Architectural CAD Modelling and Rendering for Beginners

Getting the Free & Open Source Software FreeCAD

In this lecture we take a look at where the Free and open source software FreeCAD can be downloaded from. FreeCAD is a free and open source general purpose parametric 3D modeler and building information software making it a great tool to get started in CAD.

Setting Up FreeCAD

In this lecture we look at some of the settings we can change that can help when working in freeCAD. In user preferences we have many settings that will change how the default FreeCAD application works. We also take a look at how to rearrange the toolbars.

An Introduction to the Interface in FreeCAD

We take a look at the more common tools available within FreeCAD. We look at how to switch between views either with the view widget or from the view toolbar.

We look at the toolbars and what each of them are used for. I also show an example of how auto group works. We take a look at the very important snap toolbar and how I like to set this up. We look at an example of the working plane, and how important this can be when working in FreeCAD.

Setting Up the ODA Converter in FreeCAD for Importing and Exporting Features

The ODA converter is a stand alone application that can be integrated into FreeCAD making it possible to import DWG files. We go through the process of how to set this up in FreeCAD.

Importing a DXF File into FreeCAD

In this lecture we import a DXF file to use as reference to Model the house. We set up groups to store each of the floor levels. Groups are used in FreeCAD to organize objects in the tree view.

Using the Draft Wire Tool to create Wall Lines in FreeCAD

We use the draft wire tool to create the base of the walls. These lines will be used to create solid walls with the Arch wall tool later. We also begin to use the auto group option and add each draft wire object into a specific group. The placement and direction of the draft wire is important as it will effect the alignment of the walls that are created later.

In this lecture we're going to take a look at creating arch walls from draft wire. By default walls are created aligned center with a width of 200mm and height of 3000mm. This can be changed in the data properties of each wall or you can change the width and height default setting in preferences. Walls are created as solid objects and have properties we can change in the data tab.

Creating Floors in FreeCAD with the Arch Floor Tool

We use the rectangle tool to trace in each of the floors. We use the arch structure tool to create floors from the rectangle objects. These also have properties to update their dimensions.

Creating Stairs in FreeCAD with the Arch Stairs Tool Part 1

We use the arch stairs tool to create a stairs. We use a stair profile to get the length, the number of steps and the slope. The properties for the stairs let you modify the structure very easily.