Looking for ideas re brick

[luggw1]

Attached is a sample of a section of a brick wall a friend modelled using AutoCad. It's part of a brick railroad depot we both have an interest in. He was gracious enough to send me the STL files which I printed in HO (1/87 scale) on my 3D FDM printer and they produced outstanding results. Now, I've got another brick structure I'd like to model and print, but my past attempts at doing this directly in FreeCAD using the PartDesign workbench have resulted in ridiculously large models that ultimately cause FerrCAD to hang trying to duplicate the bricks during array processing.

I'm looking for ideas others may have used in the past to accomplish this task...or is it just beyond the capabilities of FreeCAD?

Thanks.
Bill Lugg

[Bance]

Use Arch wb.

[chrisb]

Did you upload the wrong file? There is no PartDesign body in the file.

You didn't post your FreeCAD infos. PartDesign patterns have received some performance improvement, so you should retry with the latest FreeCAD; perhaps the improvements are already contained in 0.19 as well.

If this doesn't help, you should give the Draft->Array a try.

[Bance]

Arch wall.png (32.9 KiB) Viewed 1041 times

[freedman]

Isn't this what Link was designed for, you make one brick and then all the others are links. File size can be minimal.

Edit: Maybe you make a row (of two) and then link all the others.

[papyblaise]

you have to make each arrangement of bricks in a diferent wall and arrange the bricks according to
do not forget to make an interior wall a little thinner otherwise the various walls will not be linked and end with an add boolean general for all linked

[luggw1]

you have to make each arrangement of bricks in a diferent wall and arrange the bricks according to
do not forget to make an interior wall a little thinner otherwise the various walls will not be linked and end with an add boolean general for all linked

If I understand you correctly, you used the Arch WB, right? I've never used this before, so I'm unfamiliar with how the various tools work. This looks like it's getting where I want to go. I see properties that allow me to adjust the characteristics of the blocks and the joints. I don't suppose there's a way to add a chamfer to the edges of the blocks (I've found this adds some definition to the brick at print time and improves the adhesion of the material I use to color the mortar lines)?

Also, the sketches you added establish center lines for the walls to be constructed?

I suppose I really need to look for an appropriate tutorial for the Arch WB to help me understand how these tools work.

Thanks for the introduction.

Bill Lugg

[papyblaise]

you used the Arch WB, right

yes

I don't suppose there's a way to add a chamfer to the edges of the blocks

no there is no solution, you can increase the width of the joint,
I guess this is for large scale 3D printing so you have to adjust the seal for a desired visual

Also, the sketches you added establish center lines for the walls to be constructed

yes

tuto : https://wiki.freecadweb.org/Arch_Module/fr