New Workbench MeshTools now renamed 3D Printing Tools

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jmaustpc
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Re: New Workbench MeshTools now renamed 3D Printing Tools

Post by jmaustpc »

Welcome to FreeCAD! :)
doogy666 wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 11:51 pm Hello mark1791,

The "Mesh -> Solid" operation does not seem to create an object which can participate in boolean operations as a solid. I had to further process the newly created object with the "Advanced utility to create shapes: Solid from shell" from the Part workbench. I'm just starting out here, what am I missing ? Thanks.
It is not Mesh->solid, it is Mesh->shape. A solid is a shape, but a shape can also be any other geometry like face/edge/vertex/shell etc.
Screenshot_20210213_113210.png
Screenshot_20210213_113210.png (88.08 KiB) Viewed 1501 times
Meshes of the type to which you are referring only define a surface/s or shell or the surfaces of a solid (a closed shell), but not an solid. If the mesh is a closed Shell (water tight) then you can use Part WB Mesh->shape, that gives you a closed water tight shell, if you wanted a solid then you just select that shell, go back to Part Menu in Part WB and click on Convert to Solid. The Advanced utility can be used to do that conversion but is not needed in this case. It is really aimed at being very close to just a simple GUI control of basic OCC functionality, typically for creating very unusually shapes that can not be made more efficiently elsewhere. That utility is also very old, it predates a lot of what you current see in FreeCAD.
Screenshot_20210213_113153.png
Screenshot_20210213_113153.png (98.94 KiB) Viewed 1501 times
My reply is based on FreeCAD 0.19, if you are still using 0.18, you will notice slight differences in appearances but the functionality is the same.

Jim

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doogy666
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Re: New Workbench MeshTools now renamed 3D Printing Tools

Post by doogy666 »

Thanks Jim for the quick reply and thanks for the welcome. I didn't make it explicit, but my question was about the 3D Printing Tools addon WB tool bar icon which does say "Mesh->Solid". I had been playing around with the functionality of the Part WB as you described but then I discovered the 3D Printing Tool addon. I was expecting one click convenience, but as I wrote, the "Mesh->Solid" tool only got me to a shell. This is what my question was about.

Ron
jmaustpc
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Re: New Workbench MeshTools now renamed 3D Printing Tools

Post by jmaustpc »

doogy666 wrote: Sat Feb 13, 2021 4:08 am Thanks Jim for the quick reply and thanks for the welcome. I didn't make it explicit, but my question was about the 3D Printing Tools addon WB tool bar icon which does say "Mesh->Solid". I had been playing around with the functionality of the Part WB as you described but then I discovered the 3D Printing Tool addon. I was expecting one click convenience, but as I wrote, the "Mesh->Solid" tool only got me to a shell. This is what my question was about.

Ron
Yeah I missed that.

It is possible to change the code for that command in the add on wb so that it runs both the Mesh to Shape and then Create Solid commands, if the developers think that is a good idea.

Jim
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Varnu01
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Re: New Workbench MeshTools now renamed 3D Printing Tools

Post by Varnu01 »

Invite to FreeCAD (and Free CAE) Users Conference 2023

Good Day @mark1791

My name is Varnu Govender, I am the assistant to Dr du Plessis at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

We are organizing the 1st Annual FreeCAD (and Free CAE) Users Conference, which is set to take place in Early 2023.

I have taken interest in your Workbench, and I would love if you could present your work at the conference.

You are welcome to present your workbench in the following manner:
  • Introduction/Overview of your Workbench
  • Run-down on how the workbench operates through the user interface and backend.
  • A tutorial demonstrating the full functionality of the workbench.
  • A showcase of something that has been created/modelled in the workbench.
In addition to this, if you know somebody that might be interested in presenting their work during the conference, please could you refer them to me (@Varnu01.)

I hope to hear from you soon.

Regards
Varnu Govender
FreeCAD (and Free CAE) Users Conference 2023. Register Here

Nikra-DAP FreeCAD Workbench
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