TechDraw Workbench/cs

Surface Workbench

External workbenches

Index

Introduction

The TechDraw Workbench is used to produce basic technical drawings from 3D models created with another workbench such as Part, PartDesign, or BIM, or imported from other applications. Each drawing is a Page, which can contain various Views of drawable objects such as Part::Features, PartDesign::Bodies, App::Part groups, and Document Object groups. The resulting drawings can be used for things like documentation, manufacturing instructions, contracts, permits, etc.

Dimensions, sections, hatched areas, annotations, and SVG symbols can be added to the page, which can be further exported to different formats like DXF, SVG, and PDF.

If your primary goal is the production of complex 2D drawings and DXF files, and you don't need 3D modelling, FreeCAD may not be the right choice for you. You may wish to consider a dedicated software program for technical drafting instead, such as LibreCAD or QCad.

Snapping

introduced in 1.0: The TechDraw Workbench has a snapping feature. It can be used to automatically align views, section views and dimensions when positioning them by dragging with the mouse. With Snap View Alignment enabled (default) in the preferences, views will snap to alignment with other views when close enough (View Snapping Factor setting). Dimensions are also snapped to other parallel dimensions and the dimension text can be snapped to the middle of the dimension line. Snapping can be temporarily disabled by holding down the Alt key.

Tools

Page

New Page: adds a new page using the default template.

New Page From Template: adds a new page using a selected template.

Update Template Fields: automatically fills template fields with document information. introduced in 1.0

Redraw Page: forces an update of the selected page.

Print All Pages: prints all pages in a document. introduced in 0.21

Export Page as SVG: saves the current page as SVG file.

Export Page as DXF: saves the current page as DXF file.

TechDraw Views

New View: adds a representation of one or more objects. introduced in 1.0: It can create a single view, a Projection Group, a Spreadsheet View, an Arch View, a Symbol or an Image View.

Broken View: adds a broken view of one or more objects. introduced in 1.0

Section View: inserts a cross-section view of an existing view.

Complex Section View: inserts a cross-section view of an existing view based on a profile. introduced in 0.21

Detail View: inserts a detail view of a portion of an existing view.

Projection Group: invokes a dialog to create multiple views of an object from different directions. introduced in 1.0: The Insert View tool can be used instead.

Clip Group: inserts a clip group.

Insert SVG: inserts a symbol from a SVG file into a page. introduced in 1.0: The Insert View tool can be used instead.

Bitmap Image: inserts a PNG or JPG bitmap image into a page. introduced in 1.0: The Insert View tool can be used instead.

Share View: shares a view between multiple pages.

Project Shape: creates projections of shapes in the 3D View.

Views From Other Workbenches

Active View: inserts a view of the active 3D View.

Draft View: inserts a view of a Draft Workbench object.

BIM View: inserts a view of a BIM Workbench Arch Section Plane object. introduced in 1.0: The Insert View tool can be used instead.

Spreadsheet View: inserts a view of a Spreadsheet Workbench sheet. introduced in 1.0: The Insert View tool can be used instead.

Dimensions

Some dimension tools are listed under Attributes/Modifications, Format/Organize Dimensions and Annotations below.

Dimension: adds a contextual dimension. introduced in 1.0

Length Dimension: adds a length dimension.

Horizontal Length Dimension: adds a horizontal length dimension.

Vertical Length Dimension: adds a vertical length dimension.

Radius Dimension: adds a radius dimension to a circle or circular arc.

Diameter Dimension: adds a diameter dimension to a circle or a circular arc.

Angle Dimension: adds an angle dimension between two straight edges.

Angle Dimension From 3 Points: adds an angle dimension using three vertices.

Area Annotation: adds an area dimension to a face. introduced in 1.0

Horizontal Extent Dimension: adds a horizontal extent dimension.

Vertical Extent Dimension: adds a vertical extent dimension.

Repair Dimension References: can adjust the 2D or 3D geometry references of a dimension. introduced in 0.21

Hatching

Image Hatch: applies a hatch pattern from a file to a face.

Geometric Hatch: applies a hatch pattern to a face using an Autodesk PAT specification.

Symbols

Weld Symbol: adds welding specifications to an existing leaderline.

Surface Finish Symbol: adds a surface finish symbol to a page. introduced in 0.21

Hole/Shaft Fit: adds hole or shaft tolerances using ISO 286 to a dimension. introduced in 0.21

Stacking

Stack Top: moves views to the top of the stacking order. introduced in 0.21

Stack Bottom: moves views to the bottom of the stacking order. introduced in 0.21

Stack Up: moves views up one level in the stacking order. introduced in 0.21

Stack Down: moves views down one level in the stacking order. introduced in 0.21

Aligning

Align Vertices/Edge Vertically

Align Vertices/Edge Horizontally

Attributes/Modifications

Select Line Attributes, Cascade Spacing and Delta Distance: selects the attributes (style, width and color) for new cosmetic lines and centerlines, and specifies the cascade spacing and delta distance.

Change Line Attributes: changes the attributes (style, width and color) of cosmetic lines and centerlines.

Extend Line: extends a cosmetic line or centerline at both ends.

Shorten Line: shortens a cosmetic line or centerline at both ends.

Toggle View Lock: locks or unlocks the position of a view.

Position Section View: orthogonally aligns a section view with its source view.

Align Horizontal Chain Dimensions: aligns horizontal dimensions to create a chain dimension.

Align Vertical Chain Dimensions: aligns vertical dimensions to create a chain dimension.

Align Oblique Chain Dimensions: aligns oblique dimensions to create a chain dimension.

Cascade Horizontal Dimensions: evenly spaces horizontal dimensions.

Cascade Vertical Dimensions: evenly spaces vertical dimensions.

Cascade Oblique Dimensions: evenly spaces oblique dimensions.

Area Annotation: calculates the area of selected faces and inserts an area annotation.

Arc Length Annotation: calculates the arc length of selected edges and inserts an arc length annotation. introduced in 1.0

Customize Format Label: customizes the formatting of a balloon text or dimension text. GD&T symbols and other special character can be added.

Centerlines/Threading

Circle Centerlines: adds centerlines to circles and arcs.

Bolt Circle Centerlines: adds centerlines to a circular pattern of circles.

Cosmetic Thread Hole Side View: adds a cosmetic thread to the side view of a hole.

Cosmetic Thread Hole Bottom View: adds a cosmetic thread to the top or bottom view of holes.

Cosmetic Thread Bolt Side View: adds a cosmetic thread to the side view of a bolt/screw/rod.

Cosmetic Thread Bolt Bottom View: adds a cosmetic thread to the top or bottom view of bolts/screws/rods.

Cosmetic Intersection Vertices: adds cosmetic vertices at the intersection(s) of selected edges.

Offset Vertex: adds a cosmetic vertex at a specified offset from a selected vertex. introduced in 1.0

Cosmetic 1 Point Circle: adds a cosmetic circle based on one vertex. introduced in 1.0

Cosmetic 2 Point Circle: adds a cosmetic circle based on two vertices.

Cosmetic 3 Point Circle: adds a cosmetic circle based on three vertices.

Cosmetic Arc: adds a cosmetic counter clockwise arc based on three vertices.

Cosmetic Parallel Line: adds a cosmetic line parallel to another line through a vertex.

Cosmetic Perpendicular Line: adds a cosmetic line perpendicular to another line through a vertex.

Format/Organize Dimensions

Horizontal Chain Dimension: creates a sequence of aligned horizontal dimensions.

Vertical Chain Dimension: creates a sequence of aligned vertical dimensions.

Oblique Chain Dimension: creates a sequence of aligned oblique dimensions.

Horizontal Coordinate Dimension: creates multiple evenly spaced horizontal dimensions starting from the same baseline.

Vertical Coordinate Dimension: creates multiple evenly spaced vertical dimensions starting from the same baseline.

Oblique Coordinate Dimension: creates multiple evenly spaced oblique dimensions starting from the same baseline.

Horizontal Chamfer Dimension: creates a horizontal size and angle dimension for a chamfer.

Vertical Chamfer Dimension: creates a vertical size and angle dimension for a chamfer.

Arc Length Dimension: creates an arc length dimension.

Insert '⌀' Prefix: inserts a '⌀' symbol at the beginning of the dimension text.

Insert '□' Prefix: inserts a '□' symbol at the beginning of the dimension text.

Insert 'n×' Prefix: inserts a repeated feature count at the beginning of the dimension text. introduced in 1.0

Remove Prefix: removes all symbols at the beginning of the dimension text.

Increase Decimal Places: increases the number of decimal places of the dimension text.

Decrease Decimal Places: decreases the number of decimal places of the dimension text.

Annotations

Text Annotation: adds a plain text block as annotation.

Rich Text Annotation: adds an rich text block as annotation to a leaderline or a view.

Balloon Annotation: adds a "balloon" annotation to a page.

Axonometric Length Dimension: adds an axonometric length dimension. introduced in 0.21

Add Lines

Leader Line: adds a leader line to a view

Centerline on Face: adds a centerline to selected face(s).

Centerline Between 2 Lines: adds a centerline between 2 lines.

Centerline Between 2 Points: adds a centerline between 2 points.

Cosmetic Line Through 2 points: adds a cosmetic line connecting 2 vertices.

Edit Line Appearance: changes the appearance of selected line(s).

Toggle Edge Visibility: shows/hides invisible lines/edges in a view.

Add Vertices

Cosmetic Vertex: adds a Vertex which is not part of the source geometry.

Midpoint Vertices: adds Cosmetic Vertices at midpoints of selected edges.

Quadrant Vertices: adds Cosmetic Vertices at quarter points of selected (circular) edges.

Miscellaneous

Remove Cosmetic Object: removes cosmetic objects from a page.

Obsolete Tools

Add View to Clip Group: adds an existing view to a clip group. Not available in 1.0 and above.

Remove View from Clip Group: removes a view from a clip group. Not available in 1.0 and above.

Insert Landmark Dimension - EXPERIMENTAL: adds a landmark distance dimension. Not available in 1.1 and above.

Link Dimension to 3D Geometry: links an existing dimension to the 3D geometry (deprecated). Not available in 1.1 and above.

Move View: moves a view and its dependents to a different page. Not available in 1.0 and above.

Turn View Frames On/Off: turns the display of View frames, labels and vertices on or off. Not available in 1.1 and above.

Additional features

Line Groups: to control the appearance of various types of lines.
Templates: the default templates defined for the drawing pages.
Hatching: explanation of the different hatching techniques.
Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing: explanation on how to achieve geometric dimensioning and tolerancing.

Preferences

Preferences: preferences for the default values of the drawing page such as projection angle, colors, text sizes, and line styles.

Scripting

The TechDraw tools can be used in macros and from the Python Console. For more information see:

Limitations

Do not cut, copy and paste TechDraw objects in the Tree View as this generally does not work out well.
Do not drag TechDraw objects in the Tree View with the mouse.

Tutorials

Basic TechDraw Tutorial: introduction to creating drawings with the TechDraw Workbench.
Creating a new template: instructions to create a new page template in Inkscape for using with the TechDraw Workbench.
TechDraw TemplateGenerator: instructions to create a macro for generating a basic template.

A "few" added lines of code result in a tool like the Macro TemplateHelper.

Measurement Of Angles On Holes: instructions for adding centerlines and subsequent angle representations on holes.
Miscellaneous: instructions for different settings like center marks, etc.
TechDraw Pitch Circle Tutorial: instructions for adding a pitch circle.

Video tutorials by sliptonic