FreeCAD has a lot of great features to add custom text labels to your designs. It’s possible to engrave text into flat or curved surfaces. I will quickly describe how FreeCAD makes it possible to do this. 

In the Draft workbench in FreeCAD, you can create a so called ShapeString. This is where the text will be generated. Together with the Part Design and Curves workbench, it’s possible to create text on (curved and flat) surfaces. After putting text on a surface, you can extrude it or cut it out.

Check out my videos on the AllVisuals4U channel to learn more about FreeCAD! I’ve been uploading a lot of tutorials there.

I made a playlist of videos where i demonstrate different approaches of adding text to 3D designs. Just click on it to watch all videos and start learning about adding text to your designs in FreeCAD!

Did you know that you can create sheet metal objects in FreeCAD? You can do this with the Sheet Metal workbench that you can download and add to FreeCAD!

When in FreeCAD, select the ‘Tools’ tab and click on ‘Addon manager’. There you can install many workbenches, making FreeCAD even more usable. I also published an article about how to do this. You can read it here.

Check out my videos on the AllVisuals4U channel to learn more about FreeCAD! I’ve been uploading a lot of tutorials there.

In the first video, you can see how i created a sheet metal object in FreeCAD. It’s a simple bended plate. Just click on it to watch.

A cool feature in FreeCAD is that you can create datum planes very easily. In the Part Design workbench, you can click the datum plane button to create a plane on the position you want. Then you can work from positions under an angle or a specific height.

When you select the built in Part Design workbench, there’s a button with an oblique rectangle on it. When you click on it, you can create a plane as you want. It can be referred to another plane for example or it can also be a so called deactivated attachment. Then the plane is independent from any other object.

Check out my videos on the AllVisuals4U channel to learn more about FreeCAD! I’ve been uploading a lot of tutorials there.

In the video in this article, i demonstrate how i created an independent datum plane under an angle. I also show you how to create an object on this plane. You can click the video on this page to watch it!

A great FreeCAD addon is the Fasteners workbench! Now you can assemble your parts digitally in FreeCAD. By downloading this addon, you automatically have the option to add fasteners to your 3D model in FreeCAD.

When it’s installed, you can choose the Fasteners workbench in the dropdown menu. The buttons will change according to this workbench. Now you can select many types of fasteners to fit into your 3D model.

Check out my videos on the AllVisuals4U channel to learn more about FreeCAD! I’ve been uploading a lot of tutorials there.

Also, i made a video about this. You can see how and where i install the Fasteners workbench in FreeCAD. Then i show you how i add a few fasteners to a 3D model and change them later. Click the video on this page to watch it!

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.

I create almost all of my 3D designs with FreeCAD. It’s a free 3D parametric modeler. I create(d) a lot of tutorials about FreeCAD, so you can start learning now at the AllVisuals4U video channel!

It’s very adjustable to your needs, because there are many so called workbenches, which have tools for many specific disciplines in 3D design, like fasteners or specific part design.

FreeCAD may not be the easiest way to design your 3D models, but if you’re dedicated to learn this software, i think you will really like it! The concept of this software is that it’s a parametric 3D modeler. So every object created is captured by features and constraints. It’s open source and developed by only a few people and developers who contribute to the software. You shouldn’t compare FreeCAD with paid software, but as a free software, FreeCAD is awesome! The video in this post will give you a quick impression of how FreeCAD looks like.