What is a "body"?

[Giulio Buccini]

Again OFF-TOPIC

I think that we all, computer-specialists, are prisoners in our ivory tower, using jargon and terms that are well-know to us only... There is a nerd-syndrome running, I think.
For the major part of the people out of here we're talking in an unknown language. This is a serious obstacle to the diffusion of good programs like Freecad is, IMO.

Make a test: go to the Google SketchUp forum and search for the term "feature". After you will understand why that crappy software is used by dozillions of people.

[NormandC]

Design is not the same as drafting.

That you try to convince me of this is laughable. Considering the poor way your title is constructed, you obviously have a deficient mastery of English.

It should have said What is a "body".

Please read Wikipedia with the necessary attention.

Funny, coming from someone who did not look at our own wiki first, before asking his questions here. And who still has not bothered consulting it, still.

Okay, I give up. It's a waste of time trying to argue with morons. Each time I get dragged into it.

[oldmachine]

I wasn’t going to add my opinion until I watched how quickly deriding others and their work over semantics took hold.

I was trained by/at PTC in Seattle (1995) and moved on to other CAD programs. As a former Director of Engineering at a very, large, world-known company, I brought in all the various software packages and found a very consistent/common syntax used by real engineers - not bloggers.

To me, a ‘Cup of Coffee’ is still a cup of coffee, regardless of how much sugar, cream and flavouring crap Starbucks puts in it. They might call it a ‘Mocha, Latte, extra this and extra that’ but, when asking someone if they want to go out for a ‘Cup of Coffee’ they don’t say, ‘What do you mean’ - they know what you mean and don’t deride you for it.

If you can’t deal with others calling an Automobile a ‘Car’, ‘Vehicle’, ‘Carriage’, ‘Ride’, ‘Short’, ‘Wheels’ and the many other formal and colloquial nouns used, it speaks more about your short-comming's.

I see your name is Italian - I sing Opera and make note that when Italian’s speak, it’s in a ‘sing-songy’ way that gives it character, as is well known. But, when Pavoritti sings, the Italian ‘sing-songy’ way of speaking is not present but it’s still called ‘Italian’. You can't sing opera in a sing-songy way and get away with it unless you can't sing opera.

I no longer have PTC doc’s but below is from my 1998 Solidworks manual - gosh, look at all the items in the list they refer to as 'Features'.

Show us the Software that you developed in your volunteering time with your breadth of expertise… Pad, Extrude, Cut... what would you call and bless them as?

[NormandC]

As a former Director of Engineering at a very, large, world-known company, I brought in all the various software packages and found a very consistent/common syntax used by real engineers - not bloggers.

I've always worked for small unknown companies... But I've always taken an interest in CAD packages, even testing them in my free time (that is, before I switched to Linux at home and discovered FreeCAD). My experience is the same. The current syntax is consistent.

And if Giulio had bothered doing a 15-second web search, he would have realized this as well.

Making FreeCAD easier to use and friendlier is a worthy goal, but not at the expense of dumbing things down. It is a parametric modelling program, which by its nature starts with a pretty high level of difficulty.

[Giulio Buccini]

Design is not the same as drafting.

I agree. I wrote it.
I never stated the opposite, CAD is for design and technical drawing both.

It should have said What is a "body".

Ok, my error. Touché.

Okay, I give up. It's a waste of time trying to argue with morons. Each time I get dragged into it.

NormandC, I still does not understand all this ferocious attack against what I wrote. Are we having a contrast because what the CAD acronym means? Wow!
Ok, you are the master, the god and I'm a miserable idiot. I hope you will feel better now. Have a nice day.

[Giulio Buccini]

I wasn’t going to add my opinion until I watched how quickly deriding others and their work over semantics took hold

I'm not deriding anyone, believe me.
I know how much hard work take developing a software. I do it for living.
I apologize if I gave the impression of depreciating the enormous work done with Freecad. Was not my intention.

If you can’t deal with others calling an Automobile a ‘Car’, ‘Vehicle’, ‘Carriage’, ‘Ride’, ‘Short’, ‘Wheels’ and the many other formal and colloquial nouns used, it speaks more about your short-comming's.

I have just mentioned that some terms are still obscure and non intuitive in my opinion, even if they are used by hundred of years. It doesn't matter.
Solidwork is a giant in the CAD world. I think they could use any term they want since they have thousands and thousands of users since many years. They, like you, knows the program as their pockets.

I have just pointed the fact that the some behaviours of Freecad can result obscure to who is approaching to it for the first time.

I've read the Wiki about the "Body" and the "Feature" both. But the information there was not enough to clear me what the software expects from me in some situations.
For example, doesn't not describe the dialogs appearing on the screen.
For example, let's say that I want to create a 10x10x10 cube, sketch a square on top of it, and than make a "pad" 5mm height:

1. Part workbench -> Create a cube
2. Select the top face of the cube
3. Sketcher workbench -> create a sketch
4. Part Design workbench -> Pad
5. I get the following dialog:

No active Body_440.jpg (13.95 KiB) Viewed 1276 times

6. Part Design Workbench -> Create active body
7. Part Design Workbench -> Pad
8. I get the next dialog:

Feature is not in a part_441.jpg (8.63 KiB) Viewed 1276 times

9. Part Design Workbench -> Add Part
10. Drag the Sketch inside the Part container
11. Part Design Workbench -> Pad
12. I get the same dialog in 8.
13. I'm stuck.

Where in the Wiki I can get info about the behaviour above?

[bejant]

I don't know how to fix your model. If you're going to use Part Design, it's best to stay in Part Design and use the tools available in that Workbench.

Try this work flow instead:
Open FreeCAD and do File > New or Ctrl + N.
Instead of using a Part WB > Cube, click the Part Design > Additive Cube icon:

A new Body will be created, and it contains the Cube.
Select the top face of Cube and create your Sketch.

[bejant]

I would have created your model this way.

20180616-017-deleteme-redo.fcstd

(18.2 KiB) Downloaded 39 times

(And I don't like to use Links To External Geometry.)


OS: Ubuntu 16.04.4 LTS
Word size of OS: 32-bit
Word size of FreeCAD: 32-bit
Version: 0.17.13522 (Git)
Build type: None
Branch: releases/FreeCAD-0-17
Hash: 3bb5ff4e70c0c526f2d9dd69b1004155b2f527f2
Python version: 2.7.12
Qt version: 4.8.7
Coin version: 4.0.0a
OCC version: 7.2.0
Locale: English/UnitedStates (en_US)

[Giulio Buccini]

So with the 0.17 version, the workflow has decisively changed.

So, if one plan to use massively sketches, chamfer, fillet, etc, then is better to start with "basic" solids provided by the Part Design workbench.

@bejant:thanks
I like also your second approach made by using sketches from the beginning. I adore sketching!

[easyw-fc]

So with the 0.17 version, the workflow has decisively changed.

So, if one plan to use massively sketches, chamfer, fillet, etc, then is better to start with "basic" solids provided by the Part Design workbench.

@bejant:thanks
I like also your second approach made by using sketches from the beginning. I adore sketching!

there is a long thread on FC forum Help section about:
FC v0.17dev: Part Design Next Usecases and Best practices