Search found 130 matches

by mrdic
Wed Feb 28, 2024 12:03 pm
Forum: Help on using FreeCAD
Topic: working with scans
Replies: 3
Views: 350

Re: working with scans

Your object has no prospect of being processed into a solid, or even a single manifold mesh, because it's composed of many objects with arbitrary relationships and occluded spaces between them, many outliers, and things like the handrails that are almost impossible to take from scan to model without...
by mrdic
Fri Oct 06, 2023 1:58 pm
Forum: Help on using FreeCAD
Topic: [Solved] Filling interior of hollow object
Replies: 8
Views: 1212

Re: Filling interior of hollow object

You could Boolean Section a 5mm plate (box) with the base of the object, you'll have upper and lower inner and outer wires/polylines result. Downgrade the section to separate the profiles, draft clone and scale the inner profiles up by 1% or 2% (arbitrary, to prevent degeneration from coincident sur...
by mrdic
Mon Oct 02, 2023 1:02 am
Forum: Help on using FreeCAD
Topic: Import SolidWorks (sldprt) to FreeCAD
Replies: 85
Views: 127933

Re: Import SolidWorks (sldprt) to FreeCAD

There is the interesting commercial IronCAD, which has two kernels, ACIS and Parasolid. I've never even seen it, I don't know how they operate together.
by mrdic
Fri Jul 14, 2023 1:39 pm
Forum: Help on using FreeCAD
Topic: Thickness tool apply on mesh like PartDesign or Part WB?
Replies: 6
Views: 797

Re: Thickness tool apply on mesh like PartDesign or Part WB?

Commercial TurboCAD can do it by downgrading the mesh to individual polygons for each face, applying thickness attribute to all, then Boolean add all. It usually has reversed normals on some proportion of the facets, so those have to be selected separately and be given a negative figure for the thic...
by mrdic
Sat Jul 08, 2023 1:54 pm
Forum: Help on using FreeCAD
Topic: Help with Chamfering /Filleting specific edges /areas
Replies: 26
Views: 2913

Re: Help with Chamfering /Filleting specific edges /areas

In Australia, there's a company in Dandenong, Victoria called Spee3D, they invented a fast additive metal process with CNC subtractive finishing/post-processing if it's needed. Well-respected, very fast and relatively economical (everything's relative, of course....)
by mrdic
Sat Jul 08, 2023 1:34 pm
Forum: Help on using FreeCAD
Topic: Mesh to Solid for cnc machining
Replies: 18
Views: 1777

Re: Mesh to Solid for cnc machining

The Mesh workbench Mesh|Cutting|Cross-sections can be used as 2D/2.5D tool paths, but (a) downgrading them makes every segment an Edge, making it pretty intensive, and (b) you need offset for tool compensation. Upgrade each section to a Wire, symmetrical-extrude the wire in Part WB (don't make solid...
by mrdic
Sun Apr 23, 2023 1:40 am
Forum: Help on using FreeCAD
Topic: change text on existing STL file
Replies: 7
Views: 928

Re: change text on existing STL file

You can use the mesh workbench to remove the triangles of the raised text, then to fill the holes they leave. You can produce the replacement text in other workbenches and create a mesh with one of the meshing tools, then use mesh WB (with OpenSCAD for booleans) to add it to the existing mesh body. ...
by mrdic
Tue Jan 24, 2023 5:52 am
Forum: Help on using FreeCAD
Topic: help- I am trying to offset a surface on an existing STEP file I have
Replies: 6
Views: 723

Re: help- I am trying to offset a surface on an existing STEP file I have

Select the face you want to offset, use Draft|Trimex, escape with zero extrusion. That creates a face that you can Part|Offset 5mm with fill between face and offset, add that to your original part.
by mrdic
Fri Jan 20, 2023 9:35 pm
Forum: Help on using FreeCAD
Topic: Converting object from left hand to right hand
Replies: 11
Views: 1110

Re: Converting object from left hand to right hand

A shape from mesh will mirror and export as .stl, doesn't have to be made solid.
by mrdic
Mon Jan 09, 2023 9:41 pm
Forum: Help on using FreeCAD
Topic: How do I create a cross section at an angle
Replies: 2
Views: 535

Re: How do I create a cross section at an angle

Boolean Section in Part WB is a general surface/surface intersection tool between solids and/or surfaces, not restricted to 2D, can produce multiplane or curved sections. Geometry created is edges/wires, doesn't recognise line, arc, spline geometry that I know of, perhaps upgrade or downgrade might ...