Sandbox:PartDesign Workbench

The Part Design Workbench provides tools for modelling complex solid parts and is based on a Feature editing methodology to produce a single contiguous solid. It is intricately linked with the Sketcher Workbench.

What is a single contiguous solid? This is an item like a casting or something machined from a single block of metal. If the item involves nails, screws, glue or welding, it is not a single contiguous solid. As a practical example, PartDesign would not be used to model a wooden chair, but would be used to model the subcomponents (legs, slats, seat, etc). The subcomponents are combined using the Assembly, Part or Draft workbench.



Basic Workflow
The sketch is the building block for creating and editing solid parts. The workflow can be summarized by this: a sketch containing 2D geometry is created first, then a solid creation tool is used on the sketch. At the moment the available tools are: More tools are planned in future releases.
 * [[Image:PartDesign_Pad.png|32px]] Pad which extrudes a sketch
 * [[Image:PartDesign_Pocket.png|32px]] Pocket which creates a pocket on an existing solid
 * [[Image:PartDesign_Revolution.png|32px]] Revolution which creates a solid by revolving a sketch along an axis
 * [[Image:PartDesign_Groove.png|32px]] Groove which creates a groove in an existing solid

A very important concept in the PartDesign Workbench is the sketch support. Sketches can be created on standard planes (XY, XZ, YZ and planes parallel to them) or on a planar face of an existing solid. For this last case, the existing solid becomes the support of the sketch. Several tools will only work with sketches that have a support, for example, Pocket - without a support there would be nothing to remove material from!

After solid geometry has been created it can be modified with chamfers and fillets or transformed, e.g. mirrored or patterned.

The PartDesign Workbench is meant to create a single, connected solid. Multiple solids will be possible with the Assembly workbench.

As we create a model in the Part Design Workbench, each feature takes the shape of the last one and adds or removes something, creating linear dependencies from feature to feature as the model is created. Hence a "Cut" feature is not only the cut hole itself, but the whole part with the cut. As a new feature is added to the model, FreeCAD turns off visibility of the old features. The user usually should only have the newest item (feature) in the model tree visible, because otherwise the other phases of the model overlay each other, and holes are filled in by the earlier model features that didn't yet have those holes.

To toggle visibility of an object on or off, select it in the hierarchy tree and press the Spacebar. Usually everything but the last item in the hierarchy tree should be greyed out and therefore not visible in the 3D view.

The Tools
The Part Design tools are all located in the Part Design menu that appears when you load the Part Design module.

They include the Sketcher Workbench tools, since the Part Design module is so dependent on them.

The Part Design Tools

 * PartDesign BodyCreateNew.png Create body
 * PartDesign PartCreateNew.png ‎Create part
 * PartDesign Point.png Create a datum point
 * PartDesign Line.png Create a datum line
 * PartDesign Plane.png Create a datum plane
 * PartDesign ShapeBinder.png Create a shape binder


 * PartDesign MoveTip.png Move/Set tip
 * PartDesign CoordinateSystem.png Coordinate system: edit
 * PartDesign BodyTree.png Body tree
 * Sketch attachment : To describe all the ways of Sketch Attachment. See User:DeepSOIC
 * Body attachment : To describe all the ways of Body attachment, according to the object.
 * Super Placement : To describe all cases in which it is used "super Placement" in place of "Placement"

Construction tools
These are tools for creating solid objects or removing material from an existing solid object.

Additive

 * [[Image:PartDesign_Pad.png|32px]] Pad: Extrudes a solid object from a selected sketch.
 * [[Image:PartDesign_Revolution.png|32px]] Revolution: Creates a solid by revolving a sketch around an axis. The sketch must be a closed profile to get a solid object.
 * PartDesign AdditiveLoft.png Additive loft
 * PartDesign AdditivePipe.png Additive pipe

Addive primitive

 * PartDesign AdditiveBox.png Additive box
 * PartDesign AdditiveCone.png Additive cone
 * PartDesign AdditiveCylinder.png Additive cylinder
 * PartDesign AdditiveEllipsoid.png Additive ellipsoid
 * PartDesign AdditivePrism.png Additive prism
 * PartDesign AdditiveSphere.png Additive sphere
 * PartDesign AdditiveTorus.png Additive torus
 * PartDesign AdditiveWedge.png Additive wedge

Subtractive

 * [[Image:PartDesign_Pocket.png|32px]] Pocket: Creates a pocket from a selected sketch. The sketch must be mapped to an existing solid object's face.
 * [[Image:PartDesign_Groove.png|32px]] Groove: Creates a groove by revolving a sketch around an axis. The sketch must be mapped to an existing solid object's face.
 * PartDesign SubtractiveLoft.png Subtractive loft
 * PartDesign SubtractivePipe.png Subtractive pipe

Subtractive primitive

 * PartDesign SubtractiveBox.png Subtractive box
 * PartDesign SubtractiveCone.png Subtractive cone
 * PartDesign SubtractiveCylinder.png Subtractive cylinder
 * PartDesign SubtractiveEllipsoid.png Subtractive ellipsoid
 * PartDesign SubtractivePrism.png Subtractive prism
 * PartDesign SubtractiveSphere.png Subtractive sphere
 * PartDesign SubtractiveTorus.png Subtractive torus
 * PartDesign SubtractiveWedge.png ‎Subtractive wedge

Transformation tools
These are tools for transforming existing features. They will allow you to choose which features to transform.


 * [[Image:PartDesign_Mirrored.png|32px]] Mirrored: Mirrors features on a plane or face.
 * [[Image:PartDesign_LinearPattern.png|32px]] Linear Pattern: Creates a linear pattern of features.
 * [[Image:PartDesign_PolarPattern.png|32px]] Polar Pattern: Creates a polar pattern of features.
 * [[Image:PartDesign_MultiTransform.png|32px]] MultiTransform: Allows creating a pattern with any combination of the other transformations.


 * Fillet
 * Chamfer
 * PartDesign Draft.png Draft
 * PartDesign Thickness.png Thickness


 * PartDesign Boolean.png Boolean


 * PartDesign Migrate.png Migrate

Tutorials
Only for a development version of FreeCAD that is not currently available as a binary or installer:
 * PartDesign Bearingholder Tutorial I
 * PartDesign Bearingholder Tutorial II


 * PartDesign tutorial


 * Basic Part Design Tutorial
 * Sketcher tutorial