Cabinet furniture design tools workbench

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txtinman
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Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2016 8:25 pm
Location: Alabama, USA

Re: Cabinet furniture design tools workbench

Post by txtinman »

I've been following the woodworking workbench manual along with your youtube videos and I'm learning slowly how to use the workbench. I only want to use FreeCAD for designing my woodworking projects so this workbench is a real blessing. I would like to ask : when should link to group be used? I believed at first it was only to provide a way to sort all of the elements like a folder or a tag in other programs. It seems though that it does more and I would like to understand it better.
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dprojects
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Location: Poland
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Re: Cabinet furniture design tools workbench

Post by dprojects »

txtinman wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2023 2:30 pm I've been following the woodworking workbench manual along with your youtube videos and I'm learning slowly how to use the workbench. I only want to use FreeCAD for designing my woodworking projects so this workbench is a real blessing. I would like to ask : when should link to group be used? I believed at first it was only to provide a way to sort all of the elements like a folder or a tag in other programs. It seems though that it does more and I would like to understand it better.
Group is folder at FreeCAD. I am not sure if you can create link to group, never tried this way. I use LinkGroup and Link.
LinkGroup can be also used if you want to rotate objects, you can rotate container, see how to use containers. It is hard to create "general rule" but generally linking is better at LinkGroup level not linking objects like Cube directly, because if you change Cube to Pad and you have link directly to Cube the link will be broken. If you link whole LinkGroup container, any content inside LinkGroup will be still valid.

phpBB [video]

Thanks
Darek
github.com/dprojects

workbench for woodworking is available at: github.com/dprojects/Woodworking
wakyct
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2023 2:06 am

Re: Cabinet furniture design tools workbench

Post by wakyct »

Just wanted to say thanks dprojects for the workbench. I am new to CAD and FreeCAD, lot to learn and so far it's great. Excited to enter the 21st century and not have to draft by hand anymore (we'll see if I regret that... ;) ). My first project is a small built-in for my neighbor.

I also wanted to point out the examples repo at https://github.com/dprojects/Woodworkin ... Parametric which is an absolute goldmine.
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dprojects
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Re: Cabinet furniture design tools workbench

Post by dprojects »

wakyct wrote: Sat Mar 25, 2023 1:28 am Just wanted to say thanks dprojects for the workbench. I am new to CAD and FreeCAD, lot to learn and so far it's great. Excited to enter the 21st century and not have to draft by hand anymore (we'll see if I regret that... ;) ). My first project is a small built-in for my neighbor.

I also wanted to point out the examples repo at https://github.com/dprojects/Woodworkin ... Parametric which is an absolute goldmine.
Thank you for the kind words. You have fresh view so any issues are welcome. I have never used any other CAD system so many things might be different. You can open issue at github issue tracker, if you find that something should be changed from your point of view.

Currently, I am waiting for FreeCAD 0.21 to be released and not have ideas for new features.

Thanks
Darek
github.com/dprojects

workbench for woodworking is available at: github.com/dprojects/Woodworking
wakyct
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2023 2:06 am

Re: Cabinet furniture design tools workbench

Post by wakyct »

dprojects wrote: Sat Mar 25, 2023 8:09 pm Currently, I am waiting for FreeCAD 0.21 to be released and not have ideas for new features.
Since it will probably take me years to learn FreeCAD, I am in no rush ;).

I just finished the first simple table video; it was a good comparison with the other basic tutorial I did today which also makes a table. I found your workbench shortcuts (like moving in increments, aligning parts to faces, etc.) helpful and time saving.

It made me curious, how does this workbench relate to the PartDesign/Sketcher workflow? Would you say they are similar? In the other basic tutorials for PartDesign/Sketcher you make a sketch, add constraints, then pad parts, make another sketch, etc., while it seems with this workbench it's more similar to the Part workflow where you make solids with no constraints necessarily? Sorry if I am wrong here.

Also an unrelated question, can you explain what the construction profiles are, conceptually? I did transform my table parts to profiles, but I wasn't sure exactly the reason for them.
What does that word mean in FreeCAD? Look in the Glossary.
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dprojects
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Re: Cabinet furniture design tools workbench

Post by dprojects »

wakyct wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 1:36 am It made me curious, how does this workbench relate to the PartDesign/Sketcher workflow?
If you build from panels, you build from Part->Cube objects.
If you want irregular shape, you can change Cube panel to Pad panel via panel2pad tool and edit the Sketch. Also the Cube will be automatically transformed into PartDesign->-Pad during many operation applied at Cube, for example drilling holes.

The Workbench not use any special objects, all objects are manageable directly by FreeCAD.

wakyct wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 1:36 am Also an unrelated question, can you explain what the construction profiles are, conceptually?
In Poland we have industrial style, chipboards with metal profiles. So this is why the profiles are there. If you use raw wood, you don't need to use the profiles.

Thanks
Darek
github.com/dprojects

workbench for woodworking is available at: github.com/dprojects/Woodworking
wakyct
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2023 2:06 am

Re: Cabinet furniture design tools workbench

Post by wakyct »

dprojects wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 5:53 pm In Poland we have industrial style, chipboards with metal profiles.
OT but just curious as I'm a carpenter in the USA, do you mean metal profiles that you fit chipboard into, or chipboards with profiled edges?
What does that word mean in FreeCAD? Look in the Glossary.
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dprojects
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Re: Cabinet furniture design tools workbench

Post by dprojects »

wakyct wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 6:17 pm OT but just curious as I'm a carpenter in the USA, do you mean metal profiles that you fit chipboard into, or chipboards with profiled edges?
I mean furniture design where some parts of the furniture, usually legs, are made from metal.
But if you deal with raw wood like USA carpenters do, you don't need to use profiles at all. It is even better because if you change panel into profile the panel is converted from Part->Cube into PartDesign->Thickness.

phpBB [video]


phpBB [video]

Thanks
Darek
github.com/dprojects

workbench for woodworking is available at: github.com/dprojects/Woodworking
wakyct
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2023 2:06 am

Re: Cabinet furniture design tools workbench

Post by wakyct »

dprojects wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 2:01 pm I mean furniture design where some parts of the furniture, usually legs, are made from metal.
But if you deal with raw wood like USA carpenters do, you don't need to use profiles at all. It is even better because if you change panel into profile the panel is converted from Part->Cube into PartDesign->Thickness.
Got it, thanks! Yes I noticed that (how the cube became hollow) about the table leg. In our work when we say 'profile' it usually means an edge detail. Things like https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... ter+reglet.
What does that word mean in FreeCAD? Look in the Glossary.
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dprojects
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Re: Cabinet furniture design tools workbench

Post by dprojects »

wakyct wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 2:27 pm Got it, thanks! Yes I noticed that (how the cube became hollow) about the table leg. In our work when we say 'profile' it usually means an edge detail. Things like https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... ter+reglet.
I have usually problem with accurate feature naming, who don't. Maybe profile is not so accurate but I didn't know what would be better name.

Thanks
Darek
github.com/dprojects

workbench for woodworking is available at: github.com/dprojects/Woodworking
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