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#freecad — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #freecad, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Wowzers. I completed the list!

    That's about a first.

    And whilst it was a short list, some of those items weren't exactly trivial.

    • Car refuelled & shopping done ✅
    • French pattress box extender (redesigned in #FreeCAD and printed) ✅
    • Suffolk printed (after a lot of svg/cad fettling!) ✅ (No Nofolk alas)
    • Joule Thief Cat soldered, with added backup USB power injection for when I don't have "dead" batteries for it ✅ (needs cleaning up, but works! I broke my flush cutters a while back, so have ordered a nice fancy Knippex pair to arrive tomorrow.)

    And made a (fairly basic) BBQ dinner of Barnsley chops, garlic/chilli potatoes & broccoli, and BBQed eggplant.

    Bonus: got a hair cut by an actual hair cutting person for the first time in well over a decade. (My usual thing is I just shave it off every 2-3 months.)

  2. You'd think #FreeCAD would have a simple and intuitive way to "copy" a sketch, aka "duplicate" - but buggered if I can find it, and DDG/Google searching isn't helping much. (I am very very impatient with software these days lol.)

  3. @freecad After getting disappointed with the new version of the pinball drink holder, I resurrected my old design from the early 2020s I had done with OpenSCAD and re-did it with #FreeCAD instead. Here's a work-in-progress model.

  4. Of course, at some point in the 2000s a designer at #renault decided that a flat roof rack is practical but not looking nice. So they curved it by 15mm (7.5mm on each side).

    My "new" 1983 vintage roof box is not curved on the bottom side. It got steel tubing and a sturdy zigzag pattern on the bottom. It. Will. Not. Bend. And that's fine.

    So to mount it in 2026 I need spacers. And as we live in the future™ now I just fired up #freecad and let the #3dprinter do the work.

    This is no shiny fancy thing, just a wedge with a hole. But in 2026 it just makes sense to let the machines do the job - I would not be faster/better if I started to cut and grind plastic or wood.

    Tested at up to 130 km/h the roof box is nice: nearly no sound, just a silent "sssshhh" wind noise, and its not noticeable regarding driving dynamics at least in empty state. and the whole thing is just 2m tall.

  5. Of course, at some point in the 2000s a designer at decided that a flat roof rack is practical but not looking nice. So they curved it by 15mm (7.5mm on each side).

    My "new" 1983 vintage roof box is not curved on the bottom side. It got steel tubing and a sturdy zigzag pattern on the bottom. It. Will. Not. Bend. And that's fine.

    So to mount it in 2026 I need spacers. And as we live in the future™ now I just fired up and let the do the work.

    This is no whiny fancy thing, just a wedge with a hole. But in 2026 it just makes sense to let the machines do the job - I would not be faster/better if I started to cut and grind plastic or wood.

    Tested at up to 130 km/h the roof box is nice: nearly no sound, just a silent "sssshhh" wind noise, and its not noticeable regarding driving dynamics at least in empty state. and the whole thing is just 2m tall.

  6. FreeCAD Swag Shop Now Open!

    We are super pleased to announce that the FreeCAD official swag store is now open! All the designs in there are made in FreeCAD and we have tee, hoodies, mugs, water bottles and more....

    #FreeCAD #Swag #Merch #Opensource #FreeCADFriday

    blog.freecad.org/2026/09/11/fr

  7. FreeCAD Swag Shop Now Open!

    We are super pleased to announce that the FreeCAD official swag store is now open! All the designs in there are made in FreeCAD and we have tee, hoodies, mugs, water bottles and more....

    #FreeCAD #Swag #Merch #Opensource #FreeCADFriday

    blog.freecad.org/2026/09/11/fr

  8. FreeCAD Swag Shop Now Open!

    We are super pleased to announce that the FreeCAD official swag store is now open! All the designs in there are made in FreeCAD and we have tee, hoodies, mugs, water bottles and more....

    #FreeCAD #Swag #Merch #Opensource #FreeCADFriday

    blog.freecad.org/2026/09/11/fr

  9. FreeCAD Swag Shop Now Open!

    We are super pleased to announce that the FreeCAD official swag store is now open! All the designs in there are made in FreeCAD and we have tee, hoodies, mugs, water bottles and more....

    #FreeCAD #Swag #Merch #Opensource #FreeCADFriday

    blog.freecad.org/2026/09/11/fr

  10. FreeCAD Swag Shop Now Open!

    We are super pleased to announce that the FreeCAD official swag store is now open! All the designs in there are made in FreeCAD and we have tee, hoodies, mugs, water bottles and more....

    #FreeCAD #Swag #Merch #Opensource #FreeCADFriday

    blog.freecad.org/2026/09/11/fr

  11. Hey wonderful people, it's #FreeCADFriday once again! What are you working on in #FreeCAD at the moment?!

  12. One further design iteration of my 3D printed lens hood/light baffle seems to have done the trick. v5b goes back to the 5 mm long, 2 perimeters thick telescope interface but bumps up the diameter just slightly for a snug push fit into the aperture on the 'scope. The thread is in place to stop it dropping on to the concrete patio tiles when the Seestar closes itself at the end of the night so hopefully I won't get any more broken lens hoods.

    I've designed all these so that they shouldn't induce any vignetting at all, but I'll still take some new twilight flats shortly just in case the illumination is slightly different to the previous version.

    The weather forecast says it'll be clear pretty much all night but that humidity will hit 99% by around midnight so it'll probably be foggy before morning. Definitely a night to turn the dew heater on, but the lens hood should also help keep condensation off the lens.

    #Seestar #SeestarS30Pro #3Dprinting #FreeCAD #FreeCADFriday #TMMT #ThirtyMillimetreTelescope #Astrophotography #SmartTelescope #SmartScope

  13. One further design iteration of my 3D printed lens hood/light baffle seems to have done the trick. v5b goes back to the 5 mm long, 2 perimeters thick telescope interface but bumps up the diameter just slightly for a snug push fit into the aperture on the 'scope. The thread is in place to stop it dropping on to the concrete patio tiles when the Seestar closes itself at the end of the night so hopefully I won't get any more broken lens hoods.

    I've designed all these so that they shouldn't induce any vignetting at all, but I'll still take some new twilight flats shortly just in case the illumination is slightly different to the previous version.

    The weather forecast says it'll be clear pretty much all night but that humidity will hit 99% by around midnight so it'll probably be foggy before morning. Definitely a night to turn the dew heater on, but the lens hood should also help keep condensation off the lens.

    #Seestar #SeestarS30Pro #3Dprinting #FreeCAD #FreeCADFriday #TMMT #ThirtyMillimetreTelescope #Astrophotography #SmartTelescope #SmartScope

  14. One further design iteration of my 3D printed lens hood/light baffle seems to have done the trick. v5b goes back to the 5 mm long, 2 perimeters thick telescope interface but bumps up the diameter just slightly for a snug push fit into the aperture on the 'scope. The thread is in place to stop it dropping on to the concrete patio tiles when the Seestar closes itself at the end of the night so hopefully I won't get any more broken lens hoods.

    I've designed all these so that they shouldn't induce any vignetting at all, but I'll still take some new twilight flats shortly just in case the illumination is slightly different to the previous version.

    The weather forecast says it'll be clear pretty much all night but that humidity will hit 99% by around midnight so it'll probably be foggy before morning. Definitely a night to turn the dew heater on, but the lens hood should also help keep condensation off the lens.

    #Seestar #SeestarS30Pro #3Dprinting #FreeCAD #FreeCADFriday #TMMT #ThirtyMillimetreTelescope #Astrophotography #SmartTelescope #SmartScope

  15. One further design iteration of my 3D printed lens hood/light baffle seems to have done the trick. v5b goes back to the 5 mm long, 2 perimeters thick telescope interface but bumps up the diameter just slightly for a snug push fit into the aperture on the 'scope. The thread is in place to stop it dropping on to the concrete patio tiles when the Seestar closes itself at the end of the night so hopefully I won't get any more broken lens hoods.

    I've designed all these so that they shouldn't induce any vignetting at all, but I'll still take some new twilight flats shortly just in case the illumination is slightly different to the previous version.

    The weather forecast says it'll be clear pretty much all night but that humidity will hit 99% by around midnight so it'll probably be foggy before morning. Definitely a night to turn the dew heater on, but the lens hood should also help keep condensation off the lens.

    #Seestar #SeestarS30Pro #3Dprinting #FreeCAD #FreeCADFriday #TMMT #ThirtyMillimetreTelescope #Astrophotography #SmartTelescope #SmartScope

  16. One further design iteration of my 3D printed lens hood/light baffle seems to have done the trick. v5b goes back to the 5 mm long, 2 perimeters thick telescope interface but bumps up the diameter just slightly for a snug push fit into the aperture on the 'scope. The thread is in place to stop it dropping on to the concrete patio tiles when the Seestar closes itself at the end of the night so hopefully I won't get any more broken lens hoods.

    I've designed all these so that they shouldn't induce any vignetting at all, but I'll still take some new twilight flats shortly just in case the illumination is slightly different to the previous version.

    The weather forecast says it'll be clear pretty much all night but that humidity will hit 99% by around midnight so it'll probably be foggy before morning. Definitely a night to turn the dew heater on, but the lens hood should also help keep condensation off the lens.

    #Seestar #SeestarS30Pro #3Dprinting #FreeCAD #FreeCADFriday #TMMT #ThirtyMillimetreTelescope #Astrophotography #SmartTelescope #SmartScope

  17. I was asked to help with a new fiber connection, so I assisted with some planning and provided these 3D-printed conduit seals:

    They are made up of two symmetric halves that fit together without slipping. Clamp them around the cable and push them into the tube. Simple.

    As always, I provide the @freecad file along with the printable files so you can inspect and adapt the model.

    printables.com/model/1838517

    #FreeCADFriday #FreeCAD #CAD #3DPrint #DIY #Repair #Fiber #Fibre

  18. Test ride with temporarily mounted speaker (at the air intake) was more or less a success. Instead of single bell ringing sounds I mixed some together into a longer sequence for upcoming tests.

    Early adopters download:
    nueb.net/blob/Kling-el.zip

    #velomobile
    #FreeCAD

  19. Rapid prototyping.

    I quickly knocked up v5a of my lens hood/light baffle design (loop for attaching a thread, telescope interface wall 3 perimeters thick instead of 2, but 3 mm long instead of 5, opening half angle increased from 2.3° to 2.4°), printed it on my Prusa Mini+, and put it on the telescope by the time the night was about half over.

    I'm pretty happy with the design but it did expose the issues with relying on a push fit. Despite being designed with the exact same outer diameter as my previous lens hoods this one (and only this one) was too loose, and was going to fall out when the telescope moved. An emergency application of a single strip of masking tape on the interface surface to tighten it up may just be enough to keep it in place for tonight, but I'll need to investigate more tomorrow.

    I may be partly due to my printer producing a smoother surface than the previous prints that suffered from cold conditions, but I suspect it was actually the shortening by 2 mm that is the main problem. Now that I think about it I recall there being a fine moulding line or seam between parts a few mm inside the aperture. My previous lens hood might have been relying on that for grip, and the new one doesn't quite reach it. I can tweak the dimensions to try to get the perfect fit but I really should find a way to use the magnets instead.

    #Seestar #SeestarS30Pro #3Dprinting #FreeCAD #SmartTelescope #TMMT #ThirtyMillimetreTelescope

  20. Damn. I forgot I broke another of my v5 25° 3D printed Seestar lens hood/light baffles on Tuesday night so tonight the Thirty Millimetre Telescope is wearing the ludicrously large v5 20° design.

    These things are getting broken at the end of the night when the Seestar automatically closes the telescope arm, bending the push-fit lens hood out of the aperture and causing it to drop onto the concrete patio below.

    The weak point is where the narrow cylindrical section that fits inside the Seestar aperture meets the top of the conical section. The walls are as thin as I can make them at that point because any additional thickness right there intrudes on the telescope beam, losing light. Compounding the issues are the fact that these are printed in matte black PLA which is rather brittle, and they were printed when it was very cold inside the house wasn't doing the layer adhesion any favours.

    I don't know whether they're breaking when the telescope is forcing them out of its aperture or when they hit the ground. For now I can reduce the length of the cylindrical section to reduce the moment arm when it gets nudged out and add a loop so I can tie a safety harness to the lens hood to stop it dropping all the way to the ground.

    Longer term I can try printing them in tougher filament (I have a spool of PETG-CF I bought for this purpose, but need to swap out my brass nozzle for hardened steel first) and switch to magnetic attachment instead of a push fit.

    For tonight I'll just turn off the automatic closing function of the Seestar, I don't think the bigger, heavier 20° hood will survive the fall to the ground. As long as I bring the telescope inside in the morning before the Sun can shine into it that'll be fine.

    #Seestar #SeestarS30Pro #3Dprinting #FreeCAD #SmartTelescope #TMMT #ThirtyMillimetreTelescope

  21. I got the dimensions of the USB-C jack wrong the first time … :eyeroll: But now everything fits fine. The PCB is held exactly in place by the top lid.

    For such #3dprinting projects I like those self-tapering screws for plastics. Once installed in my #velomobile with the right lengthened wires, electronics and speaker enclosures will be closed (the later one w/ glue).

    Making enclosures and lids fit was easy w/ binders (offset -0.1mm) in #FreeCAD.

  22. FreeCAD E-Sport Speed Run Challenge at EMF camp 2026

    EMF Camp has recently taken place in the UK. This, every two year, festival/hacker camp sees around 4000 people descend on the grounds of Eastnor Castle UK.... #emfcamp #esport #freecad

    blog.freecad.org/2026/07/27/fr

  23. #FreeCADFriday Made some progress on the CNC lathe #FreeCAD project this week. With all the headstock parts captured, I can now start reassembling it with new bearings.

    #cnc #lathe #diy #workshop

  24. After re-surfacing the key components of my mini lathe, I was finally able to start putting it back together to get a feel for its capabilities before attempting a conversion to #CNC.

    However, before I can do that, there’s one thing. Now that everything is disassembled, it’s the perfect moment to capture it in #freecad.

    Starting with the lathe bed:

    #cnc #freecad #workshop #lathe #freecadfriday #diy

  25. Where would I find engineering drawings (or better yet, a pre-modeled CAD file) for a Shimano Freehub body*? It seems like this sort of thing would be available (what do all the manufacturers who make parts that work with it do?), or even if it's locked behind Shimano licensing it seems like someone with a 3D printer or what not would have modeled this.

    * Specifically an 11 speed 3-pawl system as used by some DTSwiss hubs, but there are a million of them, I know. Any might provide enough information for me to find others.

    #FreeCAD #Shimano #Bicycles

  26. Build complete!

    #wpl #d12 kei tora landscape truck inspired by the Japan Federation of Landscape Contractors truck garden competition.

    Metal chassis and uprated suspension, weathering and painted interior detail (plus easter egg for UK).

    Planting is in a #3d printed liner done in #freecad and consists of a selection of hardy dwarf alpines. Still growing in but I couldn't wait to share it.

  27. Quiet bank holiday with baking a crumble, boys doing some woodwork and football, the eldest practicing his #FreeCAD and me finally getting an hour to get on with detailing the interior of the #wpl #D12 kei-tora landscape competition truck.

  28. I got a cheap Aliexpress DRO and installed it onto my new lathe! It all went pretty well! I cadded up some brackets in #freecad

    Drilling holes into the cast iron bits of my lathe was fairly terrifying, but being able to measure cuts down to 0.005mm without reaching for the calipers is extremely useful.

    #diy #lathe #machining

    youtu.be/lSKLbnEP5lQ

  29. La grille de #scie de mon combiné#Lurem C2600 a cassé. Qu'à cela ne tienne, un passage dans #freecad et 7h d'impression 3D. Elle a l'air d'être plus costaude que l'original.
    Bon je me suis fait quelques tuto avant car je n'avais jamais utilisé ce #logiciellibre et je suis surpris par sa facilité d'apprentissage.

  30. For over five years the battery charger for our electric bicycle has been awkwardly dangling from a little hook.

    With emotional support from toddler and actual support from #FreeCAD I finally created a simple wall bracket.

    It's available from .stl sharing site #manifold :-)

    Inner dimensions are 73mm by 42,5mm. With a hole in the bottom for a cable exit. Probably fits other chargers as well.

    SHC-8100LC #Promovec #Christiania electric #bicycle #charger

    3dprint.social/models/kqsmd6dk

  31. I started to work on a mini pocket spectrograph, the 3D model will be available for download, I just need to tune a few things.

    I am also working on a little web based stuff to make sense of the things seen, strictly locally in the browser, on the client side.

    It's a fun random side project, though I already bought about 8 different light bulbs just to see their spectrum...

    #spectrography #spectrograph #spectrometer #spectroscopy #spectroscope #printables #3dprinting #opensource #freecad

  32. Just uplaoded my sklupt case mod that reaplces the top case and enables own designs and materials for that little synthesizer on cults.

    Mine is applewood milled version with fictive alien squiggles :D

    https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/art/front-plate-for-modal-skulpt-va-synthesizer

    #musodon #diycnc #freecad #skulpt #modalelectronics

  33. Status: Happy.

    Tried Ondsel assembly today with a project that largely stalled bacause of the Fusion360 exodus.

    It' s basically a minimal ressource, part count and weight mill for soft plate material or laser applications. Originally inspired by the MPNC roller system.

    I like the Gui tweaks and helpers so far and it was mostly frictionless to assemble this project that has been altered by multiple Freecad Version and came originally from F360.

    Sure the sketches and informations are largely lost but its enough to make necessary adjustmens to the generally working design:

    #mechanicaldesign #freecad #ondsel #diycnc #makerculture #mpcnc

    -> This means I can finally release it in STEP (single parts) and Ondsel assembly format. \o/

    It's already brought to the real world waiting for some soldering and testing.

  34. My first design in #FreeCAD - two rotating plates that should (theoretically) slot into each other and allow the top plate to rotate on top of the bottom plate.

    #Cura says that each plate should take 3 hours on my #Neptune4. Let's see how the tolerances work out...

  35. MEHR HIMBEEREN!!! Soeben ist Update v2.50 der Softwaresammlung für Medienbildung an Schule und anderen Bildungsinstitutionen für den Minicomputer #raspberrypi 400 erschienen. Seit Mai 2021 entwickelt das #Medienzentrum die Sammlung kontinuierlich weiter. Erneut sind wichtige Ergänzungen und Erweiterungen dazugekommen, aber auch einige Altlasten entfernt worden. \O/ Zum Beispiel ist #MINETEST endlich wieder up-to-date - und auch #Freecad... Mehr Infos unter: m1z.eu/raspiupdate

  36. heise+ | Neun kostenlose 3D-CAD-Tools für Maker im Überblick

    Wer für seinen 3D-Drucker, Lasercutter oder die CNC-Fräse Vorlagen konstruiert, kann viel kostenlose Software nutzen. Ein Überblick mit Auswahlhilfe.
    Neun kostenlose 3D-CAD-Tools für Maker im Überblick