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#freecad

9 posts9 participants1 post today
Public
Finn

It's still not finished but today I made some progress!

I am designing a case for the Xiao ESP32S3 Wio-SX1262 Meshtastic node!

The display does not fit perfectly yet, I need to do the cutout in the lid for the display and make a button.

But I am already pretty happy with the results, thank you @FreeCAD - it's really enjoyable to work with FreeCAD!

When it's finished I want to install it in the attic as my stationary Meshtastic node.

A half transparent CAD model of a small case for a micro controller and a small OLED display. It has a hole for a USB-C port and oo the other side it has a hole for an antenna.
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An ESP32S3 micro controller with a Wio-SX1262 LoRa hat on top. It is attached to a small breadboard which also hold some cables and a about 1 inch OLED display.
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The previously shown 3D model of the case now is printed and the micro controller and the display are installed in the case. The two antennas, one for LoRa and one for WiFi, are just dangling around at the moment.
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#Meshtastic#3DPrinting#FreeCAD
Public
Ari [APz] Sovijärvi

Just out of curiosity, what kind of workflows so you #freecad or other CAD package users have for simple stuff you need to model for 3D printing or CNC'ing?

I start with a crude Post-It note version and try to get all the measurements in that phase, so when I get to the good part, I can just keep on drawing without killing the flow.

A post-it note it a simple drawing of a part, with all the measurements written around it.
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A screenshot of a CAD designed part, made with the measurements from the post-it note.
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#cad
Public
HuK

I'm working on my roller-bearing. Tweaking physical parameters based on first 3D prints.

I wish I could have on-screen visibility and scrollability of VarSet, when I'm working on the 3D view, Sketches, solids etc.

I keep forgetting my variable logic in VarSets. Cognitive load is substantial.

Then I resort to copy pasting expression values between constraints.

This is my first major project (2nd part). Still learning best strategies, while also hoping for better UX to help #FreeCAD

@FreeCAD

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Ari [APz] Sovijärvi

As I swapped out the winter tyres for summer ones today, I checked out the hubcaps I made last fall and they all were in perfect shape.

I replaced my pinball hauling vehicle last fall and I had gotten used to the Volkswagen T5's minimalistic hub caps. Ford Transit had had those at some point but all that was sold these days was beaten up ones for very high price on eBay.

So I recreated the hubcaps in FreeCAD and printed them out of ASA. They're soft enough to snap on without violence, but they also stick on just as well as the Volkswagen version. I stole the wheel bolt attaching design from them.

A closeup of a car's wheel. A slightly rusty 15" steel rim with a winter tyre on it and a minimalistic black hubcap.
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A screnshot showing bottom side of a self-made car hubcap.
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A screnshot showing topside of a self-made car hubcap.
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#3dprinting#freecad#ford
Replied to Michael K Johnson
Public
Michael K Johnson

Why not both‽

  • The #FreeCAD #OpenSCAD workbench lets you mix and match. A friend sent me an OpenSCAD model of a part he wanted me to machine. I used the FreeCAD OpenSCAD workbench to show his model and then used TechDraw to make a drawing to work from.
  • FreeCAD's Part workbench is basically a similar CSG workflow to OpenSCAD, with boolean operations on shapes that take parameters, so a preference for working that way, or problems that fit that model, shouldn't drive a decision either way.
  • Actually, design-as-code works in both OpenSCAD and FreeCAD. FreeCAD has been a Python library and allowed you to write custom code driving basically anything in it in Python forever; I've written custom macros for multiple purposes. And in recent development builds, OpenSCAD added the ability to use Python as well as its bespoke language.

/fin

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Michael K Johnson

I started writing a response on reddit to the question "why do you prefer freecad vs openscad?" and wanted to share it here...

A few #FreeCAD advantages that matter to me:

  • Fillets and chamfers. Can be mind-bending to implement in OpenSCAD, and slow when implemented with minkowski sums.
  • TechDraw workbench to make drawings; I am a hobby machinist, and use drawings to make parts I have designed
  • Part Design workbench workflow is often much easier for me to conceptualize
  • Much faster (though the Manifold kernel in OpenSCAD has made a huge difference) even though it's still sometimes slow
  • B-rep kernel (among other things, representing curves as curves)
  • STEP file support, import and export
  • Assemblies (finally are built-in in FreeCAD 1.0)
  • Fastener workbench semi-automatically chooses the right fastener for the hole
  • Availability of many other workbenches, some of which I don't yet know I need
  • More tutorial material in a variety of forms that can guide you through learning lots of specific techniques for solving a wide variety of problems, including many that go beyond what you can do with FreeCAD. (On the other hand, it's really hard to get started without following some!)

1/3

en.wikipedia.orgBoundary representation - Wikipedia
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Ari [APz] Sovijärvi

The nightmare inducing mechanism of Road Show pin remake continues. The last piece of the CAD design puzzle is the eyelid mechanism. If this goes how I want it to go, it'll be gear driven like the eyes. I considered reusing the actual part, but so many pins where it's broken, so might as well provide everything to make these two knuckleheads live again.

Screenshot of a CAD software, showing work in progress animatronic face mechanism.
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Original eyelid part from Road Show pinball machine.
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#pinrepair#repair#freecad
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