Draft ShapeString tutorial

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Revision as of 07:24, 20 June 2016 by R-Frank (talk | contribs)
Tutorial
Topic
ShapeString (Draft workbench)
Level
Beginner
Time to complete
30 minutes
Authors
r-frank
FreeCAD version
0.16.6704
Example files
See also
None

Introduction

In this tutorial we will discuss how to

  • insert a text with the Draft Shapestring tool
  • extrude it to be a solid
  • position it in 3D space using placement and Draft Move on sketches
  • doing an engraving by applying a boolean cut

It is recommended to have completed the sketcher tutorial first.

Creating the basic shape

  • Start FreeCAD and create a new document
  • Switch to part workbench
  • Insert a cube by clicking on XX
  • Make sure the cube is selected in the tree view
  • Change width to be 50 mm by using the data-tab in the property view
  • Choose upper edge on the front face of the cube and apply achamfer of 5 mm
  • Make sure object "chamfer" is selected in the tree view and press <Space> to toggle visibility

Inserting text with the Draft ShapeString tool

  • Switch to Draft workbench
  • Toggle working plane to XY
  • Insert text "FreeCAD"

Create 3D text

  • Switch to part workbench
  • Make sure the Draft Shapestring object in the tree view is selected
  • Use Part Extrude-Tool with the parameters:
    • extude Z=1 mm
    • make sure to tick "create solid"
  • Make sure object "Extrude" is selected in the tree view and press <Space> to toggle visibility

Insert sketch for positioning

  • Switch to sketcher workbench
  • Make sure object "chamfer" is selected in the tree view and press <Space> to toggle visibility
  • Choose sloped face created by chamfer operation
  • Click on to insert new sketch
  • Draw a line (may be horizintal or vertical, length is not of importance ...)
  • Constrain one of the endpoints to be +2,5 mm vertical distance and +2 mm horizontal distance away from the origin
  • Close sketch

Positioning 3D text in 3D space

  • Make sure object "Extrude" is selected in the tree view and press <Space> to toggle visibility
  • Make sure, object "Extrude" is selected in the tree view
  • Apply incremental placement Z=90°
  • Apply incremental placement Y=45°
  • Switch to draft workbench
  • Switch to wireframe mode
  • Make sure, only "snap to endpoint" is activated
  • Select "extrude"-object
  • Click on move
  • In 3D view click on the most upper left corner point of "extrude"-object and then click on the constrained point in the sketch

Creating engraved text

  • Switch to part workbench
  • Select the 3D text ("extrude") and then the base object ("chamfer")
  • Apply a boolean cut by clicking on ...
  • Finished

Notes

  • for creating curved text you can use the macro FC_CircularText
  • for importing text from inkscape look at the "Importing text from inkscape"-tutorial

Demonstration of workflows

Since a picture is better for explaining than text here are small screencasts showing
the workflow for the different chapters.
The films were recorded using FreeCAD 0.16.6704 on Windows 7 64-bit.
FreeCAD was set to "english" language.
The screencasts were recorded using ScreenToGif.