u/dejayc

I spent my first 50 hours in FreeCAD completing this model. It took so long due to the scores of bugs, wonky and counter-intuitive workflows, and dead-end after dead-end I had to chase to finally find an approach that works (mostly). Since I received a lot of feedback from members of this sub claiming I just didn't know how FreeCAD is supposed to work, or instead criticizing my approach to building this model, I would like to invite you all to show me how YOU would implement this model, so that I can learn to become such a skilled FreeCAD master such as yourselves.

Since some people claim that they could build this model using just a few sketches, pads, and pockets, I invite you to show me how it's done. CAVEATS:

1. This model MUST remain fully parametric. I have tons of parameters and constraints in this drawing for a reason. Variables that are updated must remain fully functional.
2. This model MUST retain all of its odds angles. This is not a rectangular box; it is a shell around a geometric shape that borders on being organic.
3. Changing the shell thickness (or other length and width parameters) MUST NOT alter the internal dimensions of this model that represent a cavity into which a speaker will be placed. Making the shell walls thicker, for example, MUST apply that thickness outwards, not inwards.
4. This model MUST allow users to change the profiles specified in the sketches so that when the sketches are updated, the profiles change properly, and all related and constrained parameters are updated accordingly.
5. The "cutout" features of this model MUST remain intact. Turning the cutoff features ON will create space-saving cutouts so that only a skeleton of the model will be printed, instead of printing the entire model. The purpose of these cutouts is to reduce printing materials and printing times when changing various dimensions, allowing the printouts to be fitted against real world objects. Turning the cutoff features OFF is performed by suppressing the relevant feature.

I look forward to learning a lot of FreeCAD mastery from everyone's feedback here.

FreeCAD model file:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RRALi2rU9CnY6ATRM-LlBHIfjacQf523/view?usp=sharing

The model with \"cutout\" features all enabled

Same model with \"cutout\" features suppressed

After having struggled for 50 hours to create my first simple model, several people told me that all of the issues I ran into with FreeCAD are "skill issues", and I just need to learn how FreeCAD works.

So, I'll take all of yours' advice and ask you to help me identify which skill issues of mine are preventing the fillet of the selected edge from being allowed.

Note that when I select the nearby edge and attempt to fillet them both, it allows the fillet operation to succeed, albeit grossly distorted and unusable.

I click an edge, click "Fillet", and it doesn't work. Can someone help me understand how my terrible skill issues won't let me make good use of this software? Thanks!

https://preview.redd.it/hcwbgitjpvjh1.png?width=1685&format=png&auto=webp&s=7d0693c9e00c6d79844b4d355eca20f03d904d6f

https://preview.redd.it/7461boikpvjh1.png?width=1681&format=png&auto=webp&s=1689ddaa09b6fac37826ebf7c3d75382362a93d2

I'm really running out of steam trying to understand this program. I want to do something that seems like it would be simple in any other program in the world:

1. Create a sketch SketchA
2. Pad it
3. Create two sketches SketchB and SketchC, that are attached to the pad
4. Create a Ruled Surface from SketchB and SketchC
5. Create an offset from the Ruled Surface
6. Union the pad and offset
7. Apply a draft to the union

I could do this sequence in like 5 minutes in a program like Shapr3D. However, in FreeCAD, I seemingly have to get Ph.D. in topology, ShapeBinder, tree view, nested Bodies, dependency graphs, "go out of the allowed scope", and all sort of other shenanigans to get this to even come close to working.

Somebody, please help me make sense of this. Why is it so hard to do these simple things in FreeCAD?

I honestly don't know how anyone has enough time on their hands to learn all the wonky workarounds that FreeCAD requires its users to perform in order to do the simplest of things. Users who really know the FreeCAD implementation details must have this massive catalog of caveats and gotchas memorized to even do the simplest thing with the program. All I want to do is create an angled Datum plane that my sketches can reference, but now I'm forced to learn all about the limitations of the tree view, multiple bodies, things that can and can't reference each other, and wonky workarounds (like ShapeBinder) that have evolved to do things that no sane program would ask of its users. Kudos to anyone with a pain and frustration tolerance threshold high enough to keep using this buggy piece of torture.