Draft tutorial

Introduction
This tutorial is meant to introduce the reader to the basic workflow of the Draft Workbench.

The reader will practice:
 * creation of profiles
 * the use of working planes
 * the creation of dimensions, text and annotations

This tutorial uses the notation to denote the coordinates required to define points in an object.



Setup
1. Open FreeCAD, create a new empty document with.
 * 1.1. Switch to the Draft Workbench from the workbench selector, or the menu.
 * 1.2. Make sure you understand how to use the property editor, particularly the and  tabs to change the properties.
 * 1.3. Since the draft objects are planar shapes, they are better viewed from the top. Use to set the 3D view.

Snap toolbar
2. The Draft Snap toolbar is normally activated when you switch to the Draft Workbench.
 * 2.1. To make sure it is always there, got to the Draft Preferences,.
 * 2.2. Verify that the Show Draft Snap toolbar is active.

You can also change the visibility and property of the grid in this same menu.

Working planes
Most Draft objects are planar shapes so they are naturally based on a. A working plane can be one of the main XY, XZ, and YZ global coordinate planes, or it can be a plane that is parallel to them with a positive or negative offset, or it can be a plane defined by the face of a solid object.

3. Press Select plane, or go to the menu, to open the working plane task panel.
 * 3.1. Press.

Before pressing the button, you can also change the value of the offset in millimeters, as well as the grid spacing, the main lines and snapping radius.

Creating Profiles
The creation of profiles can be done in several ways. Though it is possible to use simple arcs and lines to do most of the work, FreeCAD includes several tools to speed up the process.

Lines and arcs
4. We will create arcs and lines.
 * 4.1. Press.
 * 4.2. Set the to, and press.
 * 4.3. Set the to, and press.
 * 4.4. Set the to, and press.
 * 4.5. Set the to, and press.
 * 4.6. Repeat the same procedure for a second arc with a radius of, the other properties are the same.

5. We will now create a closed profile by tying the arcs with lines.
 * 5.1. Press.
 * 5.2. In the Snap toolbar make sure is active, and only  as well. As you move the pointer to one endpoint of an arc, the Snap_Endpoint.svg Endpoint icon should appear. Click to select this point.
 * 5.3. Move the pointer to the closest endpoint of the other arc in the same side to tie the two arcs together.
 * 5.4. Repeat the process for the other side of the arc to close the profile.

Fusing or upgrading
We now have several objects in the tree view that form a closed profile. However, this profile is still composed of disconnected objects; each of them can be edited and moved independently of the others. It is possible to continue working with the elements in this way, but it is also possible to fuse them into a single object.

6. Note that fusing the objects into a single object will create an object that is no longer parametric, so their properties cannot be modified further.
 * 6.1. Select all four objects by holding and picking on them in the 3D view or by selecting them in the tree view.
 * 6.2. With these objects selected, click on.
 * 6.3. This will upgrade the four objects into a single.

6. If you wish to maintain the parametric nature of the objects you may wish to create a compound instead.
 * 6.1. Switch to the Part Workbench.
 * 6.2. With these objects selected, click on.

Rectangles, circles, and polygons
7. We will draw a rectangular frame.
 * 7.1. Press.
 * 7.2. Enter the values, and press.
 * 7.3. Make sure the option is unchecked, as we will use absolute units. You may press  in the keyboard to quickly toggle this option on and off.
 * 7.4. Enter the values for the second point, and press.

A rectangle is created. Go in the property editor to change its properties. If you don't want the rectangle to create a face, set to. If you want to make a face, but see only the wires of that object, keep to  but set the  to.

8. We will draw a circle.
 * 8.1. Press.
 * 8.2. Enter the values of the center, and press.
 * 8.3. Set the radius to, and press.

9. We will draw a regular polygon.
 * 9.1. Press.
 * 9.2. Enter the values of the center, and press.
 * 9.3. Set the number of sides to, and press.
 * 9.4. Set the radius to, and press.

Again, you may change the and  properties in the property editor if you want.

The rectangle, the circle, the polygon, and most other objects created with the Draft Workbench share many data and view properties because they are derived from the same base class, Part Part2DObject.

Arrays
Arrays are used to replicate an object several times in an orthogonal direction (X, Y, Z), around a revolution axis, or along a path.

10. We will create a polar array.
 * 10.1. Select the object that was previously created with the  tool, or the  created with the  tool.
 * 10.2. Press.
 * 10.3. Adjust the polar angle to, and press.

Old workflow

 * 10.2. Press.
 * 10.3. Go to the tree view, select the object, and then go to the property editor, and change the  from  to.
 * 10.4. Change to, and  to.

An array object should be created replicating the object around the origin.

Dimensions
Dimensions require a constant use of Snapping Constraints to properly select the points that one wishes to dimension. The Snapping toolbar is used to change the possible points that can be selected.


 * 1) Select [[Image:Draft_Dimension.svg|32px]] Dimension
 * 2) Select the first point. This can be either an existing element or specified by coordinates. For this tutorial, the first point will always be (0, 0, 0)
 * 3) Select the second point. Approach the midpoint of the top line of the polygon. A white point should appear alongside this icon [[Image:Snap_Midpoint.svg|32px]]
 * 4) Move the cursor to the desired location of the dimension and click on it.
 * 5) Change the font size on the View tab to 6 mm

Repeat the process for the arcs and circles.

Annotations and Text
There is a slight difference between the two: it is only possible to use the second one as a profile to perform 3D operations.

Annotations

 * 1) Select the [[Image:Draft_Text.svg|24px]] Text button.
 * 2) Select the reference point in the 3D View. In this case, the midpoint of the top arc.
 * 3) Enter your text and press
 * 4) Repeat for as many lines of text as you wish to input.
 * 5) Press

Text

 * 1) Select the [[Image:Draft_ShapeString.svg|24px]] ShapeString button.
 * 2) Select the reference point in the 3D View. This can be an existing point or the current cursor location.
 * 3) Enter your text and press
 * 4) Set the desired font size
 * 5) Leave tracking at 0 mm
 * 6) Select the path to the font file that you wish to use

Creating Blueprints
To create blueprints, it is necessary to create a Technical Drawing with the elements that you wish to use. Please read the Drawing tutorial for a detailed description.

Important Note: Drawing WB was deprecated in FreeCAD v0.16 and replaced by the TechDraw Workbench. Although the author of this tutorial also created the Drawing Tutorial, it would be better for the reader to familiarize themselves with Basic tutorials of TechDraw, such as Basic_TechDraw_Tutorial.

End
We are now finished with the basic workflow for the Draft Workbench.

Recommended Lectures

 * For a detailed description of the workbench, please see Draft Workbench
 * To know more about the Snapping controls, see Draft Snap