Help

This program is a parametric CAD: you draw a sketch, turn it into a body, and assemble bodies into an assembly. The whole history stays alive: change a dimension in the sketch and the part rebuilds itself.

The program window: tools and the tree on the left, the model in the centre, properties on the right.
The program window: tools and the tree on the left, the model in the centre, properties on the right.

Where to start

Start with the lessons — they are short and run in order, with no steps skipped:

  1. Your first part — sketch, dimensions, extrude, hole, fillet, and the important bit: change a dimension and watch the part rebuild itself.
  2. An assembly — components, joints, degrees of freedom.

What it is all made of

  1. Sketch — a flat drawing: lines, circles, arcs. All geometry stands on it.
  2. Part — turning a sketch into a body: extrude, revolve, sweep. The body is then refined with fillets, holes and shells.
  3. Assembly — several parts placed against each other by joints.

How the window is laid out

Tools of the current workbench are on the left. The document path and the parameter bar of the active command are on top. Properties of the selection are on the right. The status line at the bottom says what is happening, how many degrees of freedom the sketch has and where the cursor is.

Rules shared by every tool

  • A tool is a command: pick what it stands on, type the values, watch the preview, Enter applies, Esc cancels.
  • Every numeric field takes a formula: 40/2, len*2, sin(30)*10. Names come from the global parameters.
  • Nothing is applied on the fly: until you press Enter the document is unchanged.

Where to look next

F1 at any moment opens the article about what you are doing right now, not the contents page.

The help window: contents by section on the left, the article itself on the right.
The help window: contents by section on the left, the article itself on the right.