Is "Basic Part Design Tutorial" in line with actual Part Design workflow?

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Shalmeneser
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Re: Is "Basic Part Design Tutorial" in line with actual Part Design workflow?

Post by Shalmeneser »

https://wiki.freecadweb.org/Basic_Part_ ... torial_019 :
* too many blank lines
* My screen is not large enough to see SP1 with SP4
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onekk
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Re: Is "Basic Part Design Tutorial" in line with actual Part Design workflow?

Post by onekk »

Shalmeneser wrote: Mon Oct 24, 2022 9:53 pm https://wiki.freecadweb.org/Basic_Part_ ... torial_019 :
* too many blank lines
* My screen is not large enough to see SP1 with SP4
For blank lines, toward the end they are left intentionally here, as the tutorial is not finished yet, to signal were in the "original file" there were images.

I have edited it till around the "Making the Pad" text, even if the images are in place.

It is not finished yet, but as I'm a newbie and the process is slow and time consuming, an early check will spare me time on editing what is not wrong.

About images,

I will avoid to put more than three images in a row, probably I have to make two tables, but this is not a problem.
I can't get to have all the images roughly the same size, as when you add constraints, they take more space, so what is initially a small image (300x300pixels) will soon became 400x400 or even 450x450 pixel, So I have to find a way to manage them, probably use the bigger size as standard dimension to make all images have the same widthxheight.

EDIT: I have managed to make a better workflow for screenshots, so they are all regular in size, and modified the page, let me know if this is displayed better on your screen (As information what resolution you have?)

Thanks for spending time to review.

Regards

Carlo D.
GitHub page: https://github.com/onekk/freecad-doc.
- In deep articles on FreeCAD.
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Roy_043
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Re: Is "Basic Part Design Tutorial" in line with actual Part Design workflow?

Post by Roy_043 »

As @Shalmeneser already pointed out: on some screens the page requires horizontal scrolling, it is preferable to avoid that. And there are indeed too many empty blank lines, even in the sections that you have already edited.

You want to explain things in a very detailed manner, which is good, but in many cases a single image can be used the explain several steps. It is very important that the images are in chronological order (the images Fig: HS2 and Fig: HS3 are not). For the symmetrical constraint the selection order of the points is relevant, so that needs to be specified.

Try not to go overboard with nested lists and heading levels. For headings stop at H3. I would simply number the figures consecutively.

Compare:
https://wiki.freecadweb.org/Basic_Part_ ... onstraints
And:
https://wiki.freecadweb.org/Sandbox:Roy_043_Tmp_PD_Tut
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Re: Is "Basic Part Design Tutorial" in line with actual Part Design workflow?

Post by adrianinsaval »

I have not read the entire thread so sorry if some of this has already been discussed. Is this tutorial going to cover usage of expressions? We could for didactic purposes use different methods in different steps to cover different workflows, for example in one step use external references to sketch geometry when making a sketch but in another use expressions and mention that this is more reliable and leave as a small challenge to the user to think on how to use that workflow instead in the previous step.
Similarly for the mirrored features we can in one feature showcase the symmetric constraint and in the other make use of the mirror feature, adding observations that these could be achieved either way and that it's usually advised to make patterns using the dedicated features rather than inside the sketch.

About the tutorial itself, why make the initial rectangular sketch? personally this is how I would model this part for didactic purposes:
-sketch the trapezoid in YZ -> symmetric pad
-sketch both corner cutouts with symmetry constraint -> pocket
-sketch the side pad in YZ -> attachment offset with expression Pad.Length/2 -> pad reversed
(or pad two dimensions with negative 2nd length)
-mirror pad feature, add caveat that the cutout may be modeled like this too and even included in the same mirror feature, challenge user to go back and do this
-make datum plane selecting the origin, x axis and the trapezoid sketch angled edge ose O-X-Y attachment mode or attached to XZ with a expression for the attachment offset angle
-sketch center cutout in said datum plane -> pocket in custom direction (0,1,0), add caveat that expressions may be used to sketch on XZ directly calculating the vertical dimensions with trigonometry

I have to say that it is weird that the center cutout dimensions are defined in the tilted plane while the pocket is done in the Y direction, presumably the hole is there to fit something else like a rectangular bar, it is very odd to have that with a 13.22x17 mm profile :?
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onekk
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Re: Is "Basic Part Design Tutorial" in line with actual Part Design workflow?

Post by onekk »

Roy_043 wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 1:16 pm You want to explain things in a very detailed manner, which is good, but in many cases a single image can be used the explain several steps. It is very important that the images are in chronological order (the images Fig: HS2 and Fig: HS3 are not). For the symmetrical constraint the selection order of the points is relevant, so that needs to be specified.
...

Thanks for the advice, and for the example I will try to follow them.

For the numbering of figure, I prefer to use some distinction in "reference names", as if you use a simple consecutive order and change something, as example you want to add a figure between the n. 3 and n.4 you have to rename all the figure from 4 and all the links.

Using some naming links, you have as example to rename only add a new HS3 (as reference the real figure filename could remain the same) and rename onlyu HS3 as HS4 and HS4 and HS5, all the subsequent figures, say VP1 (fake name) and so on will remain the same, as there is no way apparently to make real "reference links" like when using a typesetting program (I'm used to Latex) it will more manageable in future.

adrianinsaval wrote: Tue Oct 25, 2022 2:28 pm ..

To summarize some things.

The tutorial is using the same drawing as the "old" and slightly outdated one made for 0.17 (or probably even earlier version).

So the design is "as is" I prefer not to change it.

For the different techniques, in effects there are at least two of them:

"Named constraints" i.e using data from an external skecth (there is a better or more correct teminology)

External geometries

But this is the "first stage" as it is derived from a "totally scripted" model, that will illustrate how to script Part Design WB using a "complete model".

This could be improved, and I'm here to ask for advices and help, as using GUI is not "my usual way" of using FreeCAD.

So have a little patience, let me try to make some decent thing, I will try to integrate @Roy_043 suggestions and then eventually we could discuss some more, as I'm very interested in making something useful to new users, that wil be correct in workflow and "limiting the TNP problem" as much as possible.

Many thanks for now.

Regards

Carlo D.
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Re: Is "Basic Part Design Tutorial" in line with actual Part Design workflow?

Post by onekk »

Hello,

@Roy_043 I have started in modifying tutorial page, following your suggestion, what do you think, of the modified part (Horizontal vertical, and symmetrical constraints)

If this is a decent approach I will continue with this approach.

EDIT: I have some problems with some passage, like the Fig: Vx occupying too much vertical space in respect to the related text, do you have some hints about how to solve this thing?

Regards

Carlo D.
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Roy_043
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Re: Is "Basic Part Design Tutorial" in line with actual Part Design workflow?

Post by Roy_043 »

I have edited the Basic_Part_Design_Tutorial_019 page a little bit:
https://wiki.freecadweb.org/index.php?t ... id=1203794

Your choice to use two images for every added constraint obviously results in many images. As explained before, in many cases a single image will do. And as you progress with the tutorial you can provide less detail by simply referring to previous steps.
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Re: Is "Basic Part Design Tutorial" in line with actual Part Design workflow?

Post by onekk »

Roy_043 wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 11:27 am I have edited the Basic_Part_Design_Tutorial_019 page a little bit:
https://wiki.freecadweb.org/index.php?t ... id=1203794

Your choice to use two images for every added constraint obviously results in many images. As explained before, in many cases a single image will do. And as you progress with the tutorial you can provide less detail by simply referring to previous steps.
Thanks, I'm thinking of annotating a base figure, as example SP1 indicating lines and order of creation of points as operations are almost the same as in other Sketchs it will reduce a little images.

I have to see what software is more taylored to make something decent, or if some other ways like a other schematics will suffice.

Let's me think of a viable way.

EDIT: I found a way to mimic the appearance of the freeCAD Sketcher windows with a "proper" graphics software (Latex + Tikz + some glue), I have edited Fig: SP1 to name points and order of drawing and to permit to refer to elements, like (line 1 from P0 to P1) and so on.

I think that it will result in a more clear explanation with less images and more detailed steps.

Thank a lot for coaching.

Regards

Carlo D.
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Re: Is "Basic Part Design Tutorial" in line with actual Part Design workflow?

Post by onekk »

Hello to all tutors. :D

I have made some modifications to the page.

I have substituted some screenshots with a graphic representation, obtained using Latex and Tikz, that I hope will make things more clear as it is numbering points and make references in the text more easy and straightforward.

I'm trying to tune the text on some extent to avoid unwanted space, but for this I need maybe some help, as my English is not "very correct" :D, so some sentence could be not clear or worse.

Let me know if you have some suggestions and if the overall work seems to be at least "decent".

Thanks in advance.

Regards

Carlo D.
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- In deep articles on FreeCAD.
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Re: Is "Basic Part Design Tutorial" in line with actual Part Design workflow?

Post by onekk »

Hello, I have terminated the first version of the tutorial.

For sure there are some errors and imperfections, and I can't find a way to upload the final FCstd file for checkings.

@Roy_043, @edwilliams16 and @chrisb, could you please see if all is decently written and understandable.

To @edwilliams16 I have followed more or less your last version in:

https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic. ... 97#p632897

In the last part I have done a less verbose desctiption to not duplicate too much, as I hope in the first steps the granularity of the explanation is decently high.

But I left to your judgement as I'm quite new on Sketcher in general and in GUI in particular.

Hope there will not be many errors and that this tutorial could be inserted in:

https://wiki.freecadweb.org/Tutorials

Side note what is the procedure to ask to be inserted in the page above.

Last pass would be to make a proper tutorial about "Part Design Scripting" to reproduce this workflow.

Regards and Thanks in advance for your tutoring and revisions.

Carlo D.
GitHub page: https://github.com/onekk/freecad-doc.
- In deep articles on FreeCAD.
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