How do I get started making parts?

[ChrisNelson]

I'm sure I'm missing something fundamental but the most complicated drawing program I've used in the last decade is Dia.

I want to use FreeCAD to model a complex woodworking project before I commit to buying wood. But after reading a few tutorials and searching for topics that seem likely to me, I'm stuck.

I can illustrate my problem by trying to make a box that isn't quite six simple shapes. The left and right sides are the same so I make one of them from a few parts then try to copy and paste or duplicate it and nothing seems to happen. What I'd hope would happen is I select it, Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, then rotate and move the side to it's opposite the original. But I can't make FreeCAD do that. Is there a "make some parts and then reuse them" tutorial I'm missing?

TIA.

Chris

P.S. I'm using FreeCAD 0.18.4 on Ubuntu Linux.

[chrisb]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Copy and paste works, but you probably didn't see the new object, because it was in the same place as its source.
But it is not advised to do it like this, because you later may want to change something (I know this from personal experience that there is always the question in the corners which is the longer, and which the shorter part). It is better if you place your box around the center, and then use the mirror command from Part workbench.

[Bance]

You would be well advised to update your version. The recommended way of stating which version you use is laid out in Important_information,and is thus:-


OS: Linux Mint 20.1 (XFCE/xfce)
Word size of OS: 64-bit
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.19.
Build type: Release
Branch: unknown
Hash: 2599d67c2bd41a5f051b994b6da7890a2b4ecc4c
Python version: 3.8.5
Qt version: 5.12.8
Coin version: 4.0.0
OCC version: 7.5.1
Locale: English/United Kingdom (en_GB)
28/2/21

[ChrisNelson]

You would be well advised to update your version. The recommended way of stating which version you use is laid out in ...

If I was working through any sort of bug, I understand the need for that kind of specificity. My question was very basic and likely not at all version-dependent.

[ChrisNelson]

You would be well advised to update your version. The recommended way of stating which version you use is laid out in ...

If I was working through any sort of bug, I understand the need for that kind of specificity. My question was very basic and likely not at all version-dependent.

[ChrisNelson]

You would be well advised to update your version. The recommended way of stating which version you use is laid out in ...

If I was working through any sort of bug, I understand the need for that kind of specificity. My question was very basic and likely not at all version-dependent.

[ChrisNelson]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Copy and paste works, but you probably didn't see the new object, because it was in the same place as its source.
But it is not advised to do it like this, because you later may want to change something (I know this from personal experience that there is always the question in the corners which is the longer, and which the shorter part). It is better if you place your box around the center, and then use the mirror command from Part workbench.

Thanks. But what am I mirroring? I don't have a copy to mirror.

[chrisb]

But what am I mirroring?

Above you said

The left and right sides are the same

Model one side and mirror it to get the other.

[Bance]

If I was working through any sort of bug, I understand the need for that kind of specificity. My question was very basic and likely not at all version-dependent.

But helping know it all's is.

FC 0.18 will not open most files created in V0.19 which is the standard in use for most helpers for over two years now.

And providing example files is the most common way of helping (Know it all's.)

But you aren't a know it all, else you wouldn't be asking for help now would you?

[drmacro]

Agreed, you should update to the latest version. If for no other reason than 0.18 is thousands (no exaggeration) of fixes and improvements behind.

I would not use copy, I would use clone. then transform. Then the clone will change when the source is changed.