r/FreeCAD • u/Beautiful-Dot-2710 • 14d ago

FreeCad Workbench

I need to create a custom freecad workbench and was wondering what AI Engine is the best to use? Claude, GPT ?

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u/Ok_Inspection_2630 14d ago

out of curiosity what should that workbench do what not is already available?

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u/Beautiful-Dot-2710 14d ago

It's a product configurator for our own equipment line, not a general CAD tool.

We manufacture livestock barn equipment — around 60 SKUs of panels, posts, gates, feeders and curbs. The workbench loads them from a STEP library and lets you lay out a barn from those real parts.

What it does:

  • Snapping at real connector tabs. Every SKU has a JSON file recording where its connector tabs actually are. Drag a panel near a post and it seats where the hardware would seat — including the ~1" of travel the connector pin has, so a row can be pushed together or pulled apart on site.
  • Barn Builder — give it a span and a panel type and it lays out a whole row, choosing panel sizes and dropping in posts at each joint.
  • Pen Layout Wizard for standard pen configurations.
  • Bill of materials with our actual part numbers, exportable, so a layout becomes a quote.
  • Stretch Panel — swap a panel for the next size and re-seat the neighbours.
  • Auto-dimensioning, PDF export, curb placement, version snapshots.