The open-source parametric 3D modeling software FreeCAD is out in a release candidate for version 1.0. If you’ve tried FreeCAD before and found a few showstoppers, now might be a good time to try it again, as the two biggest ones have been fixed in this latest version.
First, version 1.0 finally implements a solution to the “topological naming problem”. Imagine you want to make a hole in a surface. The program needs to know which surface the hole should be made on, so it refers to this surface by name/number. Now imagine you subdivide the surface and give both subsections new names. Where does your hole go now? If you want to dig into the problem, the inimitable (MangoJelly) has a great video on the topological naming problem. In practice, there were workarounds, such as adding bevels only after the main design has been stabilized, but honestly, it was a hassle to remember all the tricks. This is a huge solution.
The second major solution is assemblies. Older versions of FreeCAD were great for making individual parts, but combining them in the CAD program was always rickety. Version 1.0 combines the previous two patchwork assembly workbenches into one, and it is generally more pleasant to use. The limitations of how two parts move when held together with an axis just works now, and this is a big problem for multi-part models.
If you’re coming from another parametric CAD program, most of FreeCAD will be familiar, but there will be some workflow differences that will take some getting used to. What do you get in return? Scriptability in Python, true open source software, and all the bells and whistles for free. With the two biggest pain points addressed, FreeCAD just got a whole lot easier to love. We’re looking forward to some good V1.0 tutorials in the future, and we’ll keep you posted when we find them.