Manual:All workbenches at a glance

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As previously mentioned, FreeCAD offers various workbenches, each dedicated to different applications. Although the multitude of options might seem overwhelming at first, each workbench is designed to cater to specific tasks, making the overall workflow more efficient and tailored to various project requirements. For instance, the Part Design workbench is ideal for creating and modifying solid 3D models, while the Draft workbench is perfect for 2D drafting and drawing. This modular approach allows users to customize their interface and toolset according to their specific needs and preferences.

On this page, you will find information regarding the basic set of workbenches and their functionalities. For additional information, feel free to refer to each workbench page in the FreeCAD documentation for a more complete list.

An interesting feature of FreeCAD is the ability to obtain additional information by hovering the mouse over a command. This tooltip functionality helps users understand what each command does, providing guidance and making it easier to learn and navigate the software.

Four workbenches are also designed to work in pairs, with one fully incorporated into the other: BIM contains all the Draft tools, and Part Design includes all the Sketcher tools. However, for clarity, they are separated below.

Part

The Part Workbench offers fundamental tools for working with solid parts, including primitives like cubes and spheres, as well as basic geometric and boolean operations. Serving as the primary link with OpenCasCade, the Part Workbench forms the cornerstone of FreeCAD's geometry system, with nearly all other workbenches generating Part-based geometry. This parametric modeling system enables precise control and modification of 3D models through a history-based workflow. Users can build and refine complex designs by stacking and adjusting simpler shapes and operations, ensuring a robust and flexible design process.

Tool Description Tool Description
Box Creates a box Cylinder Creates a cylinder
Sphere Creates a sphere Cone Creates a cone
Torus Creates a torus (ring) Create primitives Creates a tube
Create primitives Creates various other parametric geometric primitives Shape builder Create more complex shapes from primitives
Extrude Extrudes planar faces of an object Revolve Creates a solid by revolving another object (not solid) around an axis
Mirror Mirrors the selected object on a given mirror plane Scale Scales a selected shape
Fillet Fillets (rounds) edges of an object Chamfer Chamfers edges of an object
MakeFace Creates a face from a sketch Ruled Surface Create a ruled surface between selected curves
Part_Loft Lofts from one profile to another Sweep Sweeps one or more profiles along a path
Section Creates a section by intersecting an object with a section plane CrossSections Creates multiple cross sections along an object
Offset Creates a scaled copy of the original object Thickness Assign a thickness to the faces of a shape
Project on Face Project a shape on top of a face Color Face Define a color for each face/surface of an object
Make Compound Makes a compound of several shapes Explode Compound Splits up a compound of shapes
Compound Filter Filters compounded objects based on a parameter (e.g volume, area, other object) Boolean Run a boolean operation on two selected objects
Cut Cuts (subtracts) one object from another Fuse Fuses (unites) selected Part objects into one
Common Extracts the common (intersection) part of two objects JoinConnect Connects interiors of walled objects
JoinEmbed Embeds a walled object into another walled object JoinCutout Creates a cutout in a wall of an object for another walled object
Boolean Fragment Computes all fragments that can result from applying Boolean operations between input shapes Slice apart Splits shapes by intersection with other shapes
Slice to compound Splits shapes by intersection with other shapes Boolean XOR Removes geometry shared by an even number of objects
Check Geometry Checkes geometry for errors Defeaturing Removes features from a shape

Part Design

The PartDesign Workbench in FreeCAD is an essential tool for creating and modifying solid 3D models. It allows users to design complex parts by sketching 2D profiles and then applying various operations such as extrusions, lofts, and revolutions to generate 3D geometry. This workbench also supports the creation of features like pockets, holes, fillets, and chamfers, providing a comprehensive set of tools for detailed part design. Additionally, the Part Design Workbench integrates seamlessly with the Sketcher Workbench, enabling users to define and constrain sketches that serve as the foundation for 3D models. This integration facilitates a parametric design approach, allowing for easy adjustments and updates to the model throughout the design process.

Tool Description Tool Description
Pad Extrudes a solid object from a selected sketch Revolution Creates a solid by revolving a sketch around an axis
Additive loft Creates a solid by making a transition between two or more sketches. Additive pipe Creates a solid by sweeping one or more sketches along an open or closed path.
Additive helix Creates a solid by sweeping a sketch along a helix. Additive box Create an additive box
Additive cylinder Creates an additive cylinder Additive sphere Create an additive sphere
Additive cone Creates an additive cone Additive ellipsoid Create an additive ellipsoid
Additive torus Creates an additive torus Additive prism Create an additive prism
Additive wedge Creates an additive wedge Pocket Creates a pocket from a selected sketch
Hole Creates a hole feature from a selected circle sketch Groove Creates a groove by revolving a sketch around an axis
Subtractive loft Creates a solid shape by making a transition between two or more sketches and subtracts it from the active body Subtractive pipe Creates a solid shape by sweeping one or more sketches along an open or closed path and subtracts it from the active body
Subtractive helix Creates a solid shape by sweeping a sketch along a helix and subtracts it from the active body Subtractive box Adds a subtractive box to the active body
Subtractive cylinder Adds a subtractive cylinder to the active body Subtractive sphere Adds a subtractive sphere to the active body
Subtractive cone Adds a subtractive cone to the active body Subtractive ellipsoid Adds a subtractive ellipsoid to the active body
Subtractive torus Adds a subtractive torus to the active body Subtractive prism Adds a subtractive prism to the active body
Subtractive wedge Adds a subtractive wedge to the active body Boolean Perform boolean operations on the selected objects
Fillet Fillets (rounds) the edges of the active body Chamfer Chamfers the edges of the active body
Draft Applies angular draft to faces of an object Thickness Creates a thick shell from the active body and opens selected face
Mirrored Mirrors features on a plane or face Linear pattern Creates a linear pattern of features
Polar pattern Creates a polar pattern of features Multitransform Allows creating a pattern with any combination of the other transformations

Draft

The Draft Workbench in FreeCAD is designed for creating and editing 2D drawings. It offers a range of tools for drafting, including lines, arcs, circles, and text. Users can also perform operations like trimming, extending, and offsetting. The Draft Workbench is particularly useful for architectural drawings and can be used to create complex 2D geometries that can be later transformed into 3D models. It integrates seamlessly with other workbenches, providing a versatile foundation for both 2D and 3D design projects.

Tool Description Tool Description
Line Draws a line segment between 2 points Polyline Draws a line made of multiple line segments (polyline)
Fillet Creates a fillet (rounded corner) or a chamfer (straight edge) between two lines Arc Draws an arc segment from center, radius, start angle and end angle
Arc by 3 points Creates a circular arc from three points that define its circumference. Circle Draws a circle from center and radius
Ellipse Draws an ellipse from two corner points Rectangle Draws a rectangle from 2 opposite points
Polygon Draws a regular polygon from a center and a radius BSpline Draws a B-Spline from a series of points
Bezier Curve Draws a Bezier curve from a series of points Cubic Bézier curve Creates a Bézier curve comprised of cubic segments
Point Inserts a single point Facebinder Creates a new object from selected faces on existing objects
Shapestring Inserts a compound shape representing a text string at a given point in the current document Hatch Creates hatches on the planar faces of a selected object
Text Creates a multi-line annotation Dimension Creates a dimension
Label Creates a label Annotation styles Allows you to define styles that affect the visual properties of annotation-like objects
Move Moves or copies objects from one location to another Rotate Rotates objects by a certain angle around a point
Scale Scales objects in relation to a point Mirror Mirrors objects across a line
Offset Offsets an object to a certain distance Trimex Trims, extends or extrudes an object
Stretch Stretches objects by moving selected points. Clone Creates linked copies of objects
Array Creates an orthogonal array from a selected object Polar array Creates an array from a selected object by placing copies along a circumference
Circular array Creates an array from a selected object by placing copies along concentric circumferences Path array Creates an array from a selected object by placing copies along a path.
Path link array Works similar to a path array but creates a Link array instead of a regular array. Point array Creates an array from a selected object by placing copies at the points from a point compound.
Point link array Works similar to a path array but create a Link array instead of a regular array. Path twisted array Creates twisted copies along a path
Path linked twisted array Creates twisted linked copies along a path Edit Edit the active model
Subelement highlight Temporarily highlights selected objects, or the base objects of selected objects Join Joins Draft Lines and Draft Wires into a single object
Split Splits a Draft Line or Draft Wire at a specified point or edge. Upgrade Turns or joins objects into a higher-level object
Downgrade Turns or separates objects into lower-level objects Shape 2D View Creates a 2D object which is a flattened view of another object
Wire to B-spline Converts Draft Wires to Draft BSplines and vice versa. Draft to Sketch Converts a Draft object to a Sketch and vice-versa
Set slope Slopes selected Draft Lines or Draft Wires Flip dimension Rotates the dimension text of selected Draft Dimensions 180° around the dimension line
Shape 2D view Creates 2D projections from selected objects Snap lock Enables or disables snapping globally
Snap endpoint Snaps to the endpoints of edges. Snap midpoint Snaps to the midpoint of edges
Snap center Snaps to the center point of faces and circular edges Snap angle Snaps to the special cardinal points on circular edges, at multiples of 30° and 45°
Snap intersection Snaps to the intersection of two edges Snap perpendicular Snaps to the perpendicular points on faces and edges.
Snap extension Snaps to an imaginary line that extends beyond the endpoints of straight edges Snap parallel Snaps to an imaginary line parallel to straight edges
Snap special Snaps to special points defined by the object. Snap near Snaps to the nearest point on faces and edges
Snap ortho Snaps to imaginary lines that cross the previous point at multiples of 45°. Snap grid Snaps to the intersections of grid lines.
Snap working plane Projects snap points onto the current working plane Snap dimensions Shows temporary X and Y dimensions

Sketcher

The Sketcher Workbench contains tools to build and edit complex 2D objects, called sketches. The geometry inside these sketches can be precisely positioned and relationed by the use of constraints. They are primarily meant to be the building blocks of PartDesign geometry, but are useful everywhere in FreeCAD.

Tool Description Tool Description
Point Draws a point Polyline Draws a line made of multiple line segments
Line Draws a line segment from 2 points Arc Draws an arc segment from center, radius, start angle and end angle
Arc 3 points Draws an arc segment from two endpoints and another point on the circumference Arc of ellipse Creates an arc of ellipse
Arc of hyperbola Creates an arc of hyperbola Arc of parabola Creates an arc of parabola
Circle Draws a circle from center and radius Circle 3 points Draws a circle from three points on the circumference
Ellipse Draws an ellipse by center point, major radius point and minor radius point Ellipse 3 points Draws an ellipse by major diameter (2 points) and minor radius point
Rectangle Draws a rectangle from 2 opposite points Centered rectangle: Creates a centered rectangle
Rounded rectangle Creates a rounded rectangle Triangle Draws a regular triangle inscribed in a construction geometry circle
Square Draws a regular square inscribed in a construction geometry circle Pentagon Draws a regular pentagon inscribed in a construction geometry circle
Hexagon Draws a regular hexagon inscribed in a construction geometry circle Heptagon Draws a regular heptagon inscribed in a construction geometry circle
Octagon Draws a regular octagon inscribed in a construction geometry circle Regular polygon Creates a regular polygon. The number of sides can be specified
Slot Creates a slot Arc slot Creates an arc slot
B-spline by control points Creates a B-spline curve by control points Periodic B-spline by control points Creates a periodic (closed) B-spline curve by control points.
B-spline by knots Creates a B-spline curve by knot points Periodic B-spline by knots Creates a periodic (closed) B-spline curve by knot points
Construction mode Toggles an element to/from construction mode Dimension Based on the current selection, it offers appropriate dimensional/geometric constraints
Horizontal distance Fixes the horizontal distance between two points or the endpoints of a line Vertical distance Fixes the vertical distance between two points or the endpoints of a line
Distance Fixes the length of a line, the distance between two points, the perpendicular distance from a point to a line, the distance between edges of two circles/arcs or between a circle/arc and a line, or the length of an arc Auto radius/diameter Fixes the radius of arcs and B-spline weight circles, and the diameter of circles
Radius Fixes the radius of circles, arcs and B-spline weight circles Diameter Fixes the diameter of circles and arcs.
Angle Fixes the angle between two edges, the angle of a line with the horizontal axis of the sketch, or the aperture angle of a circular arc Lock Constrains the selected item by setting vertical and horizontal distances relative to the origin, thereby locking the location of that item
Coincident (unified) Creates a coincident constraint between points, fixes points on edges or axes, or creates a concentric constraint Horizontal/vertical Constrains lines or pairs of points to be horizontal or vertical, whichever is closest to the current alignment
Horizontal Constrains the selected lines or polyline elements to a true horizontal orientation. More than one object can be selected before applying this constraint Vertical Constrains the selected lines or polyline elements to a true vertical orientation. More than one object can be selected before applying this constraint.
Parallel Constrains lines to be parallel. Perpendicular Constrains two lines to be perpendicular
Tangent or collinear Creates a tangent constraint between two selected entities, or a co-linear constraint between two line segments Equal length Constrains two selected entities equal to one another. If used on circles or arcs their radii will be set equal
Symmetric Constrains two points to be symmetrical around a line or axis, or around a third point Block Blocks edges in place with a single constraint. It is mainly intended for B-splines
Fillet Creates a fillet between two non-parallel edges Chamfer Creates a chamfer between two non-parallel edges
Trim Trims an edge at the nearest intersections with other edges Split Splits an edge while transferring most constraints
Extend Extends or shortens a line or an arc to an arbitrary location, or to a target edge or point External geometry Projects edges and/or vertices belonging to objects outside the sketch onto the sketch plane
Carbon copy Copies all geometry and constraints from another sketch into the active sketch Select origin Selects the origin of the sketch
Select horizontal axis Selects the horizontal axis of the sketch Select vertical axis Selects the vertical axis of the sketch
Array transform Moves or optionally creates copies of selected elements Polar transform Rotates or optionally creates rotated copies of selected elements
Scale transform Scales or optionally creates scaled copies of selected elements Offset geometry Creates equidistant edges around selected edges
Symmetry Creates mirrored copies of selected elements Remove axes alignment Removes the axes alignment of selected edges by replacing Horizontal and Vertical constraints with Parallel and Perpendicular constraints

BIM

The BIM Workbench (a combination of the former BIM, Native-IFC and Arch Workbenches) workbench is tailored for architectural design and construction planning, offering tools to create and manipulate parametric building elements like walls, slabs, columns, beams, roofs, and windows. It supports IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) for seamless data exchange with other BIM software, facilitating collaboration. Users can generate detailed 2D drawings, annotations, and construction documentation from 3D models, integrating closely with the Draft workbench for tasks like creating floor plans, sections, and elevations.

Tool Description Tool Description
Site Creates a site including selected objects Building Creates a building including selected objects
Space Creates a space object in the document Level Creates a floor including selected objects
Wall Creates a wall from scratch or using a selected object as a base Curtain Wall Creates a curtain wall from scratch or using a selected object as a base
Column Creates a column at a specified location Beam Creates a beam between two points
Slab Creates a slab from a planar shape Door Places a door at a given location
Window Creates a window using a selected object as a base Pipe Creates a pipe.
Connector Creates a corner or T-connection between 2 or 3 selected pipes Stairs Creates a stairs object in the document
Roof Creates a sloped roof from a selected face Panel Creates a panel object from a selected 2D object
Frame Creates a frame object from a selected layout Fence Creates a fence from the selected section,post and path
Truss Creates a truss from selected line or from scratch Equipment Creates an equipment or furniture object
Rebar Creates a reinforcement bar based on a sketch or a selected face Profile Creates a parametric 2D profile
Box Creates a generic box Library Opens the object library
Component Adds un undefined architectural component Reference Creates an external reference object
Aligned Dimension Creates an aligned dimension Horizontal Dimension Creates a horizontal dimension
Vertical Dimension Creates a horizontal dimension Leader Creates a polyline with an arrow at it's endpoint
Axis Adds a 1-direction array of axes Axis System Adds an axis system composed of several axes
Grid Adds a grid-like object Section Plane Adds a section plane object
Hatch Create hatched at the selected face View Creates a tech draw view from a section plane or 2D object
Material Sets or creates a material for the selected object Schedule Creates different types of schedules to collect data from the model

Other built-in workbenches

Although the above summarizes the most important tools of FreeCAD, many more workbenches are available, among them:

  • The TechDraw Workbench for producing technical drawings from 3D models.
  • The Mesh Workbench allows to work with polygon meshes. Although meshes are not the preferred type of geometry to work with in FreeCAD, because of their lack of precision and support for curves, meshes still have a lot of uses, and are fully supported in FreeCAD. The Mesh Workbench also offers a number of Part-to-Mesh and Mesh-to-Part tools.
  • The Spreadsheet Workbench permits the creation and manipulation of spreadsheet data, that can be extracted from FreeCAD models. Spreadsheet cells can also be referenced in many areas of FreeCAD, allowing to use them as master data structures.
  • The FEM Workbench deals with Finite Elements Analysis, and permits the performing of pre- and post-processing FEM calculations and to display the results graphically.

External workbenches

A number of other very useful workbenches produced by FreeCAD community members also exist. Although they are not included in a standard FreeCAD installation,they are easy to install as plug-ins. They are all referenced in the FreeCAD-addons repository. Among the most developed are:

  • The Drawing Dimensioning Workbench offers many new tools to work directly on Drawing Sheets and allow you to add dimensions, annotations and other technical symbols with great control over their aspect. The Drawing Dimensioning Workbench is no longer maintained.
  • The Fasteners Workbench offers a wide range of ready-to-insert fasteners objects like screws, bolts, rods, washers and nuts. Many options and settings are available.
  • The A2plus workbench offers a series of tools to mount and work with assemblies.

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