FreeCAD: Exercises 1–5 (freecadhub)

Following the @freecadhub YouTube course. Did exercises 1 through 5 in a single session — enough to get the muscle memory going for the basic Part Design loop.

Tools Practiced

Sketch tools:

• Create Polyline — fast multi-segment line drawing; each click continues from the last point
• Create Circle by Center — draw a circle from its center outward; pairs with radius constraints
• Constrain Horizontal / Vertical — lock lines to axis-aligned; essential for clean geometry
• Constrain Equal — forces two elements to share the same dimension; great for symmetric bolt patterns

Part Design features:

• Pad — extrude a closed sketch into a solid; most parts start here
• Pocket — cut a sketch shape into an existing solid; subtractive counterpart to Pad
• Revolution — rotate a sketch profile around an axis; used for anything round (bolts, flanges, cups)
• Polar Pattern — replicate a feature N times around an axis at equal angular spacing

Dimension / measurement:

• Dimension — the main constraint tool; locks lengths, radii, angles to specific values

Exercise 4 — Bolt with Flange

The most involved exercise: a bolt body with a flanged base and pocketed holes arranged in a polar pattern.

The shape comes from two operations: Revolution for the main bolt + flange profile (one sketch, one axis), then Pocket for a single mounting hole, then Polar Pattern to replicate the pocket 4× around the vertical axis.

Things That Clicked

Revolution is just Pad wrapped around an axis. Once that framing landed, it became obvious which profiles to draw — you sketch only the cross-section of one side, then spin it. Anything rotationally symmetric should start with Revolution.

Polar Pattern vs. Linear Pattern — Polar is the right tool whenever holes or features repeat around a central axis. You specify the axis, number of occurrences, and angle (360° for full rings). Much cleaner than placing each pocket individually.

Constrain Equal is underused. Marking two radii or two line lengths as equal means you only need one dimension — change it once and both update. In a bolt-hole pattern, set all holes equal and you only maintain one diameter value.