Current version 0.12.3
This assembly workbench allows to assemble into a single assembly container other FreeCAD objects, and place them relative to the assembly and to each-other. The parts in the assembly can be in the same document as the assembly or in an external document. When parts are modified in their original document, they are instantly updated in the assembly.
Parts are placed relative to each-other by matching features inside them. Specifically, in Assembly4, these features are virtual objects called LCS (for Local Coordinate System, also called datum coordinate system) and are attached using FreeCAD's built-in Part::Attacher and ExpressionEngine. No geometry is used to place and constrain parts relative to each other, thus avoiding a lot of the topological naming problems.
An Assembly4 Assembly is a standard FreeCAD App::Part container, therefore it is compatible and can be manipulated with any FreeCAD tool handling App::Part objects. In particular, it can be inserted into another Assembly to create nested assemblies to any level. It can also contain solids, datum objects and sketches. A document can contain only 1 Assembly.
Please Note: only Part and Body containers at the root of a document can be inserted. Objects nested inside containers cannot be used directly by Assembly4.
Please Note: objects in the same document as the linked part but outside the App::Part container will not be inserted.
Please Note: objects need to be opened in the current session in order to be inserted into an assembly.
Important Note: version v0.11.5 had a hidden nasty bug that also corrupted the parts that were created with it. Unfortunately, these parts cannot be automatically fixed, they must be re-created. Only parts created with v0.11.5 are affected, not those that where merely used with it.
Assembly 4 is available through the FreeCAD Addon Manager (menu Tools > Addon Manager). It is called Assembly4 in the Addon Repository.
Important Note: Assembly 4 needs FreeCAD v0.19 or above. Assembly4 is not compatible with FreeCAD v0.18 and before.
It is possible to install this workbench manually into FreeCAD's local workbench directory. See user instructions
Assembly4 uses extensively FreeCAD's built-in Part::Attacher, and you can find documentation following this link. It is recommended to be familiar with this function to get best usage of this workbebch.
You can get more information in the user instructions, the technical manual, and you can use the provided example assemblies to experiment with this workbench's features. There are also online tutorials :
- a quick assembly from scratch
- a cinematic assembly in one file, using a master sketch
- a Lego assembly
- Some examples to play with
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2022.07.19 (0.12.3) :
Changed the menu entry for insertLink to Import Part
Small fixes -
2022.07.04 (0.12.2) :
Fixed a bug in Asm4.checkModel() for retro-compatibility -
2022.06.29 (0.12.1) :
Fixed a bug in AnimationLib -
2022.06.11 (0.12.0) :
Reverted to name "Model" -
2022.04.25 (0.11.12) :
Removed Groups from containerTypes in Asm4_libs -
2022.04.20 (0.11.11) :
Small fixes and improvements -
2022.02.20 (0.11.10) :
Improved configurationEngine for compatibility
Preselect the sole LCS if there is only 1 -
2022.02.15 (0.11.9) :
Bugfix of the configurationEngine
Bugfix for parts corrupted by v0.11.5 : print a warning, part cannot be fixed automatically -
2022.02.03 (0.11.8) :
added possibility to use parts (links) in groups inside the assembly. Works also for fasteners -
2022.01.27 (0.11.7) :
bugfix: corrected default name when duplicating an existing link
introduced package.xml -
2022.01.10 (0.11.6) :
bugfix: removed AttachmentEngine (MapMode) to all created Parts, Bodies and Fasteners, because that creates an AttachmentOffset that conflicts with the placement by Asm4 -
2021.11.3 (0.11.5) :
added AttachmentEngine (MapMode) to all created Parts, Bodies and Fasteners
Small fixes -
2021.10.18 (0.11.4) :
translations in placements of parts respect user preferences units
small tweaks -
2021.10.09 (0.11.3) :
Merged all placement of parts (links, fasteners, anything with a "Placement" into a single command, which launches the corresponding task UI
Created the "Constraints" menu and moved the placement command there (in preparation of the merge of the A2+ solver) -
2021.10.08 (0.11.2) :
added "Open File" to insertLink
BOM and infoPart improvements -
2021.10.01 (0.11.1) :
reverted Asm4.QUnitSpinBox() to QtGui.QDoubleSpinBox() because of incompatibilites with some locale (',' comma decimal separators) -
2021.10.01 (0.11.0) :
first version of variantLink: EXPERIMENTAL, use with caution
multiple datum imports (thanx abetis)
improved BoM and PartInfo (thax FarmingSoul)
added support for user preferences in distance units (thanx xoviat) -
2021.09.19 (0.10.7) :
fixed some minor bugs
improved BOM and PartInfo
new version string (removed date)
initial variantLink object -
2021.09.07 (0.10.6) :
corrected placeLink selection mechanism: now, the user can select LCS in either the model tree, the 3D window or the task panel lists -
2021.09.05 (0.10.5) :
reverted placeLink to 0.10.3 version (bug in the selections) -
2021.09.01 (0.10.4) :
added wrapper for SubShapeBinder -
2021.08.30 (0.10.3) :
Returned to the part placement preview in placeLink
Some small fixes -
2021.08.29 (0.10.2) :
Fix placeFasteners -
2021.08.26 (0.10.1) :
Fix in selection in placeLink: this fixes a freeze in the UI, but direct selection in the tree is not possible anymore
Added spiral offset for circular array -
2021.08.23 (0.10.00) :
Translation i18
Circular array
Changed libAsm4 as to Asm4_libs (the Variables objects will lose their tree-view icon)
Added Asm4_objects -
2021.06.24 (0.9.17) :
Minor bugfixes in AnimationLib and placeLink
Introduced the next assembly property SolverId (which will replace AssemblyType) with value Asm4::ExpressionEngine. placeLink checks the new and old properties for forward compatibility
This should be the final version of the 0.9 series -
2021.05.03 (0.9.16) :
Various fixes
Animation Export -
2021.03.10 (0.9.15) :
added mirroring of a part -
2021.03.07 (0.9.14) :
HoleAxis can now create datums on all selected circles from 1 single part in 1 step
Added a selection filter in the main Assembly4 toolbar
Made the measurement tool compatible with the selection filter
Changed insertLink and placeLink such that any App::Part can serve as parent assembly but it is inaccessible from the UI for now (might bring more trouble than benefit) -
2020.12.01 (0.9.13) :
improved LCS selection
placeFasteners update -
2020.11.20 (0.9.12) :
placeFasteners update
parent combo-box width corrected -
2020.11.14 (0.9.11) :
Added Offset translation adjustment in the placeLink dialog
Added Configuration Engine
Measurements obey the preferences settings
Some code clean-up (hopefully won't break anything, if it does please report)
Big thanx for the help, this is really appreciated -
2020.11.01 (0.9.10) :
Bugfixe in placement of Fastener on "Hole Axis"
small usability improvements -
2020.09.24 (0.9.9) :
Small bugfixes and usability improvements -
2020.09.02 (0.9.8) :
Small usability improvements -
2020.06.29 (0.9.7) :
Native Fasteners, included Task to change parameters -
2020.06.23 (0.9.6) :
Improved Measure tool -
2020.06.19 (0.9.5) :
Added new Measure tool
Added preliminary BoM, PartList and PartInfo functions
Minor bugfixes and improvements -
2020.05.25 (0.9.4) :
Minor update for Fasteners (simplified format, should be backwards compatible) -
2020.05.18 (0.9.3) :
Bugfixe: create Body/Part didn't place them in the selected App::Part container -
2020.05.08 (0.9.2) :
The UI windows are now in the Task Panel. -
2020.05.03 (0.9.1) :
Bugfixes -
2020.04.15 (0.9.0) :
PartDesign::Body can be directly imported (linked), no need to wrap them in App::Part container -
2020.03.15 (version 0.8.1) :
Added slider for animation
Reversed Document#Label (Name) to Document#Name (Label) -
2020.02.13 (version 0.8.0) :
All dialogs are now resizable
Various bugfixes
Made the Asm4 properties of all objects homogeneous
Moved examples and tutorials to dedicated repository (some users ran into trouble for updating the WB because they had modified the local files) -
2020.01.25 (version 0.7.12) :
Refined datum and variables creation -
2020.01.22 (version 0.7.11) :
Added version info to the Help dialog -
2020.01.21 (version 0.7.10) :
bug-fix to not fall for random criss-cross linking of objects -
2020.01.20 (version 0.7.9) :
(silly) bug-fix -
2020.01.18 (version 0.7.8) :
added "release attachments" button
various small fixes -
2020.01.06 (version 0.7.7) :
Moved the tutorials to the Resources directory
import libAsm4 as Asm4
Added a Help command (dummy placeholder)
Ported example2 to the latest Asm4 format -
2019.12.12 (version 0.7.6) :
Improved animation and datum import. -
2019.12.02 (version 0.7.5) :
Minor (but useful !) refinements for variables and animation. -
2019.11.24 (version 0.7.4) :
Added Animation command -
2019.11.19 (version 0.7.3) :
Added linkArray, a wrapper for Draft::LinkArray
Fixes for the Fasteners command -
2019.11.14 (version 0.7.2) :
Bug-fix for importDatum -
2019.11.11 (version 0.7.1) :
Bug-fix -
2019.11.05 (version 0.7.0) :
Support for screws & nuts from the Fasteners workbench
Added Variables to the Model
The model file format has changed, former assembly models can be opened but must be re-assembled. -
2019.10.11 (version 0.6.4) :
Improved assembly in single file
Various small fixes -
2019.10.11 (version 0.6.3) :
It is now possible to link parts from the same document as the assembly itself, allowing to make 1-file assemblies and still use all the other tools. -
2019.10.11 (version 0.6.2) :
Added page for Tutorial 1.
Fine-tuned some functions
Renamed icons in a consistent way -
2019.10.07 (version 0.6.1) :
Moved the code that was in Mod_Asm4 to the root, to be compatible with the FreeCAD AddonManager -
2019.10.05 (version 0.6) :
Ported to FreeCAD-v0.19-pre, with new syntax for the ExpressionEngine -
2019.07.23 (version 0.5.5) :
Fixed a bug in partLCSlist.findItems
New Datum Point in the Model -
2019.07.18 (version 0.5.4) :
A cosmetic update to fix a 25 year old Windows bug:
some UTF-8 characters in the comments were not accepted on some Windows 10 machines -
2019.06.15 (version 0.5.3) :
Now the LCS can be renamed, and they show up in the LCS list in the command placeLink as such.
It's only visual, the ExpressionEngine still uses the LCS.Name though -
2019.05.07 (version 0.5.2) :
added insertDatumCmd -
2019.03.18 (version 0.5.1) :
Part can now be linked without being placed: this is then a raw interface with App::Link
The instance can be moved manually with the 'Transform' dragger -
2019.03.12 (version 0.5) :
moved the actual code to Mod_Asm4 -
2019.03.11 (version 0.4.1) :
Added placement of Datum Point -
2019.03.09 (version 0.4) :
FreeCAD now imports as App
insert_Link launches place_Link -
2019.03.05 (version 0.3.1) :
added the RotX-Y-Z buttons -
2019.02.20 (version 0.3)
mostly working version -
2019.02.18 (version 0.1) :
initial release of Assembly 4 WB
Please offer feedback or connect with the developers in the dedicated FreeCAD forum thread.
This addon is hosted on a GitHub repository.
LGPLv2.1 (see LICENSE)