Draft tutorial

Introduction
This tutorial is meant to introduce the reader to the basic workflow of the Draft Workbench, which includes the creation of profiles, the use of working planes, and the creation of dimensions, text and annotations. This tutorial uses the notation (X, Y, Z) to denote the coordinates required to define points in an object.



Requirements

 * FreeCAD version 0.16 or above
 * The reader know how to use the Data and View tabs to change an element's properties if desired

Procedure
It is compulsory to make sure the Draft Snap toolbar will be available to use in this tutorial.


 * 1) Start FreeCAD
 * 2) Activate the Draft Workbench
 * 3) Select the Edit menu
 * 4) Click on Preferences
 * 5) Go to Draft and select the Grid and snapping tab
 * 6) Verify that the Show Draft Snap toolbar is active

Note that you can change the visibility of the Grid in this menu, in case you wish to disable it.

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

 * 1) Select [[Image:Draft_Arc.png]] Arc.
 * 2) Set the center at (0, 0, 0)
 * 3) Set the radius to 30 mm
 * 4) The starting angle is 60.0°
 * 5) The aperture is 60.0°

Repeat the same procedure for a second arc with a radius of 25 mm, the other properties remain unchanged.

We will now close the profile with a couple of lines.


 * 1) Select [[Image:Draft_Line.png]] Line.
 * 2) Approach the Endpoint of either arc. A white point should appear, alongside this icon  [[Image:Snap_Endpoint.png|32px]] when your cursor approaches the endpoint.
 * 3) Select the endpoint of the other arc.
 * 4) Repeat for the other side of the arcs.

We now have several curves that detail a profile, however it is still not recognized as a single entity. It is possible to continue working with the elements intact, though in this case we will fuse them into a single object.

The following actions will alter the way the objects behave, making it hard to edit their properties, so it is best to do any necessary modifications before proceding.


 * 1) Select an arc and a line while pressing the CTRL key
 * 2) Click on [[Image:Draft_Upgrade.png]] Upgrade

This will fuse both objects into a Wire. Repeat until the four elements are fused into a single Wire.

Planes and Rectangles

 * 1) Click [[Image:Draft_Rectangle.png]] Rectangle
 * 2) Set the first point on (-100, -60, 0)
 * 3) Set the second point on (140, 90, 0)

The result is a Plane. Its properties can be modified to remove the filling, by changing its Display Mode to Wireframe.

Polygons

 * 1) Select [[Image:Draft_Polygon.png]] Polygon
 * 2) The center point is located at (0, 0, 0)
 * 3) Set the radius to 50 mm
 * 4) Set the number of sides to 6

Arrays
Arrays are used to replicate an object several times in a direction, a revolution axis or along a path.
 * 1) Select the Wire that was previously created
 * 2) Click  [[Image:Draft_Array.png|32px]] Array
 * 3) In the Data tab of the object, change the Array type from ortho to polar
 * 4) Change Number Polar from 1 to 3

Adding 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.

Annotations and Text
We are now finished with the basic workflow for the Draft Module.