Hi
Apologies if this has been asked before and I've searched the forum, you tube etc with no luck.
I am the Novice that other novices laugh at. Am a keen (very amateur) woodworker but need to start laying out my plans in e-format and looking to use CAD.
For example i want to draw a front end view of a BBQ shelter i built so - how could I draw the apex of the roof, 2 joists of 75mm wide, 900mm long with 15 degree cuts at one end for the apex and then 2 x 75mm, 1800mm uprights at set points on either side? Or in other words a child's drawing of the front of a house
Tried a couple of the workbenches (Draft and Sketcher) but struggling to get my head around it.
Any help welcome and very much appreciated - even if it means that FreeCAD is not the right for me
Thanks
Absolute Novice
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Be nice to others! Respect the FreeCAD code of conduct!
Be nice to others! Respect the FreeCAD code of conduct!
Re: Absolute Novice
I found something that might be useful for you.
https://wayofwood.com/woodworking-designs-with-freecad/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfNBfdIpzDQ
https://wayofwood.com/woodworking-designs-with-freecad/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfNBfdIpzDQ
Re: Absolute Novice
Welcome to FreeCAD. 
Have a look at the wiki, Getting_started and Tutorials.
I am not criticising you, (and you are not trying to design a house) but I think you should rethink your expectations from "how do I do this?" to "how do I first learn CAD?"
Look at those Tutorials and start with the simplest ones first. Sketcher combined with PartDesign WB is the most commonly used workflow at least to begin with. Arch WB is applicable to your request as well but I suspect you need to first start with the basics in sketcher and PartDesign.
The next concept to understand is that FreeCAD is mostly a 3d modeller CAD and not an old fashioned 2d CAD. So that means you create a 3d model of the real world things in FreeCAD not just a 2d image from each direct like in 2d CAD. So as a general rule I would say model what you would have in the real world.
In PartDesign a Body is just a single solid object. So one piece of wood in your barbie would be a "Body" so that you can extract that part of your design to show a worker how to create it in the real world. In other words, create a bill of materials. etc.
But all of this also depends on exactly what you want to use the CAD model for. Sometimes a simple hack of a model that is difficult to edit is all you need, other times you might want a very complex easy and reliable to modify model complete with all details defined parametrically and with code (Expressions) etc.
So my advice is for now, don't focus on your end goal, first just focus on learning the basics of how to operate FreeCAD. Start at the simplest tutorials and work your way up to more complex thing.
Jim
Have a look at the wiki, Getting_started and Tutorials.
Honestly you are to some degree suffering from the "I am an extreme newbie, how do I do a very complex thing?" which we see a lot here. You might be surprised how many times we see a real newbie who wants to start by modelling their house, a job that an Architect or Engineer goes to Uni for several years to learn how to do.
I am not criticising you, (and you are not trying to design a house) but I think you should rethink your expectations from "how do I do this?" to "how do I first learn CAD?"
Look at those Tutorials and start with the simplest ones first. Sketcher combined with PartDesign WB is the most commonly used workflow at least to begin with. Arch WB is applicable to your request as well but I suspect you need to first start with the basics in sketcher and PartDesign.
The next concept to understand is that FreeCAD is mostly a 3d modeller CAD and not an old fashioned 2d CAD. So that means you create a 3d model of the real world things in FreeCAD not just a 2d image from each direct like in 2d CAD. So as a general rule I would say model what you would have in the real world.
In PartDesign a Body is just a single solid object. So one piece of wood in your barbie would be a "Body" so that you can extract that part of your design to show a worker how to create it in the real world. In other words, create a bill of materials. etc.
But all of this also depends on exactly what you want to use the CAD model for. Sometimes a simple hack of a model that is difficult to edit is all you need, other times you might want a very complex easy and reliable to modify model complete with all details defined parametrically and with code (Expressions) etc.
So my advice is for now, don't focus on your end goal, first just focus on learning the basics of how to operate FreeCAD. Start at the simplest tutorials and work your way up to more complex thing.
Jim
Re: Absolute Novice
Also have a look at this manual originally written by Yorik, https://wiki.freecadweb.org/Manual:Introduction
Another tip, pay attention to your FreeCAD version. Documentation is often written some time ago by the time you read it and will often have been written around a now obsolete FreeCAD version, FreeCAD development is fast. Also our policy in the wiki is that the wiki follows the development branch but new features show what version that new feature arrived in. For example many of the TechDraw tools are only in the current development version of FreeCAD which is 0.19 and are marked as such. Also mostly bugs are tested and fixed in the development branch so usually the dev versions end up more bug free and feature rich, particularly after some time has passed since the last release version was released, so you will find many regulars have long since moved over to FreeCAD 0.19 now.
Another tip, pay attention to your FreeCAD version. Documentation is often written some time ago by the time you read it and will often have been written around a now obsolete FreeCAD version, FreeCAD development is fast. Also our policy in the wiki is that the wiki follows the development branch but new features show what version that new feature arrived in. For example many of the TechDraw tools are only in the current development version of FreeCAD which is 0.19 and are marked as such. Also mostly bugs are tested and fixed in the development branch so usually the dev versions end up more bug free and feature rich, particularly after some time has passed since the last release version was released, so you will find many regulars have long since moved over to FreeCAD 0.19 now.
Re: Absolute Novice
Thx obelisk79 and Jim
I think between the 2 I'll have what i need.
Some basic lessons and excel is my bread and butter so comfortable with once the basics are sorted
Thx again both, massive help
I think between the 2 I'll have what i need.
Some basic lessons and excel is my bread and butter so comfortable with once the basics are sorted
Thx again both, massive help