FreeCAD [How-to]

Great primer. Inexpensive.

If you are evaluating or planning to use FreeCAD, this book is a 'must have'. Combined with the FreeCAD Manual and several on-line tutorials available through the project's website, this is the quickest way to learn how to use FreeCAD and start being productive with it. The book is intended to be a reference that will continue to be useful as you advance in skill level while using FreeCAD. If you are just interested in learning about 3D Computer Aided Design in a generic way, there may other books that would serve you better. FreeCAD is a FREE Open Source parametric 3D modeler that runs on Windows, Linux and Mac OSX platforms. The current release is 0.12, so it is still a BETA version of a very promising software development project. While it may not be suitable today for production environments, the current version is quite useful for creating and manipulating STL (STereoLithography - also known as Standard Tessellation Language) files frequently used in Rapid Prototyping and Computer Aided Manufacturing. FreeCAD's modular design allows for extension and customization via Python language programming. If you have hobby interest in CNC uses for STL models and a limited budget, FreeCAD is definitely worth a look. The quickest way to learn it's interface and capabilities is to read this "How-To" and work through the exercises provided. The authors, Daniel Falck and Brad Collette, are active contributors to the FreeCAD project and each bring considerable experience to the topic. I found the book to be well organized and written ...with carefully considered, clear examples of key elements. Because FreeCAD is still a BETA version, many planned features are still unimplemented or incompletely implemented. The current core functionality, however, is very useful for CNC applications. Using what I learned from the book, I was able to quickly produce a simple 3D model of an 'adapter' I wanted to machine. After successfully creating the 'adapter' STL , I worked through the section for producing a 2D drawing to document the part and found a bug that may affect only the Windows version of FreeCAD. It should be fixed in a subsequent release and is only a minor disappointment for now.

I am always hesitant to give negative reviews. I am especially hesitant as this appears to be one of the few books on FreeCAD on the market. Unfortunately I have to voice my opinion as a consumer. This book is worthless to me. Approximately 30% is "About the Author", "What's Covered in this Book", and other such house-keeping. I have read many other instructional books and this not even qualified to be compared to them. I am no better off with FreeCAD than when I started. I'm somewhat experienced with 3D having worked in Cinema4D, Blender, and even AutoCAD (way back); I was able to learn those programs due to the efforts of authors that know quite a bit more about the craft of instruction and the subject of their book. I read the entirety of this overly simplistic and nearly fraudulent book while my daughter watched a single episode of Sesame Street. To say it in a few words, charging money for this book is nearly fraudulent. It is little more than the introduction copied and pasted with 10% more clarity added to each section to make a "chapter". Save your money and bumble through the online help forums. I will never purchase a "Paktpub" book again. If they sent me a copy, offered to pay me $10 to read it and write a review. I would probably still not waste my time. The book was that frustrating. If you value either your time or your money, do something else with them both.

I repeatedly had difficulty duplicating the steps from the book in the FreeCAD design environment. I don't know if that is a versioning issue, but makes me reluctant to rate it highly. If you're looking for a CAD program to learn, FreeCAD seems a little undercooked, and the documentation I have found reflects this. The price is right (free and open source), but I couldn't model a usable solid for my purposes following the direction in this book.

I bought the Kindle version for my PC, now I had to get the Kindle Fire to match. This book is easy to understand with precise instruction. Who needs the classroom. My computer desk serves as well.

While low cost, the book is very light on content. I hope the authors continue the development of the book to go into more complex concepts, shapes and the like.

I have well receved my book. All things are good. Sorry i am french and i don't write good english

it is very useful for learning freecad. The example is good to learn but the explain are not clear to understand.

Das Büchlein enthält ganze 55 Seiten. Der Inhalt ist nicht viel mehr als ein besseres Inhaltsverzeichnis, leider...... Wer sich ein Handbuch für FreeCAD wünscht ist damit falsch beraten. Das Büchlein enthält diverse Kurzanleitungen, vertieft wird aber nichts. Finger weg und warten bis der Markt was besseres hergibt.

As advertised

The book is a very good introduction to FreeCAD, describing in a concise way, through simple examples, how to use the program. It is just what it is needed to start working with the program, certainly ideal for inexperienced users. Although FreeCAD documentation is freely available in the web (and much more than what is in the book is available) the book presents FreeCAD in a very structured and concise way. I wish the authors will take this work a level up and will expand the book to become an in-depth guide to the use of FreeCAD.

Pythonスクリプトの使い方は、他にはあまり無い、例文付きの解説がありがたい。

Una sintetica guida ad un software CAD che di primo acchito ha un ostico approccio perchè poco intuitivo. Leggendola però, si impara l'assenziale per operare ed apprezzarne la potenzialità.