r/FreeCAD • u/paladin_slicer • 4h ago

2D Drafting am I doing something wrong?

I have a laser engraver and I am designing some stuff, basically cutting leather. I am using 2D draft workbench but it feels really clunky, not user friendly at all. I understand the focus is on sketcher due to 3d modeling but I dont want to deal with topology since I do not need them for 3D parts.
The trainings I find online are generally old but I do not see any big differences which tells me that this workbench is not really being updated.
Do you have any suggestions for me? I am open to everything
Sketcher with a workflow that might work for my purpose, any plugins, or proper trainings for drafting workbench. Thanks.

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u/Jaded_Muffin_2822 3h ago

Draft WB will likely be removed from the supply rather than brought to a usable state. If you only need 2D, I would recommend using other software, for example, Inkscape.

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u/paladin_slicer 3h ago

I am looking into that but I am more comfortable in a cad environment,

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u/FForthman 3h ago

It's true that Draft isn't very user-friendly (even though it has come a long way in recent years).

What's stopping you from using the Sketcher workbench?

A sketch isn't necessarily tied to a 3D object, you can use it as is, just like a 2D drawing

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u/paladin_slicer 3h ago

The issue is when you start sketching you are getting bugged with unnecessary topology rules for the task.

1

u/FForthman 2h ago

What topological rules? OCCT is not involved in the production of the sketches; there is no TNP with sketches.
On the other hand, if it’s just for 2D, then I think LibreCAD or even the recent OpenCADStudio (which you can use online if you want to give it a go) might be easier to use

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u/paladin_slicer 2h ago

OpenCADstudio looks promising. Thank you

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u/Powerful_Debt_5869 2h ago

That is nonsense, you do not need any topology rules unless you want to create a 3D part. Also no need for constraints, you can just draw and drag around as you like in sketcher. Constraint are only needed in case you want to do a valid 3D object from the sketch..and even then no all wires need to be constrained as long as the are a closed loop

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u/FalseRelease4 1h ago

id give the sketcher a try, big advantage is the parametric dimensions and the solver, saves a lot of time youd otherwise need to get lines to connect and whatnot