User avatar
NormandC
Veteran
Posts: 18587
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:52 pm
Location: Québec, Canada

Re: NewB, needing a little direction upfront.

Post by NormandC »

Dempsy wrote: I'll keep practicing that workbench.
If you do try the Draft workbench on, and since you're mentioning something like a peg board, then I suggest you have a look at the Draft Array tool. You only create a single circle and repeat it in rows and columns with an Array. That could be pretty quick to do.

And for starters it will be simpler than using the Sketcher.
Dempsy wrote:Of the two, LibreCad and DraftSight, what would be your opinion of the two to be the simplest?
LibreCAD I'd say is the simplest. It's open source like FreeCAD.

DraftSight is an AutoCAD-clone, it's got a lot more tools. Experienced CAD users may prefer DraftSight and consider LibreCAD a tad too simplistic. DraftSight is commercial with a free version, you need to agree to an end-user license agreement, and to register every year and provide your email. After that you'll be pestered by email offers to upgrade to the Pro version ($) (but you can unsubscribe). At least that's what happened to me...
User avatar
bejant
Veteran
Posts: 6075
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2013 3:06 pm

Re: NewB, needing a little direction upfront.

Post by bejant »

Dempsy wrote:Thank you bejant.
<snip>
I guess if you imagine burning a simple [ Pegboard ] similar to a tool pegboard above a tool or work bench. A simple square with a few wholes in it.
You're welcome. Because it seems so simple to people familiar with FreeCAD, why don't you upload a hand sketch of what you want to do to the forum? I think that will help both you and us forum regulars. Acceptable image formats can be found here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2264
(which I see you've already read and followed - thanks for that!)
Dempsy
Posts: 36
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2017 9:52 pm

Re: NewB, needing a little direction upfront.

Post by Dempsy »

If you do try the Draft workbench on, and since you're mentioning something like a peg board, then I suggest you have a look at the Draft Array tool. You only create a single circle and repeat it in rows and columns with an Array. That could be pretty quick to do.
Thanks NormandC. I downloaded the two to save for later. Don't want to get ahead of myself. I guess my description of a peg board was a little rudimentary, it's more like a large printed circuit board foil path. I'll upload the file in a minute.
why don't you upload a hand sketch of what you want to do to the forum?
. bejent, I found the array gig. A little much for this situation I think. I'll upload what I drew.

Questions.
-If I drew this with the Draft workbench, shouldn't it then default to a .DXF file when saving? I checked and it is an FCStd file.
-On the file I uploaded, the outer boundry/edges is the sheet metal. Then the rest are just holes (5 total, 3 large and 2 small), is this all I do, then export?
Dempsy....
baseframe.FCStd
(7 KiB) Downloaded 51 times
I hope I uploaded the file correctly.
User avatar
bejant
Veteran
Posts: 6075
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2013 3:06 pm

Re: NewB, needing a little direction upfront.

Post by bejant »

Dempsy wrote:I drew this with the Draft workbench, shouldn't it then default to a .DXF file when saving?
No, for that you want to select everything in the history tree (Union001 and all the circles) and do a File > Export and select .dxf from the list of available formats. I tried it and it opened and looked Ok in LibreCAD too; here's the file:
20170215a-baseframe.dxf
(1.93 KiB) Downloaded 46 times
Dempsy wrote:On the file I uploaded, the outer boundry/edges is the sheet metal. Then the rest are just holes (5 total, 3 large and 2 small), is this all I do, then export?
Yep, just like I described above.

OS: Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS
Word size of OS: 32-bit
Word size of FreeCAD: 32-bit
Version: 0.16.6707 (Git)
Build type: None
Branch: releases/FreeCAD-0-16
Hash: 5465bc47c95db45e0be85dc0e2872419efadce0f
Python version: 2.7.12
Qt version: 4.8.7
Coin version: 4.0.0a
OCC version: 6.8.0.oce-0.17
Dempsy
Posts: 36
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2017 9:52 pm

Re: NewB, needing a little direction upfront.

Post by Dempsy »

bejant;
No, for that you want to select everything in the history tree (Union001 and all the circles) and do a File > Export and select .dxf from the list of available formats. I tried it and it opened and looked Ok in LibreCAD too; here's the file:
Thanks for all of your help. Learned a lot here over the last few days. Damn, I hate to ask one more question (laughing at myself out of embarrassment :lol: ) Could you walk me through the export scenario once?
Currently I opened FreeCad, then opened the file, made sure the workbench was on Draft, went to file tree and clicked everything except "Application and Baseframe" , went to File/Export, a Windows-window opened and wanted a name and save, so I called it "baseframe.dxf, clicked ok, then the preferences dialog window opened and this little blue circle was just sitting there spinning, then after some time it states that it failed. ?????? Did that 3 times. What am I missing?
Greatly appreciate your help..
Dempsy....
User avatar
bejant
Veteran
Posts: 6075
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2013 3:06 pm

Re: NewB, needing a little direction upfront.

Post by bejant »

Dempsy wrote:Thanks for all of your help.
<snip>
Could you walk me through the export scenario once?
You're welcome, and here's how I Exported to .dxf.
  • Change to the Draft WB.
  • From the history tree, select all the geometry in your model:
    20170216a.png
    20170216a.png (35.86 KiB) Viewed 2044 times
  • From the pull-down menu select File > Export.
  • Look at the top of the pop-up window and make sure the .dxf file will be saved in the correct folder of your choosing.
  • At the bottom of the pop-up window, expand the Files of type drop-down menu and select Autodesk DXF (*.dxf). The drop-down menu closes.
  • Enter a file name in the File name field (you don't need to include the .dxf file extension in the file name).
  • Click the Save button.
  • Depending on your Preferences, a Preferences > Import / Export pop-up window might appear. You can accept the defaults and close the window, and after that the Export processing will begin. For me it only took a few seconds to complete.
Post Reply