Note: The following was written about 0.18. We’re now on 0.20 and some of these issues are being addressed. It is far more usable than when this guide was written.  There is a project to significantly re-write FreeCAD for a version 1.x which is out now. However it has some early bugs. It is probably the best place to start and will be the future of the platform. TL;DR: The sections of the article about CAD is still useful and includes decent information, so I suggest a read if you’re interested in that. After using FreeCAD some time, I’ve decided that while it’s very cool for a free program, for someone needing to get things done with parametrics and standards (threads, dimensioning, drawings, etc.) it simply isn’t there yet. So I’ve abandoned the guide to updating it’s interface. There’s so much to change, hopefully there will be a way to export and import configurations. The FreeCAD project could use help from a major sponsor, like CERN did with KiCAD, to focus development and resolve issues. Here are the relevant issues: Variables driven parametric features are  difficult to setup and use. Interface is perplexing and inconsistent. Too many conflicting methods of doing ‘X’, none that offer full solutions. Poor syncing between ‘workbenches’, ie parameters, part and drawing. Missing basic features like fillets between a curve and straight line, padding (extruding) multiple or split bodies from a single sketch, non-linear feature updates and modeled threads. Sketch constraint solver is great with basic geometry but suffers with advanced geometry like ellipses. Index L’Histoire (The History) Parametric (I’ll take n. n=2) A note on Fusion 360 and FreeCAD parametrics From Install to Usable (FreakCAD) What’s That? Guide to FreeCAD’s Interface Start Page The CAD market exploded sometime after the recession. I suspect it had something to do with all those folks buying FDM machines (‘3D Printers’) and then needing a way to make things to fixed dimensions. L’Histoire There used to be two worlds of CAD. 2D Drawing/Drafting and 3D Engineering Modeling. Then the architects got hip to computers and added a bunch of … Continue reading Figuring Out FreeCAD