The use of CAD software has grown exponentially in the past two decades because it covers many aspects of design, including architectural design, mechanical engineering, product design, and more. As well, it helps engineers make their designs more accurate and easier to modify for later improvements. It helps users create designs in either 2D or 3D so that they can visualize the construction.ĬAD has replaced manual drafting often, resulting in significant productivity improvement by eliminating many manual actions and streamlining the design process. It permits to draw 2D/3D models that can be used for engineering documentation, as well as the models that are used for CNC Manufacturing. This article will show you five free CAD software programs that are easy to use, outstanding at their jobs, and suitable for 2D or 3D sheet metal design.Ĭomputer-Aided Design (CAD) software is an interactive digital design tool used to make models for engineering. That being said, let’s dive into how you can get started today. If you intend to use your CAD software just for some basic part design or learning the skills, you’re in luck – you can do this for free! There are few strong options out there such as FreeCAD, Onshape and Fusion360īut if you’re looking to design sheet metal for professional applications, chances are you’ll face some limitations in the free editions. ( looking at you, Blender!).įinding a CAD solution specifically for sheet metal products design is a bit tricky because you’ll either need a simple 2D CAD system, or ideally: a parametric or direct 3D modeler that allows you to design flanges and work with bend deductions: In short, a CAD-system with a dedicated sheet metal module. If so, you’ll know that’s difficult because there are many software tools that might look like the coolest and simplest solution, but after you finalize your design, you realize it’s just not really suited for the goal. Have you ever searched for a free CAD software to design parts, in particular for sheet metal? addObject ( "Part::MultiFuse", "uni2" ) 27 uni2. addObject ( "Part::MultiFuse", "tip3" ) 20 tip3. addObject ( "Part::Mirroring", "tip2" ) 16 tip2. Vector ( 0, - radius, 1.71 * height ), 12 Base. addObject ( "Part::Box", "tip1" ) 8 tip1. addObject ( "Part::Cylinder", "cyl3" ) 2 cyl3. The model of a screwdriver handle presented in the previous section can beĭefined in OpenSCAD by the following codeġ cyl3 = doc. On Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG) principles and extrusion of 2D objects intoģD. Solid geometries can be exported to severalįile formats including STL and CSG. It has its own description language based onįunctional programming that is used to construct solid models using geometrical The alternative tool for solid geometrical modeling is OpenSCAD - “The Script ( FCMacro file) containing all the code related to actions in theįreeCAD graphical interface. Recording function ( Macro->Macro recording. View->Views->Python Console and all subsequent operations will be printed in You can enable “show script commands in python console” inĮdit->Preferences->General->Macro and the Python console by selecting There are two simple ways how to discover Python calls of FreeCAD functions. Meshing by Gmsh will be described in section Gmsh - generating finite element mesh. GmshĪllows to control the meshing process through a wide range of parameters. Quadrilateral meshes in 2D or tetrahedral and hexahedral meshes in 3D. It is better to use Gmsh mesh generator which can provide triangular and The meshing function of MeshPart module is limited to triangular grids so write ( "./screwdriver_handle.bdf", "NAS", "mesh" ) addObject ( "Mesh::Feature", "Mesh" ) 4 mesh. Libraries and import all required modules:ġ import MeshPart 2 3 mesh = doc. The first step in creating a Python script is to set up a path to the FreeCAD Geometrical models in simple Python scripts. Creating geometry using FreeCAD ¶įunctionalities of FreeCAD are accessible to Python and can be used to define The collaboration of modeling, meshing and conversion tools and the workflow are Shows how to combine solid geometry modeling functions provided by FreeCAD or Some of the above mentioned toolsĪre handy for solid modeling, some of them are great for meshing. Most of them are GUIīased geometrical modeling and meshing environments/tools but they also usuallyĪllow using their libraries in user scripts. Meshes like Salome, FreeCAD, Gmsh, Netgen, etc. There are several open source tools for preparing 2D and 3D finite element
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