In 2024 i stumbled upon Ondsel, an engineering suite running on FreeCAD. Here you can read what it is and maybe you can watch some of my Ondsel tutorials on my YouTube channel if you’re interested!

In the world of computer-aided design (CAD), FreeCAD has made a name for itself as a powerful, open-source tool that caters to a wide range of design needs. From hobbyists working on personal projects to professionals engaged in complex engineering tasks, FreeCAD’s versatility and extensibility make it a favorite among CAD enthusiasts. Now, with the introduction of Ondsel ES, FreeCAD users have even more reason to celebrate. Ondsel ES brings a host of enhancements that significantly elevate the capabilities of FreeCAD, making it more robust, efficient, and user-friendly.

By integrating Ondsel ES with FreeCAD, you can enjoy the best of both worlds: the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of open-source software combined with the advanced features and support of a professional-grade tool.

Ondsel ES (Enterprise Suite) is a comprehensive set of tools and extensions designed to integrate seamlessly with FreeCAD, transforming it into a more powerful and enterprise-ready CAD solution. While FreeCAD provides a solid foundation with its modular architecture and extensive feature set, Ondsel ES takes it a step further by adding functionalities that cater to the needs of professional designers and engineers.

One of the things you may come across is that you want to edit an STL file you downloaded. Some sizes may not fit your wishes and you want to change that. Here you can read how i fix this!

As i use FreeCAD for my 3D designs, i like to use it as much as possible. So i also modify STL files with it. However, sometimes an STL model can be unsuitable for FreeCAD. It can be too heavy or it has some other errors inside it.

I always edit my STL files with FreeCAD. But there are other options like Blender or Meshmixer for example.

I created a few videos about editing STL files and here’s one of them below. In this video, i use the Part Design workbench, instead of the Part workbench. The Part Design workbench is one of my favorite workbenches to create designs with.