Introduction to FreeCAD - bring your own project

Want to learn FreeCAD and need some help getting started on a project you have in mind? Join our introduction to FreeCAD where we learn relevant basics for getting started and work together to get everyone started on their own projects. This class will be a mixture of lecture/demo instruction, and towards there will be some personalized instruction tailored to the interests of the attendees.

In this class we will cover the following topics:

• What version and flavor of FreeCAD to use
• What workbench to start with, and what each one is for
• Setting up the user interface to be more user friendly for newcomers
• Useful extensions and add-on workbenches
• Design best practices and order of operations
• Making a sketch
• Making a 3d part
• Making multiple bodies and parts
• Fixing broken geometry
• Fixing geometry references
• Preparing a model for 3d printing
• intro to assemblies (time permitting)

Attendees are encouraged to bring ideas for projects they would like to get started on in FreeCAD. This can be just an idea, a napkin drawing, or a model created in a different CAD software. Because of the time constraints it would be best if these are relatively small, but if you have something in mind for a big project or assembly that's fine too, we just may not have enough time to get into it.

If you can't think of anything you want to make, or are just more interested in learning the software that's no problem, I will be using a sample model during instruction which anyone can follow along with.

In addition to this class I also host a "FreeCAD office hours" meetup periodically at the same location. During office hours there is no formal instruction. It's simply work time where people can come and ask questions as they come up. Keep an eye on the SSD meetup page if this is of interest to you.

Required equipment:

• A laptop capable of running FreeCAD. Can be Linux, Windows, or MacOS. Don't forget the power supply!
• There are no officially published system requirements but it tends to be pretty forgiving. If you aren't sure about specs please send me a message. You can try it out by downloading it here https://www.freecad.org/downloads.php
• If you don't have a laptop but still would like to join, please contact me and I will see if I can provide something for you to use during the class.
• A mouse, which is pretty much essential for CAD.

Changes from the last session:

• Last time we did an introduction and went around the room to discuss everyone's projects and interests. This was really cool, and it was great to hear everyone's ideas, however it took up a lot of time and we ran out of time to get through the teaching material. This time I will do this at the end of my prepared material.
• We will especially focus on the user interface setup. Last time this was rushed and people did not feel comfortable with it by the time it got to working on their own projects. To better facilitate this I've made the class a little bit longer so we can make sure everyone is comfortable with the user interface and well equipped to work on their own projects.

Location:
We will be in the main classroom space of Solid State Depot right inside the front door. Ring the bell to have someone let you in.