Basic Wall Fails

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nelsonic
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Basic Wall Fails

Post by nelsonic »

Hi FreeCADers,
I'm trying to transition from Closed CAD to FreeCAD but keep hitting weird quirks/issues.
While attempting to follow @yorik's "Presentation of FreeCAD Arch Workbench": https://youtu.be/CH_io4MHJ4U?t=100
and create a basic wall in the Arch Workbench based on a Rectangle I get the following strange result:

Image

Appears to be a prism. But the should be rectangular.

Did a screen recording an uploaded to YouTube: https://youtu.be/2n_JjEguOGw [71 seconds]

Really don't understand what is going on here. It happens every time and I'm beginning to think I'm cursed.

Any help very much appreciated. Thanks.

Version details:

Code: Select all

OS: macOS 10.16
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.20.2.29603 (Git)
Build type: Release
Branch: (HEAD detached at 0.20.2)
Hash: 930dd9a76203a3260b1e6256c70c1c3cad8c5cb8
Python 3.10.8, Qt 5.15.4, Coin 4.0.0, Vtk 9.1.0, OCC 7.6.3
Locale: C/Default (C)
Installed mods: 
  * BIM 2021.12.0
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yorik
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Re: Basic Wall Fails

Post by yorik »

I think it's just because your view is truncated because the camera is too close. Try right-clicking the 3D view background -> Fit all
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nelsonic
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Re: Basic Wall Fails

Post by nelsonic »

Hi @yorik thanks for the quick reply.
If I right-click and then "Fit all"

Image

This is what I see:

Image

It's definitely a peculiar shape for a "Wall" ...
Image

Uploaded the file to GitHub: https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD/issu ... 1562656627
LMK if I should try re-installing FreeCAD without the BIM add-on to have a "cleaner" install for debugging this.
Syres
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Re: Basic Wall Fails

Post by Syres »

Surely the root cause is the rectangle isn't on the X-Y plane but on a slightly bizarre one. Even if the building is on a hill the walls need to go straight up in Z unless we're talking leaning tower of Pisa???
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nelsonic
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Re: Basic Wall Fails

Post by nelsonic »

@syres that makes sense. But why would creating a Rectangle in a brand new document/file be in an incorrect plane? 🤷‍♂️

My interpretation, as someone very new to FreeCAD but experienced in AutoDesk/SketchUp/etc. is that the act of selecting the tool would automatically default to the logical work plane.

And if it’s the plane that’s the problem, how do I fix that?
hko
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Re: Basic Wall Fails

Post by hko »

nelsonic wrote: Thu May 25, 2023 4:28 pm @syres that makes sense. But why would creating a Rectangle in a brand new document/file be in an incorrect plane?
We can see in your screenshots/video, near the top-left corner, that the working plane is "Auto", which is the default (unless changed in the preferences).

The documentation says "Press the Automatic button to automatically align the working plane with the current 3D view whenever a Draft or Arch command requiring point input is started.

As shown in your video, when you click the rectangle tool, grid (which is on the working plane) changes but the navigation cube near the top right corner doesn't. So it's the plane that is changed and not the camera orientation/position, which matches the documentation.

You should change the working plane to "Top" before using the rectangle tool. You can also change the default in the preferences.
hko
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Re: Basic Wall Fails

Post by hko »

Sorry, my brain wasn't running when I replied.

While I still suggest changing the working plane, it has nothing to do with the actual problem of weird wall shape. You should get a normal looking wall even if the working plane is changed when you begin drawing the rectangle. The problem of the odd wall shape happens even if you change the working plane to Top.

The size of your rectangle is very small, about 70x200mm. The default width of the wall is 200mm. Reduce the width or increase the rectangle size and the problem disappears.

Edit: If you mainly do architecture work, I suggest changing Grid spacing setting in the Draft preferences to something like 100mm.
paullee
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Re: Basic Wall Fails

Post by paullee »

nelsonic wrote: Thu May 25, 2023 8:10 am Appears to be a prism. But the should be rectangular.
Please post your model file, easier for others to find the problem :)
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nelsonic
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Re: Basic Wall Fails

Post by nelsonic »

@hko that's some fine attention to detail! Thanks! ;)

Opened: Preferences > Draft
And updated "Default Working plane" from "None":

Image

To "XY Top":
Image

Then in a new document, created a fresh Rectangle with the dimensions I waned 3m x 4m
and when creating a wall based on the Rectangle get the desired result: 🎉

Image

I can't help but feel that someone new to FreeCAD might not intuitively know to set their "Working plane"
and might rightly or wrongly expect it to just default to XY?

Either way, thanks very much everyone for helping me get "unstuck" on this. 🙏
Hope the Search Engine Bots index this answer,
to help the next struggling n00b find it when they hit the same issue.
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nelsonic
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Re: Basic Wall Fails

Post by nelsonic »

Follow-up note: In the Wall properties the Length is listed as 14.00m:

Image

The Wall is based on a 3m x 4m Rectangle:
Image

Therefore my assumption is that the "Length" of the wall is in fact the perimeter.
i.e. 3 + 4 + 3 + 4 = 14m ...
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