FreeCAD 0.19 - Basic Part Design Tutorial (English)

This is my version of the Basic Part Design tutorial from the official FreeCAD Online documentation (Wiki) that you can find here:

The original Basic Part Design proposes some work methods that are not considered to be a good parametric style, so I updated the tutorial in some ways and suggest to work with expressions and datum planes. Just check the video and tell me what you're thinking.

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:

#freecad #tutorial #partdesign

[funkynerd_com]

I've been using FreeCAD for less than 24 hours and this was only the second video I watched and I managed to keep up, learn a bunch of stuff and understood everything. Very easy to follow tutorial, even for absolute noobs like myself. Thanks!

[cobelali]

Trying not to sketch on 3D faces is a hard habit to break, but it's the right way. Thank you for all the guidance.

[roykoxley]

I am impressed it is a totally different way to look at how freeCAD works

[aubiejazz]

While building the model along with you I was wondering why all the constraint names. When you started building all the formulas then I knew. I also wondered why all the formulas and not just add the dimensions. I came to the conclusion that the formulas were needed to make the model so stable as proven by changing all the pad sketch dimensions in the end of the video. The construction line for the angle of the face was pure genius. Thanks for the video (which I downloaded for later reference) and all the super modeling methods in FreeCAD. GREAT JOB!

[ejon]

this could very well be the one of the two most informative FreeCAD tutorials I've seen in my entire life.

[superclips]

Came here after 2 years but I have to say that I learnt a lot of great techniques and your explanation was excellent - as good as german engineering! thank you

[ianparsons]

Thank you for the tutorial. Re-training myself in parametric CAD now and your tutorials have been invaluable. Only have been through #3 on freeCAD today but it has been wonderful.

[macronom]

Very helpful for people like me who are too lazy to read the tutorial, although they could learn a lot from it. ;)

[ElTelBaby]

Your English is good...
Please keep these tutorials coming as I'm just tinkering with Free Cad in Ubuntu 22.04

[alexwatson]

I appreciate the way this shows how simple it can be to avoid the topological naming problem. I accidentally encountered tnp the second time I tried to model because I realized I put the measurements in wrong (wrote what would have been cm in as the mm) and upon trying to change the measurements broke it and had to redo the whole thing. So learning how easy I can implement a way to avoid that is amazing.

[KnobbyHobby]

Thanks for your time making this, I learnt a lot. I loved how you tested the model at the end.

[ianrobinson]

Excellent piece. Completely logical but I had to rewind several times to fully understand the parametric inputs. Will probably need to revisit this and the Block and Hole tutorial as well!

[Luczr]

Learned more by watching a few videos than going through the FreeCAD tutorial

[MorningCarnival]

This is excellent. I use Freecad for prototyping some ideas for a product I’m working on, it’s a totally new area for me but I’m slowly being able to make more complex parts. Thanks for your effort.

[pcost]

Your channel is unbelievably awesome! Thank you a lot for coming with it, I have seen all videos and they are awesome.Keep the good job!

[bearsrodshop]

Still getting the hang of .19, but helpful to go through all the Q & A below. Lot of good questions and answer's. Flowwie, with you at the helm, , this ship will sail, , thx, & cheers !!

[headfog]

Your English is better then some people I know that only speak English...thanks for your help🤟 subscribed👍

[lewiscobb]

Flowie ! Great to see you back on the English channel 😊 I picked up a few good tips from this latest video but will have to watch it a few more times for everything to sink into my head 😂
Thanks very much for your work- it's very much appreciated.
Cheers from Canada

[jonathanroberts]

Very helpful thank you.
I should mention that there were one or two occasions when you moved a bit too quickly, particularly regarding typing in constraints with the Formula Editor. I also should mention that although FreeCAD does pick up and hint you when typing in, for example, pad_name or Constraint eg.
it is important to remember the exact name of eg. box_x_dim
otherwise, you are sitting there with a red warning "No Attribute Name.."
not knowing exactly why.
Anyhow, once again, you demonstrate some extremely useful techniques, which I am sure will come in handy later on.
Much appreciated.

[hackr_vaillant]

Excellent tutorial, comming from Fusion360 I struggle a bit with freecad but your explanations where clear an I like the fact that you care about the model stability. Thank you.