Technical 3D design using FreeCAD
Compatibility
Once you have your piece, you will want to use it elsewhere. As mentioned above, FreeCAD can import OpenSCAD models, but FreeCAD can also export to OpenSCAD. However, the results are not very satisfying, as FreeCAD reduces your part's whole body to a single polyhedron. With even only slightly complex pieces, this translates into a list of hundreds of vertices and faces, which are very difficult to edit.
FreeCAD supports photorealistic rendering from the Raytracing workbench… sort of. You can use POV-Ray [6] from inside FreeCAD as long as you install the povray utilities. However, POV-Ray hasn't been updated since 2013 and is, to put it mildly, slightly antiquated. The other alternative FreeCAD offers, LuxRender, currently doesn't work, since the LuxRender project has migrated to LuxCoreRender [7], and the FreeCAD team has not caught up yet.
Your best choice is to install the Python pycollada module on your system:
sudo pip install pycollada
Export your objects to a COLLADA [8] file, import that into Blender [9], and render from there.
Exporting for 3D printing is as straightforward as you imagine: Export your file to STL, open in your favorite open source slicer, and generate your G-code for your printer.
In all of the cases above, for the exporter to work correctly, and since you can have several pieces at any given time on your workbench, you have to tell FreeCAD what you want to export. To do that, select the objects you want to export in the Labels & Attributes list before starting the export process.
Conclusion
I know I say this a lot, but… FreeCAD is great fun! Some of the features and workbenches are rough around the edges and the learning curve is not at all flat, but the CAD power it brings to Linux is pretty sweet.
Besides, there are plenty of guided tutorials on the FreeCAD wiki [10] that will help you get up to speed designing your own parts in no time.
Infos
- "Tutorials – OpenSCAD: 3D Designer" by Paul Brown, Linux Magazine, issue 222, May 2019, pp. 90-94
- "Tutorials – OpenSCAD: Build Your Own Body" by Paul Brown, Linux Magazine, issue 223, June 2019: pp. 90-94
- OpenSCAD: http://www.openscad.org/
- FreeCAD: https://www.freecadweb.org/
- Latest stable version of FreeCAD: https://www.freecadweb.org/downloads.php
- POV-Ray: http://povray.org/
- LuxCoreRender: https://luxcorerender.org/
- COLLADA: https://www.khronos.org/collada/
- Blender 3D: https://www.blender.org/
- FreeCAD tutorials: https://www.freecadweb.org/wiki/Tutorials
« Previous 1 2
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs