Michael K Johnson on Nostr: npub16mtxp…dpnwy #FreeCAD workbenches are sets of related tools that work together ...
npub16mtxp68k8c3p2sj0wzhagt3kd8ywkvzlkfyt3vrx9cahzfz000vs8dpnwy (npub16mt…pnwy) #FreeCAD workbenches are sets of related tools that work together to create various kinds of objects. The interface is modal, and the workbench selects the mode.
Part Design is an opinionated, streamlined workflow that integrates most of what you need to make individual bodies, which might then be combined into compound Parts or Assemblies. The assumptions it makes that allow it to streamline the workflow, which can reduce implementation effort, are also constraints that make it limited in purpose. These aren't really bugs, they are streamlining. A classic example constraint here is that every operation acting on a Part Design Body must continue to be one contiguous body. You could not first model a bunch of separate pieces, and then add a feature that ties them all together into a single body as a later operation.
Using Sketcher / Draft / Part, by contrast, is a general, less opinionated, less streamlined workflow. It's a lot more like a GUI version of working in #OpenSCAD. Here, you could design many different pieces, then use boolean operations to combine them into a single manifold object. (Incidentally, you can even literally write OpenSCAD code; with some exceptions, FreeCAD can run OpenSCAD code as part of making models.)
These workbenches aren't exclusive. You can do a lot of mix-and-match. You can make a Part in the Sketcher / Draft / Part workflow, then use it as a base feature in Part Design, and do normal Part Design operations on top of that base feature. You can use Draft to create a ShapeString (text), then drop it into a Part Design Body and use it for Part Design operations.
Ultimately, they are just different sets of partially-overlapping tools. It's not so much "what workbench everybody uses" but more learning different workflows with different costs and benefits, which happen to use different workbenches. It's just different approaches to design.
Hope that helps!
Part Design is an opinionated, streamlined workflow that integrates most of what you need to make individual bodies, which might then be combined into compound Parts or Assemblies. The assumptions it makes that allow it to streamline the workflow, which can reduce implementation effort, are also constraints that make it limited in purpose. These aren't really bugs, they are streamlining. A classic example constraint here is that every operation acting on a Part Design Body must continue to be one contiguous body. You could not first model a bunch of separate pieces, and then add a feature that ties them all together into a single body as a later operation.
Using Sketcher / Draft / Part, by contrast, is a general, less opinionated, less streamlined workflow. It's a lot more like a GUI version of working in #OpenSCAD. Here, you could design many different pieces, then use boolean operations to combine them into a single manifold object. (Incidentally, you can even literally write OpenSCAD code; with some exceptions, FreeCAD can run OpenSCAD code as part of making models.)
These workbenches aren't exclusive. You can do a lot of mix-and-match. You can make a Part in the Sketcher / Draft / Part workflow, then use it as a base feature in Part Design, and do normal Part Design operations on top of that base feature. You can use Draft to create a ShapeString (text), then drop it into a Part Design Body and use it for Part Design operations.
Ultimately, they are just different sets of partially-overlapping tools. It's not so much "what workbench everybody uses" but more learning different workflows with different costs and benefits, which happen to use different workbenches. It's just different approaches to design.
Hope that helps!