Tutorial for open windows
In progress
This tutorial uses FreeCAD 0.18.
This tutorial shows how to have Arch Windows and Doors open in the 3D model, and to indicate this in a 2D drawing (plan and elevation projection). It uses the Draft Workbench, the Arch Workbench, and the TechDraw Workbench.
Setup
1. Open FreeCAD, create a new empty document, and switch to the Arch Workbench.
2. Make sure your units are set correctly, Edit → Preferences ... → General → Units. For example, MKS (m/kg/s/degree)
is good for dealing with distances in a typical building; moreover, setting 4 decimals is good to consider even the smallest fractions of a meter.
3. Use the Draft ToggleGrid button to show a grid with enough resolution. You can change the grid properties if needed, Edit → Preferences ... → Draft → Grid and snapping → Grid. For example, lines at every 50 mm, with major lines every 20 lines, and 1000 lines in total.
4. Zoom out of the 3D view if you are too close to the grid.
Create a simple building with closed walls, two doors and two windows.
Placing a wall
5. Use the Draft Wire tool to create a closed wire. Go counterclockwise.
- 5.1. First point in (0, 0, 0); in the dialog enter 0 m ENTER, 0 m ENTER, 0 m ENTER
- 5.2. Second point in (3, 0, 0). Press x to constrain the movement to the X axis; enter the value 3 m ENTER
- 5.3. Third point in (3, 4, 0). Press y to constrain the movement to the Y axis; enter the value 4 m ENTER
- 5.4. Fourth point in (0, 4, 0). Press x to constrain the movement to the X axis; enter the value - 3 m ENTER
- 5.5. Press o to close the Wire, and close the tool.
- 5.6. In the number pad press 0 to get an axonometric view of the model.
- Note: the points can also be defined with the mouse pointer by choosing intersections on the grid, with the help of the Draft Snap toolbar and the Draft Grid method.
6. Select the DWire
and change the property DataMake Face to false
7. Select the DWire
and click the Arch Wall tool; the Wall is immediately created with a default width (thickness) of 0.2 m, and height of 3 m.
- Note: if the property DataMake Face of the
DWire
istrue
, this step would create a solid block, instead of using only the contour of theDWire
.
Placing doors and windows
8. Click the Arch Window tool; as preset select Simple door
, and change the height to 2 m
- 8.1. Change the snapping to Draft Midpoint, and try selecting the lower edge of the frontal wall; when the midpoint is active, click to place the door.
- 8.2. Click the Arch Window tool again, and place another door, but this time in the midpoint of the back wall; rotate the standard view if necessary.
9. Click the Arch Window tool; as preset select Open 1-pane
, and change the still height to 1 m
- 9.1. Keep the snapping to Draft Midpoint, and try selecting the lower edge of the left side wall; when the midpoint is active, click to place the window.
- Note: the still height is the distance from the floor to the lower edge of the element; for doors the still height is usually 0 m as doors are normally touching the floor; on the other hand, windows have a usual separation of 0.5 m to 1.5 m from the floor.
- 9.2. Click the Arch Window tool again, and place another window, but this time in the midpoint of the right wall; rotate the standard view if necessary. This time make the window's width (length) 1.5 m, and again make the still height 1 m
- Note: when placing a window or a door hover the element over the Arch Wall, and wait for the element to rotate so that it is parallel to that wall. Use the Draft Near method from the Draft Snap toolbar to easily select a face of the wall; aim for the lower edge of the wall, and use the still height to adjust the distance from the floor. Having many Draft Snap modes active at the same time may cause some issues with placing the element, so try with only one option at a time.
- Note 2: if the window or door was placed parallel to the Arch Wall, but not exactly in the position that you want it, you can adjust the position of the underlying Sketcher Sketch from the property view. For example, if you want to move the
Window001
a bit higher, select the underlyingSketch004
, and change its position to[3.1 m, 2.0 m, 1.6 m]
. The entireWindow001
should move up. The wall may still show an opening in the wrong position; if this happens, right click theWall
element, selectMark to recompute
, and then press CTRL+r to recompute the model.
Opening the doors
10. Select Sketch
underlying Door
, and press SPACE, or change the property ViewVisibility to true
11. Double click Door
in the tree view to start editing it.
- 11.1. Inside the
Window elements
frame there are two panes,Wires
andComponents
. - Note: with a simple door preset there are two wires,
Wire0
andWire1
, and two components,OuterFrame
andDoor
. With a custom designed Arch Door, there may be more wires and components. - 11.2. Click on
Door
, and click the Edit button. This shows the properties of theDoor
component likeName
,Type
,Wires
,Thickness
,Offset
,Hinge
, andOpening mode
. - 11.3. In the 3D view, select only one vertical edge in the visible Sketch of the Door, then click the Get selected edge button. The button should change to an edge name, for example, Edge8.
- 11.4. Change the
Opening mode
to Arc 90, or any other option. - 11.5. Click the +Create/update component button, and then Close to finish editing the door. The Sketch may become hidden again.
12. Select Door
, and give the property DataOpening a value of 45. The solid panel of the door should open to the inside of the building.
13. Select Door
, and change the property DataSymbol Elevation to true
; a wire starting from the door frame should indicate where the door opens; this is easier to see if the viewport is switched to front view. Change the property DataSymbol Plan to true
; a circular arc should indicate how the door opens; this is easier to see if viewport is switched to top view.
14. Repeat the steps with Door001
and the underlying Sketch002
to make the door open 75 degrees to the inside of the building. Also show the elevation and plan symbols.
Opening the windows
15. Select Sketch003
underlying Window
, and press SPACE, or change the property ViewVisibility to true
16. Double click the Window
in the tree view to start editing it.
- 15.1. Click on the
InnerFrame
component, and click the Edit button.
- 15.2. In the 3D view, select only one vertical edge of
Sketch003
. The wires representingOuterFrame
and theInnerFrame
are very close to each other, so zoom in as close as possible to the Sketch to select the appropriate wire. Then click the Get selected edge button. The button should change to an edge name, for example, Edge12.
Note: when there are many solids on the screen that it becomes difficult to select only one edge, switch to wireframe mode to remove the solid objects, and see only the wires, edges, and contours of those solids.
- 15.3. Change the
Opening mode
toArc 90 inv
, or any other option.
- 15.4. Select
Window
, and give the property DataOpening a value of 45. The inner frame containing the transparent glass should open to the inside of the building.
- 15.5. Select
Window
, and change the property DataSymbol Elevation totrue
; a wire starting from the window frame should indicate where the inner frame opens, if the window is viewed from the front; change the property DataSymbol Plan totrue
; a circular arc should indicate how the inner frame opens, if the window is viewed from the top.
16. Repeat the steps with Window001
and the underlying Sketch004
to make it open 75 degrees. Also show the elevation and plan symbols. In this case, don't pick a vertical wire of the InnerFrame
but pick the top horizontal wire.
Making a floor plan of the building
17. In the tree view, select all components, the Arch Wall, the two Arch Windows, and the two Arch Doors, then use the Arch SectionPlane tool to create a Section
element.
18. Change to TechDraw Workbench and insert a new page with the TechDraw New Default tool; a new Page
object is created, and the view switches to this page. The page inserted is a standard A4 sheet in landscape orientation, with a basic frame around it. Use the TechDraw New Pick tool if you need to create a new page using a particular SVG template.
19. Select Section
, and use the TechDraw NewArch tool to create an ArchView
object in the page. Most probably the new object won't be visible in the page because it has a very large scale of 1, that is, 1:1.
20. Select this ArchView
object, and change the property DataScale to 0.02, which is equivalent to 1:50, a scale suitable for typical buildings. The object should appear in the center of the page, and can be moved to a better position on the page. The two doors should look like they are open, but only the left window looks open; the reason for this is that the Arch SectionPlane is not high enough to cut through the right window, as can be seen from the 3D view.
21. Select the Section
element, place it higher over the floor, by changing the property DataPosition to [1.5 m, 2.0 m, 1.9 m]
. Now it barely touches all elements. The updated view in the TechDraw page now shows all openings in the Arch Wall produced by the doors and windows.
Making an elevation projection of the building
22. Go back to the Arch Workbench. In the tree view, select all components, the Arch Wall, the two Arch Windows, and the two Arch Doors, then use the Arch SectionPlane tool to create a second Section001
element.
- 22.1. Rotate the second
Section001
, so that it cuts vertically through the building. Change the properties DataAxis to[1, 0, 0]
, and DataAngle to90
.
- 22.2. Create one more plane
Section002
, and position it vertically in front of the building. Change the properties DataAxis to[1, 0, 0]
, DataAngle to90
, and DataPosition to[1.5 m, -1 m, 1.5 m]
.
- Note: you can adjust the ViewArrow Size of the planes to 200 mm, to quickly recognize to which side the planes are pointing.
23. Go back to the TechDraw Workbench, and the Page, and use the TechDraw NewArch tool on each of the Section001
and Section002
planes; remember to adjust the scale to 0.02 (1:50). Change DataRotation to -90
for both, to correct the appearance of the projections. Arrange all views in the page.
- Note: for the TechDraw ArchView objects it's advisable to set DataAll On to
true
, so that all elements cut by the plane are visible, regardless of their state in the 3D viewport. The option DataShow Fill can also be set totrue
, to shade the solid cuts.