Draft Clone

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Draft Clone

Menu location
Modification → Clone
Workbenches
Draft, Arch
Default shortcut
None
Introduced in version
-
See also
Draft Move, Draft Scale

Description

The Draft Clone tool produces linked copies of a selected shape. This means that if the original object changes its shape and properties, all clones change as well. Nevertheless, each clone retains its unique position, rotation, and scale, as well as its view properties like shape color, line width, and transparency.

The Clone tool can be used on 2D shapes created with the Draft Workbench, but can also be used on many types of 3D objects such as those created with the Part, PartDesign, or Arch Workbenches.

To create simple copies, that are completely independent from an original object, use Draft Move, Draft Rotate, and Draft Scale. To position copies in an orthogonal array use Draft Array; to position copies along a path use Draft PathArray; to position copies at specified points use Draft PointArray.

Clone next to the original object

Usage

  1. Select an object that you wish to clone.
  2. Press the Draft Clone button.

Depending on its options, the Draft Scale tool also creates a clone at a specified scale.

Clones of 2D objects created with the Draft or Sketcher Workbenches will also be 2D objects, and therefore can be used as such for the PartDesign Workbench.

All Arch Workbench objects have the possibility to behave as clones by using their DataCloneOf property. If you use the Draft Clone tool on a selected Arch object, you will produce such an Arch clone instead of a regular Draft clone.

Limitations

Currently, Sketcher Sketches cannot be mapped to the faces of a clone.

Options

There are no options for this tool. Either it works with the selected objects or not.

Properties

  • DataObjects: specifies a list of base objects which are being cloned.
  • DataScale: specifies the scaling factor for the clone, in each X, Y, and Z direction.
  • DataFuse: if it is true and DataObjects includes many shapes that intersect each other, the resulting clone will be fuse them together into a single shape, or make a compound of them. introduced in version 0.17

Scripting

See also: Autogenerated API documentation and FreeCAD Scripting Basics.

To create a Draft Clone use the make_clone method (introduced in version 0.19) of the Draft module. It can also create Arch Clones from Arch objects. This method replaces the deprecated clone method.

cloned_object = make_clone(obj, delta=None, forcedraft=False)
  • obj contains the objects to be cloned. It is either a single object or a list of objects.
  • delta indicates the displacement vector to be applied to the clone.
  • If forcedraft is False and obj contains a single Arch object an Arch Clone is created. Set forcedraft to True to create a Draft Clone instead.
  • cloned_object is returned with the clone object.

To fuse the objects that are part of the clone set its Fuse property to True.

Example:

import FreeCAD as App
import Draft

doc = App.newDocument()

place = App.Placement(App.Vector(1000, 0, 0), App.Rotation())
polygon1 = Draft.make_polygon(3, 750)
polygon2 = Draft.make_polygon(5, 750, placement=place)

vector = App.Vector(2600, 500, 0)
cloned_object = Draft.clone([polygon1, polygon2], delta=vector)

cloned_object.Fuse = True

doc.recompute()