TechDraw Workbench/zh-tw

TechDraw workbench icon

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 version 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

Pages

Views

TechDraw views

Views from other workbenches

Stacking

These are tools for changing the stacking order which controls the apparent depth of views on a page.

Dimensions

Hatching

Annotations

Extensions

Attributes and modifications

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

Centerlines and threading

  • Add Cosmetic Arc: adds a cosmetic counter clockwise arc based on three vertexes.

Dimensions

Several of the Extensions dimension tools are listed under Dimensions above.

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

Miscellaneous

Obsolete tools

Additional features

Preferences

Scripting

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

Limitations

Tutorials

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

Video tutorials by sliptonic

Development

Do you want to know about the future of the TechDraw Workbench? Visit the TechDraw Roadmap Page to learn more.