Release notes 0.19/it

FreeCAD 0.19 was released on March 20th, 2021, get it from the Download page. This is a summary of the most interesting changes. The complete list of changes can be found in the MantisBT bugtracker FC 0.19 changelog.

Le note di rilascio delle versioni precedenti di FreeCAD sono disponibili in Funzioni di FreeCAD.



Simpson and Shipton short stroke steam engine circa 1845, using horizontal rotating piston, by "un1corn", Users Showcase.

Punti salienti


This assembly was made by "Zolko", author of the new Assembly4 Workbench, which uses the new powerful App Link object to import thousands of different parts and subassemblies, arranging them in specified positions by means of mathematical expressions. See Users Showcase.

For this model, the parts were not designed in FreeCAD, they were just imported in STEP format, and subsequently arranged with Assembly4.
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Aspetti generali
Con oltre 2000 commit nel ramo master dalla versione 0.18, questa è una delle versioni più estese di sempre, con diversi nuovi componenti come il nuovo oggetto "App::Link", oltre a molti nuovi strumenti nell'ambiente TechDraw che rendono FreeCAD ancora più potente per la modellazione e l'assemblaggio di solidi 3D. Inoltre, l'ecosistema di FreeCAD ha continuato a crescere con ulteriori ambienti di lavoro esterni specializzati.

Python 3 e Qt5
Lo sforzo di migrare da Python 2 e Qt4 a Python 3 e Qt5 è sostanzialmente completo e la maggior parte degli sviluppatori è passata agli strumenti di Python3 e Qt5.

Indubbiamente ci sono bug imprevisti; questi saranno affrontati man mano che vengono segnalati. Qualsiasi dipendenza esistente da Python 2 o Qt4 non sarà supportata oltre il 1 ° gennaio 2020, data in cui Python 2 diventerà ufficialmente non più supportato dalla Python Foundation. Notare che alcuni componenti aggiuntivi non sono stati ancora portati su Python3 e Qt5. Ciò può essere dovuto a diversi motivi tra cui la mancanza di tempo da parte dei loro sviluppatori o dipendenze interrotte che potrebbero non essere facilmente risolvibili o semplicemente perché l'addon è considerato obsoleto. Le persone interessate alla migrazione di un particolare ambiente di lavoro o strumento sono incoraggiate a partecipare al forum di FreeCAD; vedere anche Python3 and Qt5 Compatible Addon Workbenches (in preparazione per 0.18).

Alcuni problemi
Fixed issue with Std Part containers visibility when the viewport is displayed in full screen in Qt5:
 * Set for Qt 5.9 and above; forum discussion, commit 2a1dd8415, and commit 57b3ca6f77.
 * Disabled button support in  for Qt5 to avoid MDI view mode-related rendering artifacts; forum discussion, commit 960d612547.
 * Fixed bug in to avoid a crash when returning from full screen; forum discussion, commit c4e34ed9b.
 * Fixed issue #4088 about the visibility of the origin of a Part changing when undocking the 3D view; forum discussion, commit 1e19ef5be.
 * Fixed issue #3130 about Qt5 bugs when using a high resolution external monitor; forum discussion, commit 2f2d505359.

Sviluppo
To compile FreeCAD under Windows, there are different Libpacks (prepackaged libraries) available:
 * Libpack for Windows with Qt 5.12, OCC 7.3, and Python 3.6; forum discussion.
 * Libpack for Windows with Qt 5.12.6, OCC 7.4; forum discussion, pull request #2944.
 * Libpack 12.5.1 for Windows with Qt 5.15, OCC 7.5, and Python 3.8; forum discussion

Other development news:
 * There is a new Docker container to build FreeCAD, see Compile on Docker; forum discussion.
 * The infrastructure of the bug tracker as well as wiki was moved to a dedicated server, so that it is easier to manage by the project administrators; forum discussion.

Documentazione

 * La pagina Compilare su Linux/Unix è stata rivista per spiegare meglio i requisiti per compilare su diverse distribuzioni Linux. Poiché molti sviluppatori utilizzano sistemi basati su Debian, questa sezione ha ricevuto la massima attenzione. Gli utenti di altre distribuzioni Linux sono incoraggiati a mantenere la documentazione per la loro particolare distribuzione. Anche Compilare su Windows è stato riscritto per spiegare come usare il LibPack per la compilazione.
 * La pagina Documentazione del codice sorgente è stata ripulita per spiegare meglio come produrre la documentazione di programmazione (API) partendo da C++ e Python.
 * La pagina Doxygen è stata rivista ed estesa per fornire maggiori dettagli sulla sintassi utilizzata nei file C++ per produrre la documentazione di programmazione.
 * Anche la pagina Gestione del codice sorgente è stata rielaborata con descrizioni ed esempi migliori sull'uso di per gestire i rami e contribuire al codice.
 * La pagina Ambienti di lavoro esterni è stata riorganizzata, in modo da elencare tutti gli ambienti ricchi di funzionalità e disponibili al pubblico. Se si desideri aggiungere un workbench a questa pagina, comunicarlo nel forum e fornire le informazioni di supporto come il manuale dell'utente, le pagine wiki e un link al suo repository. Quindi spingere per includerlo in Addon Manager.

Limitazioni note

 * Black screen due to video card drivers, while running FreeCAD inside a virtual machine; issue #3939.
 * Logitech Wingman USB joystick can cause erratic behavior when spinning and zooming in the view; forum discussion.
 * Gesture navigation is fully supported for Windows but yet to be maintained in Linux and MacOS. Problem: the developer, DeepSOIC, doesn't have a MacOS machine with its special trackpad, and hasn't tested it on Linux either; forum discussion.

App::Link e assemblaggio


Dopo 2,5 anni di sviluppo, l'oggetto "Link", o più formalmente, è stato introdotto in FreeCAD. Questo è un tipo speciale di con alcune proprietà che, si spera, consentiranno di semplificare gli assemblaggi.

Un "Link" consente agli oggetti di utilizzare i dati di un altro oggetto, come la geometria o anche la loro rappresentazione visiva 3D, negli stessi file o in file diversi. Può essere pensato come un leggero clone assoluto o come lo stesso oggetto che vive in due "istanze" diverse. Alcune funzionalità offerte da un "Link" sono già presenti in alcuni ambienti come Arch e BIM (cloni, riferimenti esterni ), ma l'implementazione di "Link" è al livello principale e può quindi essere utilizzato da tutti gli ambienti in diversi modi.

Il componente "Link" è stato pensato e sviluppato quasi interamente dall'utente. Le motivazioni e le implementazioni progettuali alla base di questo progetto sono descritte nella sua pagina GitHub, Link. Per realizzare questa funzione, sono state apportate diverse modifiche fondamentali a FreeCAD; queste modifiche sono ampiamente documentate in Core-Changes.

La storia di "Link" può essere rintracciata tramite alcune discussioni essenziali del forum:
 * Why an object can only be inside one App::Part? (March 2017)
 * Introducing App::Link/XLink (March 2017)
 * Links (May 2017)
 * Realthunder Link implementation: Architecture discussion (June 2017)
 * PR #876: Link, stage one, context aware selection (July 2017)
 * Preview: Link, stage two, API groundwork (July 2017)
 * Assembly3 preview (December 2017)
 * Merging of my Link branch (June 2018)

Finally, the pull request and merge happened:
 * App::Link: the big merge, old thread (July 2019), pull request #2350 (the BIG merge), LinkMerge branch.
 * App::Link: the big merge, main thread (July 2019)
 * A simple path description of Link, 019, Link stage, Asm3, merge? (August 2019)
 * PR#2559: expose link and navigation actions, an introduction to the Link feature in 0.19 (September 2019).

The "App Link" object prepares FreeCAD for the phase that was scheduled to happen after the redesign of PartDesign in FreeCAD 0.17, which is working with assemblies.

Assembly3 is an assembly workbench written in Python by realthunder, that makes use of the "App Link" functionality. The workbench served as a testbed for this component during its development. While Assembly3 is still not officially part of FreeCAD, with the inclusion of "App Link" in the master branch, it is a matter of time for Assembly3 to be provided as an installable add-on, just like A2plus and Assembly4 are provided currently.

Core system, App, Base, and Gui namespaces
Beside the introduction of App Link, the "LinkMerge" branch also introduced some changes visible to the user with regards to object properties, expressions, visual selection, and the tree view. These are described in the Core-Changes page.


 * Added support for existing Python virtual environments; pull request #2021.
 * Pre-select name filter in the import/export dialog; forum discussion, commit e239994,
 * Fixed missing application ID and icon on GNOME/Wayland; pull request #2466.
 * Added support for Hertz as a physical unit, and added the Frequency property; forum discussion, commit 3500451a0, commit d7ca604c9.
 * Added Std TextDocument tool to insert an object to store arbitrary text in the document; commit 13db5b0560, commit 53b01f08f9.
 * Added support for further units, Gauss, Weber, Oersted; forum discussion, pull request #2863.
 * New commands to get information on the graphical commands, and the shortcuts;, , ; forum thread, pull request #3710.
 * New glTF support (requires OCC 7.5.0) commit
 * New WebGL exporter pull request #4025

Ambiente Arch
Keep with the latest developments to the Arch Workbench, and the BIM Workbench that depends on it, by following the main author of this workbench, at Uncreated. The updates are also posted to the forum, BIM/Arch development news articles from Yorik's blog.

The developers of Draft, Arch, and BIM Workbenches also collaborate with the greater OSArch community, with the ultimate goal of improving building design by using entirely free software.

Altro

 * The Draft Wire tool now is called "Polyline" in the menu, instead of "DWire"; all options and functionality remain the same, so this doesn't break compatibility; commit 39e748229e.
 * A "DraftEditPickRadius" preference was added to control the area of influence of the pointer when picking vertices in edit mode Draft Edit; forum discussion, pull request #2642, issue #4162.
 * Undergoing efforts to document the Python source code (adding complete docstrings), in order to produce better programming documentation that can be used by both users and developers. See Source documentation for instructions on generating the documentation with Doxygen.
 * The "Toolbar mode" when launching the Draft tools has been removed. This was an interface that was used in the past but became obsolete as the task panel became the predominant interface; forum discussion, pull request #2973.
 * now works with any document object, thanks to the new method introduced with the LinkMerge; pull request #3658.

Altro

 * The Elmer project has developed a library for handling batch type pre-processing for the ElmerSolver, using the FEM Workbench. This includes creating mesh objects for FreeCAD, manipulating the mesh sizes of solids, creating finite element meshes using Gmsh, running ElmerGrid and exporting the mesh for ElmerSolver, and selecting and naming bodies and boundaries for ElmerSolver; forum discussion, elmerfem repository (Elmer main repository), FreeCADBatchFEMTools repository (library to interact with FEM Workbench, LGPL 2.1).
 * The integration of the OOFem solver, which started in 2018, is progressing, so it is now another option that can be used for structural analysis in FreeCAD. This solver is interesting in that it has interface elements, as well as arc-length control, in addition to many non-linear material models. The integration of OOFEM into FEM has been carried in various commits that together serve as documentation on how to integrate similar solvers; forum discussion, femoofem branch, OOFEM main website, oofem repository (LGPL 2.1).
 * Updated coding standards that strive for PEP8 compliance with Python; forum discussion, commit ad03ee9bdf, commit 27cb54009b.

Import

 * Improved import/export compatibility with proprietary CAD systems, when using compressed STEP, or STPZ; forum discussion, pull request #2323, commit 7de89cf62e.

Further improvements

 * It is now possible to take an OpenInventor mesh file, and export it to STL; forum discussion, commit 601ac707b2.
 * It is now possible to export a Mesh to Asymptote format ; forum thread, commits 4badaba5, 50bbd522, 58a92681, dd7afa72, b0f78f5a.
 * Most tools of the Mesh Workbench now have a proper icon so it is easier to recognize the function in the menu and toolbars; forum thread, pull request #3816, #3864.

Further improvements

 * The dialog to edit Prisms allows now to specify an angle in respect to the normal of the chosen attachment plane. This way one can create skew prisms. Forum discussion, pull request #3793
 * New Face method: to cut holes into a face. The face usually needs to be validated after operation.
 * The App Link merge introduced two new commands, Part TransformedCopy and Part ElementCopy. These commands create non-parametric copies of a body with a transformed placement, and of an element (vertex, edge, or face); commit 6da72b9859. These operations essentially make the Macro Repro Wire obsolete.
 * It is now possible to set expressions for all parameters of primitives. commit dd4874d2 and commit 7405dd0e.
 * Fixed broken support for "INCH" units when exporting to STEP/IGES formats; forum discussion, commit 1b26173580.

Further improvements

 * The hole dialog has been overhauled to create norm-conform clearance and threaded hole dimensions.
 * It is now possible to set expressions for all parameters of additive and subtractive primitives. Forum discussion, pull request #3225.
 * It is now possible to set expressions for the attachment angles of additive and subtractive primitives. Formerly, expressions were only available for the direction offsets. Forum discussion, commit 1cfe6d2cc7.
 * It is now possible to change the list items in the different dialogs. For example in this forum post there is a good example why the item list matters for transformations. Here is another example for the sketch order for lofts. Forum discussion, pull request #3760, commit 94ca4388e.

Ambiente Path

 * New Tool Management system (Toolbits) Wiki Page, forum discussion


 * Added Path DressupPathBoundary for excluding parts of a path


 * PathPocket: Extensions (For milling open pockets).
 * New unified Profile operation: The pre-existing Contour, Profile Faces, and Profile Edges of version 0.18.x are now combined into a single Profile operation. The new Profile operation maintains features and capabilities of the three individual source operations. forum discussion, pull request #3443.
 * Profile Edges: Open Edges support added. Note: The Profile Edges operation is now merged into the Profile operation. forum discussion, pull request #3068.
 * First attempt of 4th-axis support: Profile (limited to full contour and profiling of faces), PathPocket, and Drilling


 * Fixed issue #3993, Python 3 memory leak; forum discussion, commit 3c205946e.
 * Ability to use an arbitrary number of an object as the base model for a Path.Job, each one being positionable individually; pull request #2056.
 * PathDeburr: Added direction selection. Fixed DressupLeadInOut problem.
 * MillFace
 * Clear edges feature added.
 * Exclude raised areas feature added; forum discussion, pull request #2367.
 * Added `Face Region` option to boundary options. This allows the cutter to access areas smaller than cutter diameter, but physically accessible within the part geometry. forum mention, pull request #3534.
 * Adaptive Clearing improvements.
 * Adaptive can now use feature outline
 * 3D Pocket: Reduction of air-milling above inclined pockets; forum discussion, pull request #2366.
 * 3D Surface
 * Improvements to general surfacing algorithm.
 * Initial 4th-axis support; forum discussion, pull request #2114.
 * Selection of individual faces; forum discussion, pull request #2849.
 * Fixes to and addition of various cut patterns: Line, Circular, CircularZigZag, Offset, Spiral, ZigZag. pull request #3327 and other pull requests.
 * New operation: Waterline.
 * The independent operation was split from 3D Surface; forum discussion, pull request #3268.
 * Experimental algorithm added using a combination of Path.Area offsets of model cross-sections.
 * Post Processing
 * Update of Post Processors (GRBL, LinuxCNC, Centroid).
 * Mach3/Mach4 Post Processor; pull request #3195.
 * Support tool height offset in the LinuxCNC Post Processor; pull request #2479.
 * Task Panel for LeadInOut Dressup


 * New operation: Slot. Allows for creation of a horizontal slotting operation based on two custom points; the selection of one or more faces or edges; or the selection of two vertices. forum discussion, initial pull request #3624.


 * General:
 * Added cycle time calculations to operations and total cycle time to the job; forum discussion, pull request #3378.
 * Added ability to import Base Geometry from existing operations within the same Job; forum discussion, pull request #3537.
 * Added icons to section headings in the Tasks Editor window for Base Geometry, Depths, Heights, and Operation; pull request #3631.
 * Added support for conical entry helix in Adaptive Operation.
 * Prefernces to enable features which depend on openCAMLib
 * Prefernces to suppress common warnings


 * Job:
 * Added new group in Job to collect all ToolControllers
 * Support for gcode WCS (work coordinate system) offsets aka 'fixtures'
 * Gcode can be generated for any or multiple offsets
 * Output can be ordered by tool, operation, or fixture to minimize toolchanges or transit time.
 * Gcode can be split into multiple output files

Ambiente Render
Added support for Blender's standalone "Cycles" renderer; commit 759067912f; FreeCAD-render repository. The Cycles standalone renderer usually needs to be compiled from source, as the binary is normally not provided by itself in a complete Blender distribution.

Besides this, the Render Workbench already has support for Pov-Ray, Luxrender and Appleseed.

Ambiente Sketcher

 * It is now possible to decrease the knot multiplicity of B-Splines. commit fc89f4eb0.
 * The fillet tool preserves now all possible existing constraints of the touched lines. pull request #4296, forum discussion
 * New method to get the geometrical index of a sketch, ; forum discussion, pull request #3713.

Ambiente Spreadsheet
The introduction of App Link also brought some improvements to the expressions capabilities of FreeCAD, which are visible in the property editor, and the Spreadsheet Workbench. These are described in Core-Changes and this forum thread.
 * A new expression syntax is introduced to unambiguously reference a property of the owner object, by omitting the object reference and starting with a leading dot, similar to Python relative import syntax. So instead of , now you can use.
 * You can refer to an object by its or by its . In the case of a, it must be enclosed in  and  symbols, such as . For example,.
 * Improved spreadsheet recomputation logic, and cell copy and paste functions. Pull request #2350, #2475.

The previous commits changed the way the autocompletion works with expressions, particularly when used with Sketcher constraints, which was seen as a regression for many use cases. A new set of commits were proposed to restore this functionality; forum discussion, pull request #3062.

Data entered into a cell is not tested anymore as an expression by default. Now an expression needs to start with an equal sign instead. Forum discussion, pull request #4215.

Altro

 * There has been discussions about changing the standard behavior of TechDraw. Instead of keeping the drawing pages updated automatically, they would be updated only on demand; this would mitigate the effects of TechDraw slowing down the rest of FreeCAD when modelling. Moreover, now that App Link is included in FreeCAD, TechDraw pages may be stored in a separate file, and loaded on demand; forum discussion (main discussion), forum discussion (alternatives).
 * Improvements on the handling of sectional views with TechDraw SectionView; Forum discussion, pull request #2737.
 * Fixed font size issues when exporting to SVG; forum discussion, pull request #2219.
 * Fixed regression in caption handling and hide caption property where not applicable; pull request #2228.
 * Added options for page size, line width and background when saving to SVG; this improves Draft/Arch and TechDraw integration; pull request #2455.
 * New panning of the page using the middle mouse button; forum discussion, pull request #2458.
 * Finer control of drawing updates; forum discussion, pull request #2468, commit 5bed53f858, commit b2d8eeeb65.
 * Also new TechDraw RedrawPage tool to force a drawing page update while ignoring the state of the options "Update with 3d", "Allow page override", or "KeepUpdated". This tool disappeared in 0.18, but was re-implemented for 0.19; forum discussion.
 * The new App Link object is now supported as a source for creating views; forum discussion, commit 37b578bf49.
 * The center marks created from circular edges, can now be printed; pull request #2335, #2962.
 * It is now possible to override displayed values for tolerances, for example to use text in tolerances. Furthermore, one can now use a custom display format for each, over- and undertolerance. pull request #4087
 * The LineGroup to set the default line widths for drawings can now be selected from the available groups in the preferences. pull request #4083

Web

 * QtWebEngine support for Qt 5.7 and above, and fallback to QWebkit for Qt 5.6 and below; pull request #1937.

Macro
See Macros recipes for many more macros.

Moduli aggiuntivi
these are the new workbenches created in this development cycle, or older workbenches that received updates. See external workbenches for more workbenches that can be installed, and which cover a wide variety of topics. If you want to see your workbench added, join the forum and present your code.