FreeCAD 0.19 - Tutorial - Part Design - Create a toy brick (English)

How to create a Lego-inspired toy brick in FreeCAD? We use the Part Design and Sketcher Workbenches for this tutorial.

This tutorial was inspired by the article in the official FreeCAD wiki, that you can find here:

I re-created all the necessary steps that are described in the text-based tutorial to make this video.

FreeCAD is a powerful open-source 3D modeling software used by designers,
architects, engineers, and hobbyists worldwide. It offers an intuitive interface and a wide range of features, from basic geometry creation to complex parametric modeling.

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About me:
Mechanical engineer specializing in digital product development.
CAD expert with over 11 years of experience in various CAD systems such as Siemens NX, Siemens Solid Edge, Catia V5, Onshape, FreeCAD and Fusion 360.
Former lecturer for basic CAD training in the engineering program of the Department of Environmental Planning/ Environmental Engineering at Trier University of Applied Sciences.

You can find my main channel (in German language) here:

Leave comments below, I'm happy to read your feedback.

Please keep in mind, that I am not a native speaker, so please be kind. ;-)

[AndrewHollywood]

"I hope you learned something, good bye" - love it, subscribed, thank you, good bye.

[FreeCADAcademy]

Thank you everybody for watching and giving a „thumbs up“ for this video. I really appreciate your support on this channel because with only one video it’s almost impossible to gain subscribers. But be sure, I am really thankful and super motivated to make this channel as successful as my German main channel. And in the meantime, I can practice my English! 😄😉 Have a great day all of you!

[taantricks]

Learned a lot. Thanks for the gentle introduction

[fredrikbystrom]

World needs more FOSS, thanks for contributing!

[gooddealonly]

I am a new user of FreeCAD. I have never done anything with FreeCAD. I tried to follow along with the video and do the same thing one FreeCAD. I have no idea which button does what! I use MS Word to take down the step-by-step process of making this toy brick. This helps me to be able to reproduce the brick by reading my notes without referring back to the video. The following is essentially a transcript of the video:

Create a toy brick (Lego block)
Lego block specification:
Block: 47.7 x 23.17 x 14.4 mm,
Pocket 1.8 mm from the block edge on each side. 12.6 mm deep.
Top cylinders: the centers are 1.8 mm from each edge. Diameter 3.6 mm, 2.7 mm tall.
Bottom hollow cylinders: the center is 10.2 mm from inter rectangle wall. Outer radius 4.89 mm Inter radius 3.6 mm, length 12.6 mm

1) At file > New

2) At the Combo View Panel CVP, Model Tab, rename to demo_lego

3) At the Work Bench Drop Down Menu (WBDDM) select Part Design.

4) On the Part Design toolbar clicks on the Create Body button (Blue Steps), a new body appears at the CVP. Select the new Body.

5) Click on the Sketch button. The three planes appear. Select the XY_plane, At CVP, click OK

6) Create a new sketch: Draw a rectangle with the Rectangle button (square with a red dot at diagonal), Click once each for the lower left and upper right corner.
With the rectangle drawn, click on the Horizontal Distance button (Red horizontal I beam).
Click once on the upper left dot and the upper right red dot of the rectangle. The Insert length dialog box appears. Enter the value of 47.7 mm. Click OK.
Click the Vertical Distance button (Red Vertical I Beam)
Click the upper left red dot of the rectangle and the lower-left rectangle. Enter the value 23.7 mm

7) We want to place the rectangle at the exact position. Click once on the lower-left corner of the rectangle and then click on the zero position of the XY axis. Both points are selected, click on the coincident constrain button (Red diagonal cross with a red dot in the middle). At the CVP, click the Close button.

8) We want to make the flat rectangle into a 3D object. A the CVP, select the Sketch object. Click on the Pad button (Yellow block with a gray square at the bottom). At the CVP, Enter 14.4 mm as the length of the pad.

9) At CVP, select Pad. Select the bottom plane surface of the block. Click on the Sketch button on the toolbar to draw another rectangle.

10) Position/rotate the block with the top or bottom facing you. At the CVP select the surface and draw a second rectangle inside the block.

11) Define the distance of the upper left corner to be 1.8 mm from the Y-axis line with the Horizontal Distance button. Select the upper left corner point and the 0, 0 point, enter 1.8 mm.

12) Create an edge linked to the outside rectangle with the created edge button (blue cube with 2 red dots).

13) Use the horizontal distance button (Red horizontal I beam) to set the distance of the horizontal outside edge of the rectangle to be 1.8 mm from the inside rectangle.

14) Use the vertical distance button (Red vertical I beam) to set the distance of the vertical outside edge of the rectangle to be 1.8 mm from the inside rectangle.
Now the inside rectangle is fully constrained as indicated by all four sides turned green. Click Close on the CVP.
15) Select the Sketch at CVP. Click on the Pocket button (blue hollow block) enter 12.6 mm for value.

16) Rotate the block with the pocket hole face down, (Use the view buttons blue frame with one blue surface) bottom view. the flat surface is now facing up. Use the isometric view button (blue frame cube) to place the object into isometric view and click on the full-screen button (blue magnifier on paper) to make the block large.

17) At CVP, select the Packet object. elect the upper surface of the block. Click on the Sketch button and create a new sketch.

18) Create two circles with the Circle button (Circle with 2 red dots) somewhere on the surface.
19) Define the center of the bottom circle to be 6 mm from the Y-axis, using the horizontal distance button. Define the center of the bottom circle to be 6 mm from the X axis, using the vertical distance button.
20) Use the Constrained radius button (red circle with a pointer at 2 o'clock position) and set it to 3.6 mm.
21) Using a similar process to set the second circle to be 6 mm from the X and Y axis with a radius of 3.6 mm
Click Close on the CVP.
22) Select the Sketch object, click on the Pad button (Yellow block with a gray square at the bottom), and enter 2.7 mm as the value of the pad.
23) Using the linear Pattern (blue block with 2 yellow cubes) button to create the pattern. The two short cylinders are now outside the block. At CBV, Change the Linear Pattern parameter length to 36 mm.
The two short cylinders are now placed on the block.
In the property panel, change the Occurrences from 2 to 4, press enter. There are now 8 short cylinders.
24) Rotate the entire block to show the bottom pocket side to add 3 cylinders.

25) Select the surface to add cylinders to create a new sketch.
Draw a circle and define the radius to be 4.89 mm. Set the distance of the center of the circle to be 10.2 mm from the sides of the inter rectangle using the horizontal and vertical distance tool. Use the set edge button to create an edge if necessary.
26) Make another concentric circle in the existing circle with a radius of 3.6 mm. Click close on the CVP.
27) Select the Sketch object. Click on the Pad (yellow square block with gray frame below) button, a hollow cylinder is created. Change the value of the length to 12.6 mm. Click close on the CVP.
28) At CVP, select Pad2 and click on the Linear Pattern button (blue block with 2 yellow cubes) to make the linear pattern. At the CVP, change the length to 24 mm and occurrence to 3.

29) We are done!


I have exported this brick as an STL file and printed a red, a white, and a blue one. They somehow do not fit together but It is still a great learning process.

[captgrock]

Very clearly explained, and great for a newby like myself. Thanks very much. Would love to see more, in English if possible! 👍👍👍

[designfreedom]

Great beginner tutorial! Please consider working with curved surface geometry for the next one (nurbs). If people see that FreeCAD can handle this type of geometry it'll make it so much more attractive. Especially for students of design and architectural schools. A Lego brick is good, but it is not very impressive, because virtually any 3d software can do that. I personally love FreeCAD and I know that its potential is real. Thank you very much!

[lm]

Man, you make everything so easy. THANK YOU

[TechieSewing]

Thank you! I opened FreeCAD for the first time today, followed the tutorial and ended with a Lego block same as you. I only couldn't understand how you moved the dimensions out of the way.

[rdyer]

Thanks for your videos. (I tossed a few EUR your way on PayPal to hopefully provide a bit of support.) I'm still in the early learning phase of FreeCAD. I find your videos at just about the exact level I need - a few aspects I already know, many are what I'm trying to learn now, and a few are past what I can currently absorb. Perfect!

Please keep practicing your (already excellent) English skills by doing these videos. I'm sure as you work through translating your existing German videos into English, that you will continue to challenge my knowledge. Thank you!

[fruofru]

Hi, Much appreciated tutorial, I was able to follow along. I noticed that the stubs on the bottom and top don't line up so you can't slide two pieces into each other the way you would stack chairs for example. Is that why lego bricks snap into each other and stay stuck? Is there a rule of thumb for the lego stub/cylinder layout? Like: 0 mm distance between 2 neighboring stubs and hollow cylinder but 1mm overlap between the 2 other stubs and the same cylinder?

[sotn]

Really enjoying your content atm it's been really helpful for me I think I would of given up freecad if not for your basic usage videos its been a learning curve but I'm starting to be able to do what I want and needed to do with it now a week ago following this videos would of been impossible for me .thank you.

[rolfnilsen]

First time I have used FreeCad, and this was just the thing. A bit fast but that is what the pause button is for :-)

[TassyDeval]

How do u remove the vertical line that run down the pad of the circles?

[arniep]

Is it possible to modify/edit a pre-existing .STL file whether or not it was created in FreeCAD?
I found a part in Thingiverse that is close to what I need, but needs some tweaking. Thanks!

[kan]

could you do a tutorial on how to say "goodbye" to people so abruptly?

[nicxonjrperez]

Hi Mr.Flowe, I do really appreciate the way you shown us how it is done, I was able to follow your instructions up until to create the 47.7x23.7x14.4 box, but when I tried to sketch a rectangle to be pocketed at the bottom part, the rectangle is not showing up unless i put it on isometric view i wlll be able to see the rectangle but I can"t perform the constraint, sorry I am a newbie, any help from you will be highly appreciated... thank you in advance

[flethacker]

it looks like a lego block, but will actually fit a real lego block? most the ones i find on thingyveres that i print are not able to fit (too loose or too small)

[davidharris]

Can you make more of your how to use freecad for beginners videos in English?

[ThePrimeyuri]

awesome, please make some more freecad beginner tutorial. make a tutorial series from beginner to intermediate. there are not enough freecad learning materials on internet.