#freecad — Public Fediverse posts

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 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.

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

https://blog.freecad.org/2026/09/11/freecad-swag-shop-now-open/

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

https://blog.freecad.org/2026/09/11/freecad-swag-shop-now-open/

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

https://blog.freecad.org/2026/09/11/freecad-swag-shop-now-open/

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

https://blog.freecad.org/2026/09/11/freecad-swag-shop-now-open/

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

https://blog.freecad.org/2026/09/11/freecad-swag-shop-now-open/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

https://www.printables.com/model/1838517

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

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:
https://nueb.net/blob/Kling-el.zip

#velomobile
#FreeCAD

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

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

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.

Every Free App You Actually Need Explained (Part 1-4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGWSs6laAO0

#OpenSource #freeapps #LibreOffice
#VLC Media Player
#DaVinci Resolve
#OBS Studio
#GIMP
#Audacity
#Blender
#Obsidian
#Scratch
#Godot
#Krita
#Photopea
#Inkscape
#LMMS
#Shotcut / Kdenlive
#KeePassXC
#Thunderbird
#Calibre
#Joplin
#MPV
#Affinity
#ProtonVPN
#Bitwarden
#PDF24 Creator
#LocalSend
#VirtualBox
#Notepad++
#FreeCAD
#Ardour
#WinRAR
#Everything
#Syncthing
#Penpot
#Proton Pass
#KDE Connect
#Parsec
#VSCodium
#Scribus
#HandBrake
#7-Zip
#ShareX
#qBittorrent
#Free Download Manager
#totalcommander

The only minor damage I found was this broken edge of the battery cover—which, in theory, would allow the pin of the door hinge to wander off and let the back door come loose.

To fix this, I cut off the broken edge and filed it flat. Then I designed a new end piece in #FreeCAD, 3D-printed it and glued it in place.

It's not perfect—it wasn't easy to file the edge straight and true—but it is #functional.

#repair #3dPrinting #filmPhotography #35mm #Canon #pointAndShoot

Prototype#1

Dessin sous Salomé_Méca+Freecad terminé et prêt pour impression 3D//Technical drawing completed in Salome_Meca+FreeCAD, ready for 3D printing

#electricite #electricity #greenEnergy #greenTransition #greenpower #transitionEcologique #transitionenergetique #hydroelectricite #renouvenable #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #UpheavalClimate #ecology #environment #climate #changementclimatique #savoirscientifique #pédagogie #citoyenneté #transitionEcologique #shutterprecision #frenchtech #codesaturne #codeaster #EDF#salome #salomemeca #mesh #maillage #codeaster #codesaturne #simvia #linux #linuxmint #freecad #FreeCADFriday #3Dprinting #Impression3D

Freecad object tested with Code Saturne CFD#2 // Objet Freecad testé avec Code Saturne n°2

Vitesse/speed

#electricite #electricity #greenEnergy #greenTransition #greenpower #transitionEcologique #transitionenergetique #hydroelectricite #renouvenable #frenchtech #codesaturne #codeaster #EDF#salome #salomemeca #mesh #maillage #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #UpheavalClimate #ecology #environment #climate #codeaster #codesaturne #simvia #linux #linuxmint #freecad #freecadfriday

Bambu Studio hat ein Feature, das ich mir in dieser Eleganz in FreeCAD wünschen würde: Schneiden und Verbinder. Modell zu groß oder von der Topologie her nicht druckbar? Einfach schneiden und über das Verbinder-Tool passende Stecker-, Dübel- oder Clipverbinder einfügen.

#BambuStudio #FreeCAD #3DPrinting

There's still one use case I've not found a suitable application for on #Linux: 3D #CAD. I've tried #FreeCAD, but it constantly crashes with even the simplest assemblies. So I'm back using #AutodeskFusion360 on #Windows. Which does not reasonably run in #VirtualBox (3D, you know). Which implies rebooting. Which implies re-pairing my #Bluetooth mouse. Every. Time.