Drawing dimensions

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peterl94
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Re: Drawing dimensions

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NT4Boy
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Re: Drawing dimensions

Post by NT4Boy »

Ok, so the master compiles now, thanks for pointing me to the method. 90 Odd warnings, is that usual?
How can I get the wiki updated to save others the pain of starting up with an out of date method?

So, Dimensions....
Basic things first. I can add a dimension in 3-D space and get it to snap onto the feature and it will show on the page if I get the positions and scalings the same.
However, I expected the dimension to change when the model was updated, ie if I change a constraint of a feature in the sketcher, but I must have some setting adrift somewhere as the dimension just stays as was, while the model view changes as you'd expect.
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yorik
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Re: Drawing dimensions

Post by yorik »

At the moment, for that, you must still select an edge. Measuring from one point to another won't work (yet). But indeed the dimension object should support that...
NT4Boy
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Re: Drawing dimensions

Post by NT4Boy »

Ok, I tried selecting a pair of edges edge rather than vertices but my dimension is still not updating with the constraint.
Should the update be immediate, or when the sketch is closed or at some other point?
Thanks
m42kus
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Re: Drawing dimensions

Post by m42kus »

Hi guys!

Just a general question concerning the drawing module.

[quote="jmaustpc"]Luke has a branch where he has was extending the Drawing WB. Part of that included a system to insert intelligent linked dimension into the 2d drawing directly.

I tried Luke's implementation and it performed very well. Unfortunately it doesn't support the generation of 3D views, looks a bit different and the fork is generally very outdated (last update 8 months ago). Someone knows the reason why its not in the official master? And is there some special guy working on the drawing module? If so I would be happy to help out a bit, but the only resource I found is this wiki page http://www.freecadweb.org/wiki/index.ph ... umentation and "This page documents jcc242's understanding of the Drawing module." or "Doesn't seem to do much, though I am sure it is important." does not sound very convincing.

However, I really love the FreeCAD Project and thanks in advance for useful answers :)
My GSoC Devlog: ceeli.github.io/gsoc
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yorik
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Re: Drawing dimensions

Post by yorik »

m42kus wrote:Someone knows the reason why its not in the official master
Because it didn't reach a mergeable state yet... If you are interested in working on this, many people will rejoice here! I would say one of the first thing should be to bring that code to level with the master code...

jcc242's work was to build a python-only system of annotation elements, and is not related to Luke's branch. But it might deserve a new look too...
m42kus
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Re: Drawing dimensions

Post by m42kus »

yorik wrote:Because it didn't reach a mergeable state yet... If you are interested in working on this, many people will rejoice here! I would say one of the first thing should be to bring that code to level with the master code...

jcc242's work was to build a python-only system of annotation elements, and is not related to Luke's branch. But it might deserve a new look too...
I had quite a hard time too with the drawing module and as soon as I finish my current project (almost done, just a few improvements and then... well then I need a drawing xD) i'm gonna invest some time on that issue. It's been a while since my last c++ program, my python is not much better than my english, and I have to deal with the FreeCAD specific stuff too, so please be patient, I'll do my best. I guess the best way to start is to read through the developer hub?
My GSoC Devlog: ceeli.github.io/gsoc
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yorik
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Re: Drawing dimensions

Post by yorik »

The best way to start really is getting used to FreeCAD. The difficulty of understanding how FreeCAD works (and specially its OpenCasCade kernel) is probably bigger than programming itself.

Once you can use freecad well, going to programming for it gets much, much easier.

If you plan to work on the drawing WB, most of the work is done with QT, so that's another interesting thing to know.
NT4Boy
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Re: Drawing dimensions

Post by NT4Boy »

I've no relevant application programming experience to call on, and I wish I could make the time to learn it, but in reality, I'd let everyone down if I said otherwise.
However, for myself, I wanted a 3-d modelling workbench to create geometry and I guess I am frustrated that the rest of FreeCAD is full of the most wonderfully complicated features I'll never use, but what I, as a mechanical engineer, consider the most fundamental requirement of detailing views of the model to convey ideas clearly, needs a massive effort to get into a really useable state. (This isn't a criticism just a status of how I see it today)
I am pretty clear on how I'd like the drafting to work and more than happy to test stuff and report on what I find.

I'd love to use it more to model the all bits of hardware I make for myself, which would I guess make me more proficient, but to what end? A detailed model without a drawing isn't a useful output in my world, so wouldn't I be making models for the sake of it?
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yorik
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Re: Drawing dimensions

Post by yorik »

Maybe try to mount a kind of plan of what specifically you would like to improve, and how you think you could achieve that.. Then we can help orienting you to the right places...
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