FreeCAD is highly extensible, and its functionality can be greatly enhanced with add-ons (also called workbenches or macros). These add-ons provide specialized tools for various design tasks, from architectural modeling to advanced simulations. Here are some of the top FreeCAD add-ons to supercharge your design work:
1. Assembly Workbenches-:
These add-ons help you create and manage assemblies (groups of parts that fit together).
a. A2plus Assembly Workbench-:
Another assembly workbench for FreeCAD, following and extending Hamish’s Assembly 2 workbench hence Assembly2plus.
The main goal of A2plus is to create a very simple, easy to use, and not over-featured workbench for FreeCAD assemblies. Using the KISS principle: KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID
A2plus workbench tries to implement a new constraint solving algorithm to avoid some problems that occurred with the original solver. It is still under development and experimental at this moment but is showing some potential.
This project started as a fork of Hamish’s Assembly 2 workbench (development on A2 went dormant and was unmaintained for a long period). A2plus can be used with FreeCAD from v0.16 including support for importing parts from external files.
- Purpose: Assembly design and management.
- Features:
- Create and constrain assemblies.
- Supports importing parts from other FreeCAD files.
- Easy-to-use interface for assembling components.
- Installation: Via the FreeCAD Addon Manager.
Known issue with A2Plus-: A weak point is, and is similar to Assembly 2, updating / reimporting parts from external files. Constraints will break. You should delete constraints of parts before reimporting them. After that please constrain these parts again. This behavior is due to FreeCAD’s lack of Topological Naming and is difficult to correct at the moment. This phenomena is seen in many proprietary CAD solutions. Some work is being done to address this in future releases of FreeCAD which will improve this behaviour.
b. Assembly4 Workbench-:
This assembly workbench allows to assemble into a single assembly container other FreeCAD objects, and place them relative to the assembly and to each-other. The parts in the assembly can be in the same document as the assembly or in an external document. When parts are modified in their original document, they are instantly updated in the assembly.
An Assembly4 Assembly is a standard FreeCAD App::Part container, therefore it is compatible and can be manipulated with any FreeCAD tool handling App::Part objects. In particular, it can be inserted into another Assembly to create nested assemblies to any level. It can also contain solids, datum objects and sketches. A document can contain only 1 Assembly. Native FreeCAD Part and Body containers can be used as “part” to be inserted. Being built on standard FreeCAD objects, all Assembly4 assemblies are fully compatible with all standard FreeCAD tools.
Parts are placed relative to each-other by matching features inside them. Specifically, in Assembly4, these features are virtual objects called LCS (for Local Coordinate System, also called datum coordinate system) and are attached using FreeCAD’s built-in Part::Attacher and ExpressionEngine. No geometry is used to place and constrain parts relative to each other, thus avoiding a lot of the topological naming problems. These built-in tools are also very fast, efficient and stable allowing very large assemblies with many levels of nested sub-assemblies.
Please Note: only Part and Body containers at the root of a document can be inserted. Objects nested inside containers cannot be used directly by Assembly4.
- Purpose: Advanced assembly design using local coordinate systems (LCS).
- Features:
- Uses App::Part and Body objects for assemblies.
- Supports complex constraints and animations.
- Ideal for mechanical designs.
- Installation: Via the FreeCAD Addon Manager.
3. 3D Printing and Mesh Tools-:
These add-ons help prepare models for 3D printing and work with mesh files.
a. Mesh Remodel Workbench-:
Use this workbench to aid in remodeling imported mesh objects. The preferred workflow is to select the mesh, then click either create points object or create wireframe object. This creates an object with selectable points or edges at all of the mesh vertices or edges. Use the selectable points or edges to create Mesh Remodel elements, such as points, line segments, arcs, circles, or bsplines. You can then select those created elements and form a wire using the create a wire (Draft upgrade) tool, which wire can then be also upgraded to a face. The face can be used with Part Extrude, Part Sweep, Part Revolve, and Part Loft tools to create solids.
- Purpose: Convert mesh models (e.g., STL) into parametric CAD models.
- Features:
- Create sketches and solids from mesh data.
- Ideal for reverse engineering or modifying 3D scans.
- Installation: Via the FreeCAD Addon Manager.
b. 3D Printing Tools Workbench-:
The 3D Printing Tools Workbench provides additional tools for preparing models for 3D printing. like scale the model, change the unit & convert mesh into solid. I open model converted into mesh into FreeCAD and you can see various option as shown in below image.
Use slicing software (e.g., Cura, PrusaSlicer) to generate G-code for your 3D printer.Import your STL file into the slicer and adjust settings like layer height, infill, and supports.
4. Rendering and Visualization-:
These add-ons enhance FreeCAD’s rendering capabilities.
a. Render Workbench-:
A FreeCAD workbench to produce high-quality rendered images from your FreeCAD document, using open-source external rendering engines.
The Render Workbench is a replacement for the built-in Raytracing Workbench of FreeCAD. It is based on the same philosophy, but aims to improve certain aspects of Raytracing:
- The Render Workbench is written fully in Python, which should make it much easier to understand and extend by non-C++ programmers.
- Exporters to rendering engines are implemented as plugins, which should facilitate the addition of new engines. The Render Workbench already supports several more renderers than Raytracing Workbench, like Appleseed, LuxCoreRender and Cycles.
- The Render Workbench provides enhanced features, compared to Raytracing:
- various scene lighting features (point lights, area lights, sunsky etc.) and preconfigured lightings as templates
- camera enhanced control
- material support
- texture support
- renderers’ advanced features handling: denoising, batch mode etc.
- Purpose: Create photorealistic renderings of your models.
- Features:
- Supports external renderers like POV-Ray, Blender Cycles, and LuxRender.
- Configure materials, lighting, and cameras.
- Installation: Via the FreeCAD Addon Manager.
b. Animation FreeCAD Workbench-:
The FreeCAD Animation workbench allows users to animate any object easily through visual scripting Nodes thanks to PyFlow. Animation FreeCAD Workbench offer you a new way to create small animations on FreeCAD through visual scripting.
- Purpose: Create animations of your designs.
- Features:
- Animate movements and transformations.
- Export animations as GIFs or videos.
- Installation: Via the FreeCAD Addon Manager.
5. Mechanical Design and Simulation Workbench-:
These add-ons are designed for mechanical engineering and simulation tasks.
a. Fasteners Workbench-:
The FreeCAD Fasteners Workbench is a powerful tool that allows engineers, designers, and hobbyists to easily add fasteners such as bolts, screws, nuts, washers, and pins to their 3D models. This workbench provides a user-friendly interface with a wide range of customizable options for creating and positioning various types of fasteners within the design. Users can select from standard metric or imperial sizes, specify thread pitch and diameter, adjust length and head type, and even choose material properties for accurate simulations.
The ability to accurately model fasteners within a design is crucial for ensuring proper fitment and functionality in real-world applications. By utilizing the FreeCAD Fasteners Workbench, professionals can streamline their workflow, save time on manual calculations and measurements, and ultimately produce more accurate and reliable designs.
- Purpose: Add standard fasteners (e.g., screws, nuts, bolts) to your designs.
- Features:
- Includes a library of common fasteners.
- Easily insert and adjust fasteners in assemblies.
- Installation: Via the FreeCAD Addon Manager.
b. FEM Workbench (Built-in)-:
The FEM Workbench provides a modern finite element analysis (FEA) workflow for FreeCAD. Mainly this means all tools to make an analysis are combined into one graphical user interface (GUI). The FEM Workbench can be used on Linux, Windows, and Mac OSX. Since the workbench makes use of external solvers, the amount of manual setup will depend on the operating system that you are using. See FEM Install for instructions on setting up the external tools.
- Purpose: Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for simulations.
- Features:
- Perform structural, thermal, and fluid flow simulations.
- Supports external solvers like CalculiX and Elmer.
- Note: FEM Workbench is included in FreeCAD by default but can be extended with additional solvers.
c. CfdOF (Computational Fluid Dynamics)-:
This workbench aims to help users set up and run CFD analyses within the FreeCAD modeler, and serves as a front-end (GUI) for the popular OpenFOAM® CFD toolkit (www.openfoam.org, www.openfoam.com). It guides the user in selecting the relevant physics, specifying the material properties, generating a mesh, assigning boundary conditions and choosing the solver settings before running the simulation. Best practices are specified to maximise the stability of the solvers.
- Purpose: Simulate fluid dynamics and heat transfer.
- Features:
- Uses OpenFOAM as the solver.
- Set up and analyze fluid flow simulations.
- Installation: Via the FreeCAD Addon Manager.
d. FCGear Workbench-:
The FreeCAD Gear Workbench is an essential tool for engineers and designers who require precision and accuracy in designing gear systems. This feature-rich workbench offers a wide range of tools and functions tailored specifically for creating various types of gears, such as spur, helical, bevel, worm, and rack gears. Users can easily define parameters like module, number of teeth, pitch diameter, pressure angle, and backlash to generate customized gear designs.
With intuitive controls and a user-friendly interface, the FreeCAD Gear Workbench allows for quick prototyping and testing of gear mechanisms before moving on to manufacturing. Additionally, its compatibility with different CAD formats ensures seamless integration with other design software applications. Overall, the FreeCAD Gear Workbench is a valuable resource that streamlines the gear design process for professionals in various industries.
- Purpose: Design gears and mechanical components.
- Features:
- Create various types of gears (e.g., spur, helical, bevel).
- Customize gear parameters for precise designs.
- Installation: Via the FreeCAD Addon Manager.
e. KiCad StepUp Workbench-:
The KiCad StepUp Workbench is a powerful tool that enables seamless integration and collaboration between KiCad, a popular open-source electronic design automation (EDA) software, and mechanical design programs such as FreeCAD. This workbench allows users to easily transfer PCB layouts created in KiCad into FreeCAD for further mechanical design and simulation, enhancing the overall efficiency of the product development process.
By enabling accurate 3D visualization of PCB designs within a mechanical environment, engineers can evaluate potential interferences and conflicts early on in the design phase, leading to improved product performance and reduced time-to-market. The KiCad StepUp Workbench also offers advanced features such as interactive ECAD/MCAD co-design capabilities, allowing for precise alignment of electronic components with mechanical structures. Overall, this tool enhances collaboration between electrical and mechanical engineering teams, streamlining the product development workflow and improving design accuracy.
- Purpose: Integrate FreeCAD with KiCad for PCB design.
- Features:
- Import/export PCB designs between FreeCAD and KiCad.
- Create 3D models of PCBs and enclosures.
- Installation: Via the FreeCAD Addon Manager.
6. Productivity and Utilities-:
These add-ons streamline your workflow and add useful utilities.
a. Sheet Metal Workbench-:
The FreeCAD SheetMetal Workbench is a powerful tool tailored specifically for designing sheet metal components and structures within the FreeCAD open-source 3D modeling platform. This specialized workbench streamlines the process of creating complex sheet metal parts by providing a range of features, including fully parametric design capabilities, advanced unfolding algorithms, and comprehensive tools for bend allowance calculation. With its intuitive interface and accurate simulation tools, this workbench enables engineers and designers to efficiently create precise sheet metal designs that meet specific manufacturing requirements while reducing time-consuming manual calculations and errors.
The ability to seamlessly integrate with other FreeCAD workbenches further enhances its versatility, making it an invaluable resource for professionals working in industries such as automotive, aerospace, and architecture. Its robust functionality and user-friendly design make the FreeCAD SheetMetal Workbench a valuable asset for any professional seeking to optimize their sheet metal design process.
- Purpose: Design sheet metal parts.
- Features:
- Create bends, folds, and flat patterns.
- Ideal for designing enclosures, brackets, and other sheet metal components.
- Installation: Via the FreeCAD Addon Manager.
b. Dynamic Data Workbench-:
With this workbench you can create custom Feature Python objects to serve as containers for custom dynamic properties. These custom properties can then be used in much the same way as cells in a spreadsheet. Users can refer to a custom property in a sketcher constraint (or from anywhere the Expression Engine can be accessed) the same way one might refer to a cell in a spreadsheet. Take note that FCStd files containing these DynamicData dd objects can be shared with other users who do not have the DynamicData workbench installed on their systems and yet will still remain fully functional.
- Purpose: Manage and link data across your project.
- Features:
- Create dynamic spreadsheets and link them to model parameters.
- Useful for parametric design and data-driven modeling.
- Installation: Via the FreeCAD Addon Manager.
FreeCAD’s add-ons significantly expand its capabilities, making it a versatile tool for a wide range of design tasks. Whether you’re working on mechanical assemblies, architectural designs, or 3D printing projects, these add-ons can help you work faster and more efficiently. Explore the FreeCAD Addon Manager to discover even more tools tailored to your needs!