Draft Facebinder

This documentation is a work in progress. Please don't mark it as translatable since it will change in the next hours and days.

Point

ShapeString

Draft

Draft Facebinder
Menu location
Drafting → Facebinder
Workbenches
Draft, Arch
Default shortcut
F F
Introduced in version
0.14
See also
Arch Wall

Description

The Draft Facebinder command creates a surface object from the selected faces of solid objects. A Draft Facebinder is parametric, meaning that if you modify the original object, it will update accordingly. Even if you move and rotate a Draft Facebinder, it will stay linked to the original faces.

It can be used to create an extrusion from a collection of faces. A typical use is in architectural design to build an object that covers several walls, for example a wall finish.

Facebinder created from the faces of solid walls

Usage

1. Pick one face, or hold Ctrl and pick several faces, from solid objects.
2. There are several ways to invoke the command:
   • Press the Draft Facebinder button.
   • Select the Drafting → Facebinder option from the menu.
   • Use the keyboard shortcut: F then F.

Notes

• A Draft Facebinder can be edited with the Draft Edit command. Faces can be added or removed.

Properties

Data

• DataExtrusion: specifies an extrusion thickness to apply to all faces of the shape.
• DataRemove Splitter: if it is true it tries to fuse the internal intersections of the Facebinder when it extruded.
• DataSew: if it is true it tries to perform a topological sewing operation on the Facebinder when it extruded.
• DataOffset: specifies an offset distance to apply betweenthe facebinder and the original faces, prior to extrusion.
• DataArea: the total area of this facebinder.

View

• ViewPattern: specifies a Draft Pattern with which to fill the face of the shape. This property only works if ViewDisplay Mode is "Flat Lines".
• ViewPattern Size: specifies the size of the Draft Pattern.

Scripting

See also: Autogenerated API documentation and FreeCAD Scripting Basics.

To create a Draft Facebinder use the make_facebinder method of the Draft module:

facebinder = make_facebinder(selectionset)

• Creates a facebinder object from the given selectionset, which is a list of SelectionObjects as returned by FreeCADGui.Selection.getSelectionEx(). Only selected faces are taken into account.
  • selectionset can also be a PropertyLinkSubList.

A PropertyLinkSubList is a list of tuples; each tuple contains as first element an object, and as second element a list (or tuple) of strings; these strings indicate the names of the sub-elements (faces) of that object.

PropertyLinkSubList = [tuple1, tuple2, tuple3, ...]
PropertyLinkSubList = [(object1, list1), (object2, list2), (object3, list3), ...]
PropertyLinkSubList = [(object1, ['Face1', 'Face4', 'Face6']), ...]
PropertyLinkSubList = [(object1, ('Face1', 'Face4', 'Face6')), ...]

The thickness of the Facebinder can be added by overwriting its Extrusion attribute; the value is entered in millimeters.

The placement of the Facebinder can be changed by overwriting its Placement attribute, or by individually overwriting its Placement.Base and Placement.Rotation attributes.

Example:

import FreeCAD as App
import FreeCADGui as Gui
import Draft

# Insert a solid box
box = App.ActiveDocument.addObject("Part::Box", "Box")
box.Length = 2300
box.Width = 800
box.Height = 1000

# selection = Gui.Selection.getSelectionEx()
selection = [(box, ("Face1", "Face6"))]
facebinder = Draft.make_facebinder(selection)
facebinder.Extrusion = 50

App.ActiveDocument.recompute()

facebinder.Placement.Base = App.Vector(1000, -1000, 100)
facebinder.ViewObject.ShapeColor = (0.99, 0.99, 0.4)

App.ActiveDocument.recompute()

Point

ShapeString

Draft

Draft

• Drafting: Line, Polyline, Fillet, Arc, Arc by 3 points, Circle, Ellipse, Rectangle, Polygon, B-spline, Cubic Bézier curve, Bézier curve, Point, Facebinder, ShapeString, Hatch
• Annotation: Text, Dimension, Label, Annotation styles, Annotation scale
• Modification: Move, Rotate, Scale, Mirror, Offset, Trimex, Stretch, Clone, Array, Polar array, Circular array, Path array, Path link array, Point array, Point link array, Edit, Subelement highlight, Join, Split, Upgrade, Downgrade, Wire to B-spline, Draft to sketch, Set slope, Flip dimension, Shape 2D view

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• Draft Tray: Select plane, Set style, Toggle construction mode, AutoGroup
• Snapping: Snap lock, Snap endpoint, Snap midpoint, Snap center, Snap angle, Snap intersection, Snap perpendicular, Snap extension, Snap parallel, Snap special, Snap near, Snap ortho, Snap grid, Snap working plane, Snap dimensions, Toggle grid

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• Miscellaneous: Apply current style, Layer, Manage layers, Add a new named group, Move to group, Select group, Add to construction group, Toggle normal/wireframe display, Create working plane proxy, Heal, Show snap toolbar
• Additional: Constraining, Pattern, Preferences, Import Export Preferences, DXF/DWG, SVG, OCA, DAT
• Context menu:
  • Layer container: Merge layer duplicates, Add new layer
  • Layer: Activate this layer, Select layer contents
  • Text: Open hyperlinks
  • Wire: Flatten
  • Working plane proxy: Write camera position, Write objects state

User documentation

• Getting started
• Installation: Download, Windows, Linux, Mac, Additional components, Docker, AppImage, Ubuntu Snap
• Basics: About FreeCAD, Interface, Mouse navigation, Selection methods, Object name, Preferences, Workbenches, Document structure, Properties, Help FreeCAD, Donate

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• Help: Tutorials, Video tutorials
• Workbenches: Std Base, Arch, Assembly, CAM, Draft, FEM, Inspection, Mesh, OpenSCAD, Part, PartDesign, Points, Reverse Engineering, Robot, Sketcher, Spreadsheet, Start, Surface, TechDraw, Test Framework, Web

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• Addons: Addon Manager, External workbenches, Scripting and macros

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• Hubs: User hub, Power users hub, Developer hub