Shape9
































Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Conventions and shortcuts 4

Preferences and defaults 8

Creating Geometry 11

Triming Lines 13

13

Triming Lines 13

14

Circles 14

Polyline 16

Rectangle 17

Offset 17

Move 18

Drafting A Floorplan 20






























Introduction


whats is Freecad

Is primarily a parametric 3d modleing software. Though it also has 2d drafting tools these to extract drawings from models or create them from scratch.

what is a work bench

A work bench is a collection of tools used to perform certain tasks. In this tutorial thework benches that will be focused on will be the draft work bench, the arch workbench and the tech draw workbench.

Draft work bench

This is a collection of 2d drafting tools , including; points, lines , poly lines, circles , other geomtric shapes and the means to dimmension and modify them

Arch work bench

Has some cross over with the draft work bench, it is a collection of tools that deals primarily with the creation of building components such as wall, slabs roofs and windows.

Tech draw work ben ch

This is a collection of tools used to place 2d drawings and views of 3d objects on to a virtual representation of a paper . Here drawings from different workbenches can be scaled, rotated and further annotated

















Conventions and shortcuts

Shape5_11 Shape5_12 RHS

LHS



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Shape5_7 Shape2_5

Shape2_1 Shape2_3 Shape5_8 Shape2_4

Shape2_2 Shape5_9





Shape5_13


function

command

Icon

tips

Multi select

Ctrl,+ select

-


Box select

Shift+e

-

Click once and move mouse over objects

Zoom in and out

Ctrl + middle + (move mouse)

-

These commands vary per the navigation style hovering your mouse of the current style will reveal how to navigate

Pan

Shift + middle (mouse move)

-

Point

Has no keyboard shortcut. Select it in the tool bar



Indicate with the mouse by selecting an arbitrary placement or key in coordinates in the task tab of the combo view.

line

Press ‘l’ then ‘i’



There exists 3 modes of input ; arbitrary where you simply indicate the start and end point with select on your mouse after entering the shortcut


precise/ global coordinates

grid with the use of coordinates one can key in the coordinates of the start and end relative to the origin (global) of the grid or a point.

The grid can be altered in preferences

Poly Line

press‘p’then ‘v’



move

Press ‘m’ then ’v’ , select pivot, select destination


rotate

With an object selected press ‘r’ then ‘o’ or select the object after the command.


fillet

Press ‘f’ then ‘i’



rectangle

Press ‘r’ then ‘e’





circle

Press ‘c’ then ‘i’ on the keyboard


The first point determines it’s location and the second determines

its radius from that point

B- spline

Press ‘b’ then ‘s’



-

Views

1:front, 2 ,3 ,4 ,5



-

Hide/ show

spacebar

-

Select the object first (it still apears in the combo view when hidden

Snap points on/off

shift+s



upon entering or selecting a command the tasks tab in the combo view will open

giving options on the properties of the object being created

tip: all created object cand have their properties altered by selecting them in the combo view under the tab model and











Shape6_0 Shape7_0




Shape4_1
Shape4 Shape1 Shape3




Menu items

Description

Tips

Combo view

The combo view consits of 4 tabs; Model, tasks view and data.

  1. The Model tab shows the list of current objects

  2. the task tab displays the current action the user is making

  3. under the model tab there exists two sub tabs; view and data. View shows the display options of an object (line thickness)

  4. data displays the physical properties of an object such as length

  5. the image to the left displays the combo view of a newly created document


Tool bar


Displays the current tools of the active work bench


Navigation style

Freecad has multiple styles of navigation so that one can more easily use it. Selecting

the cad style; uses the more generic navigation one comes to expect fromcad programs like libre cad hovering over the navigation style menu reveals, the mouse layout for the selected style


Workbenches

Work benches are a set of tools ment to perform a specified task


Working plane

The face or axii which one creates 3d or 2d objects on













Preferences and defaults


    Preferences has the default settings for each work bench

  1. On the drop down menu select >edit>preferences with the mouse

  2. the prefrences menu should apear

  3. under the general tab select general and set unit system to standard metric

  4. >edit>preferences>Display>colours> simple colour

  5. under display>colours>backround colour

  6. select simple color

  7. use a the colour grey










*linux is case sensitive







* key diffrences in windows and linux









Opening and Navigating a Project

  1. on the drop down menu select file then open (ensure the draft workbench is selected) *selectfile>open>new> workbench>Draft

  2. select the pre-exsisting project Draft tutorial *specify file location documents/Freecad *

  3. the project will open

  4. change the work bench from part to Draft

  5. the numbers 1 to 5 can be used to change views

  6. 1 is the top view.

  7. You can navigate the drawing by paning and zooming (see shortcuts table)

  8. you can select objects with your mouse, doing so highlights them in the combo view under the model tab.

  9. The object can be shown and hidden by pressing the space bar

  10. pan by pressing middle mouse and moving the mouse (or in blender navigation mode; pan by pressing shift, holding the middle mouse button and moving the mosue)

  11. zoom can be used by scrolling the middle mouse button(in cad navigation) or holding shift ad the middle mouse button by moving your mouse

Shape14 Shape20 Shape19




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Shape11

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Shape13_0 Shape13_3



Tasks

  1. zoom in on the floorplan using either the blender(shift + middle mouse clickmouse move) or cad navigational styles( mouse middle button scroll)

  2. select in the combo view the group called floor plan and press the space bar

  3. notice the entire floorplan disapears from view, pressing spacebar again returns the floorplan



expand the groups in the combo view by selecting the arrow icon next to floorplan group





















This displays all the components of said group

press space bar after selecting wire 3694 in the floorplan group

this hides the object selected

pressing space bar again unhides it


















Individual elements can also be deleted

this is done by selecting the item in the combo view and pressing the delete button.

Select wire 36794 and delete it


like with other common software this can be undone simply press ctrl+z


press ctrl+z

Box select

you can select multiple objects using the box select

Press shift+e and the select the startingpoint: drag from the starting position to cover some of the floorplan

note that after pressing shift+r you cannon pan or zoom while box selecting

so be sure to zoom to the appropriate view



















This high lights the selected objects in the combo view as well

what you have previously learned still applies

pressing space hides the selected objects and pressing space again reveals them

(note that you cannot use ctrl z to undo a hide)


you can also delete a group of selected objects





Snap points



Snap points exist on all geometries one creates. To activate snap points key in shift+s the snap icon will apear as shown: this indicates that snap points lock is on. Pressing shift+s turns these snap points off.

End points

The snaps to the end points and vertices of 3d and 2d objects

Mid point

This snaps to the mid point of a line

Centre


This snaps to the centre of a shape

Intersections


This snaps to intersecting, metting or overlaping geometries

parralel

When creating lines creates a snaping point parrelel to an existing line or object

snap working plane

Projects snap points onto current working plane

G rid snapping

This snaps the cursor to points on the grid

O rtho snapping

This snaps the cursor to vertical, horizontal or 45 degrees when drawing geometry



Creating Geometry



Shape15 Creating documents and preparing a file

  1. Select file>new

  2. a new document has been created

  3. select the work bench button and select the draft work bench



Shape15_1

Shape10 Shape12 Shape15_0

    Snap points and views setup

  1. Set the view to the top by pressing 1

  2. turn the active working plane to top

  3. This ensures objects are only drawn in one plan.

  4. Select the point snap point

  5. Select snap working planes

Shape16 Shape17 Shape18 Shape15_2 Shape15_3

creating points

points are made by first by:

  1. selecting the icon in the tool bar men u

  2. the combo view will apear, they can be placed by either

  1. indicating anywhere in the drawing plane (press the select button on the mouse anywhere)

  2. entering coordinates in the combo task view

  3. using snap points to place it on a nother object ( in this case use the grid snap)


  1. place the point at the origin of the grid

    if placing the point arbitrarily you may udjest its properties in the combo view

  2. select the point and set these values to zero so as to place the point at the origin



*other shortcuts for points







Creating lines


create a line by using shortcus; Key in l then i

the task tab in combo view apears

like with points there are three ways to create lines

inputing via combo view, abitrary placment with edits in the combo view and snap points

the first section indicates the coordinates for the start of the line the second indicates the lines length and angle

tab cycles through these options.

  1. Select for s 0

  2. press tab

  3. select for y and key in 0 mm

  4. press tab

  5. select for z: o

  6. select enter point

  7. press tab

  8. key in: 1000 mm for length

  9. press tab

  10. select angle box and key in 45

  11. press enter

  12. you have created a line at the origin at 45 degrees of length 1000 mm

  13. the properties of the line can be confirmed under the data tab of the combo view





some of these methods can be combined especially when objects consist of more that 2 points

  1. create a line intersecting with the one you drew using the same process



inputing via indicating

  1. key in li

  2. select a start then end point

  3. select the line and view it’s properties in the combo view>data adjust the properties of the length, start and end by selecting them and keying in the following;




Drawing lines using snapping points

turn these snapping points on by selecting them in the tool bar

  1. end point

  2. and the snap ortho

  3. hover your cursor over the created point. The end point snap icon will apear to indicate that pressing select on the mouse will create the start of the line at the point

  4. press select on your mouse

  5. hover your mouse away from the point untill the ortho snap icon apears

  6. press selct on the mouse

  7. if the created line is not 1000 mm you may change it using the previous method; select the line and change the length by changing it in the combo view under data

Triming Lines

  1. select the first line and key in t,r on the right side

this will open the trim dialogue options for the trim comand

moving the mouse adjusted the length of the trim manualy

however a specific distance can be keyed in

holding ctrl uses the active snaps ; snap to point snap to mid point snap to intersection etc

  1. trim the diagonal line

  2. hold ctrl (ensure the intersection snap is on by clicking on the cross shape in the snaps area)

  3. click select when the snap symbol apears at the lines intersection

  4. select the first line and key in t,r on the right side

  5. this will open the trim dialogue options for the trim comand

  6. moving the mouse adjusted the length of the trim manualy

  7. however a specific distance can be keyed in

  8. holding ctrl uses the active snaps ; snap to point snap to mid point snap to intersection etc

  9. trim the diagonal line

  10. hold ctrl (ensure the intersection snap is on by clicking on the cross shape in the snaps area)

  11. click select when the snap symbol apears at the lines intersection

  12. use this method to trim the other line so they meet at a point

  13. press shift e and drag the box select over both lines

  14. key in j,o this joins the two lines into one


Circles

    key in c,i , this starts the circle task in the combo view

    as with the line command you can key where the object should start for circles

    this is the centre of the circle

    you can also use snaps to start it’s centre at the point where the two lines are joined

  1. hover your mouse over the inter section untill
    the snap symbol for point apears

  2. select it with your mouse

  3. key in 20 mm in the combo view

    Shape22 Shape23

  1. A face is created this can be removed in the combo view under the data tab

  2. select true next to make face and choose false (this removes the face)

    circles can also be trimmed

    select the circle at the right hand side and key in t,r

  3. the trim task apears hold ctrl to snap the trim to the two points

    the circle intersects with.


POLY LINE Polyline

  1. key in p,l

  2. this opens the poly line task

  3. key in 0: for the x, y and z coordinates and select enter point

  4. make two more segments of the poly line by snaping to points intersecting the trimed circle and line a close poly line is created



    Rectangle

  1. key in r,e and snap the starting point to the origin and the final point to the intersection of the diagonal line and circle.


      Offset

  1. select the line and key in o,s this open the offset task key in 20 mm

    this ofsets the line by 20 mm





































































Shape24_5 Rectangle







































    circles and other such objects can be offset as well

    M ove













Shape24_11 Move

  1. click on the joined mv line, key in m,v

  2. the move task box apears

  3. key in x to restrain movement in the x axsis

  4. use the snap point on the right vertex of the square

  5. select it































    Shape24_12 Mirror

  1. select the joined line on the right hand side and key in m,i

  2. select the middle line and snap to the the bottom point of the line

  3. key in y to restrict to the y axsis

  4. select the top point of the line

































Shape24_13 Drafting A Floorplan




In this tutorial you wil draft a 2d floorplan of the using an existing one as reference







WIP steps floorplan

importing the site

select file> import >navigate to the site folder and select the file named_____

the importer dialogue apears

*if not request change in drop down menu; edit preferences

use the c++ importer

use the options;

import

  1. “texts and dimensions’,

  2. ‘simple part shapes’

  3. ‘treat ellipses and splines as poly lines’,

  4. ‘set scale factor as units from that file to mm. If the file is in meters set it to 1000 if the file is in mm set the factor to 1.’









Drafting a floorplan



open the file_____

  1. select construction mode

    key in py and select the following points in order ; A ,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,A to form a closed polygon (PY1)

  2. k ey in py and select the following points in order; A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K,L, A

  3. select PY 1 sin the combo view under construction

  4. key in o,s, move the cursor inside the shape and key in 220 mm in the tasks tab that opened this create poly line py3

  5. s elect py 2 and key in o,s, move the cursor out side of the poly line and key in 300 mm

  6. select py 4 and key in o,s. Move the cursor outside of the shape, Key in 300 mm in the task tab on the right of the screen

























Rooms and walls

in the model view select the polylines you made and set make face to false

press shift r while the view space is at wc/shower

press shift E and select the object

key in m,v and click on the left most corner

move this corner to point 0 ; key in mv, select the point and then select the destination point.

key in r,e and create reactangles of the following dimmensions (each representing the size of a room.



  1. WC /shower 1010 by 1690 and 1880 by 1690

  2. M aid’s room ; 2300 by 3000 ( select the rectangle and key in ‘m,v’ this rectangle key in x and type in 110 mm and press the enter key

  3. B edroom is 3000 by 3500 move this rectangle to the right of the maids room by 220. The walk in cupboard is 2400 by 600 and 600 by 490. move this rectangle by 110 mm to the right.

  4. The Bathroom is 1800 by 2400. Key in “re” enter the dimmensions and press enter. Move the rectangle 110 mm to the right; select the rectangle and key in ‘m,v’ select the bottom left corner and key in x, then enter 110 mm and hit enter.

  5. Bedroom 2 is 3000 by 3500 the walk in cupboardis 490 by 600 and 2400 by 600. Be sure to move the 490 by 600 rectangle 110 mm to the right.

  6. The kitchen consists of 4000 3200 and 1945 by 900. the first rectangle should be moved to the right by 110 keu in mv and select the recangle, key in x and then 110 and press enter.

  7. The garage is 5560 by 3000, key in re to create the rectangle and select the starting point diagonal to I (next to the kitchen).

  8. The Porch is 3330 by 2111 and should be 110 mm above the garage

  9. The sitting room is 4640 by 5030 and should be placed at the point diagonal to G.( 220 in the x direction and 220 in the y direction from point G).

  10. The dining room is 3000 by 3610 and should be placed to the left of the sitting room

  11. The Master bed room 3500 by 3610 and 1810 2410

  12. the En suite is 1700 by 2400

  13. The Passage is;1800 by 990 (1800 710) (3500 1200) (5520.0 1200) and should be moved 110 mm from the ensuit

  14. The lobby is (2120 by 2190)

















Window and door placement

at point 0 place block

at point 1 place w5

at point 2 place d14

at point 3 place w4

at point 5 place w2

70 mm from point l place d5

at point 6 place w1

at point 7 place w6

at point 9 place w7

at point 10 place d6

at point 11 place d4

at point 12 place d2

at point 13 place d1

at point 14 place d7

at point 16 place w8

at point 17 place w9

at point 18 place w10

at point 19 place d10

at point 20 place d9

at point 21 place d12

at point 22 place d13

at point 23 place d11

at point 24 place d16

at point 25 place d15

at point 26 place place d3







Rooflinesmv



























doors and windows

insert the window and door blocks as shown

lenghth 2000 mm , sill is 30 mm, ( 90,li 40, 90)

1996

2489

2480

15110

lm