FreeCAD Workbench¶

The MakerPanel FreeCAD workbench generates spec-compliant 2D sketches for panels and rails directly inside FreeCAD. Each command produces a Sketcher sketch on the XY plane of the active document, ready for padding (extrusion), DXF export, or further detailing.

Requirements¶

FreeCAD 0.21 or later (PySide2); FreeCAD 1.0+ (PySide6) also supported
Windows, Linux, or macOS

Installation¶

Download or clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Ranch-Hand-Robotics/makerpanel.git

Locate the Mod folder for your platform:

Platform Path

Windows %APPDATA%\FreeCAD\Mod\

Linux ~/.local/share/FreeCAD/Mod/

macOS ~/Library/Preferences/FreeCAD/Mod/

Platform	Path
Windows	`%APPDATA%\FreeCAD\Mod\`
Linux	`~/.local/share/FreeCAD/Mod/`
macOS	`~/Library/Preferences/FreeCAD/Mod/`

Copy or symlink the freecad/MakerPanel folder from the repo into the Mod folder:

# Windows (PowerShell) — symlink keeps it in sync with the repo
New-Item -ItemType Junction `
  -Path "$env:APPDATA\FreeCAD\Mod\MakerPanel" `
  -Target "C:\path\to\makerpanel\freecad\MakerPanel"

# Linux / macOS — symlink
ln -s /path/to/makerpanel/freecad/MakerPanel \
  ~/.local/share/FreeCAD/Mod/MakerPanel

Restart FreeCAD and select the MakerPanel workbench from the workbench selector dropdown.

Once activated, both commands are available in the MakerPanel menu and the MakerPanel Tools toolbar:

Create Panel — generate a panel outline sketch
Create Rail — generate a rail cross-beam sketch

MakerPanel Panel¶

Creates a 2D sketch of a panel outline with optional T-slot mounting features.

Task Panel Options¶

Option	Description
Width (HP)	Panel width in Horizontal Pitch units. 1 HP = 5.08 mm. Range: 1–64.
Height	Choose a preset: 1U (44.45 mm) through 5U (222.25 mm), or Custom.
Custom Height	Visible only when Custom is selected. Enter any height in mm.
Add mounting slots	Adds oblong or circular mounting features for T-slot rail attachment.
Slot style	Oblong — elongated adjustment slots that allow ±2.5 mm of positioning freedom. Circular — standard fixed clearance holes (3.2 mm diameter).
Mounting density	Full — slots at every 25 mm interval. Minimal — left edge, centre, and right edge only.

Mounting Slot Layout¶

Mounting features are placed at the top and bottom edges of the panel, inset 2 mm from the edge. The leftmost and rightmost slots are anchored 2 mm from each side edge. In Full mode, additional slots are evenly distributed at approximately 25 mm intervals along the width. In Minimal mode, only the two edges and a centre slot are placed.

Sketch Behaviour¶

The panel is centred at the origin (0, 0) of the sketch.
If you are actively editing a sketch when the command runs, geometry is added to that sketch instead of creating a new one.
After creation, the view automatically fits to show the full panel.

MakerPanel Rail¶

Creates a 2D sketch of a horizontal cross-rail with T-slot compatible slot cutouts.

Task Panel Options¶

Option	Description
Width (HP)	Rail length in HP units. Sets the default total length. Range: 1–400.
Rail height	Physical height of the rail strip in mm (default 11 mm). Must exceed the slot height of 6.9 mm.
Override length	When checked, ignores the HP-derived length and uses a custom value.
Custom length	Editable when the override is enabled. Enter any total length in mm.
Add end holes	Adds clearance holes centred in the solid supports at each end of the rail.
Hole size	Selects the end-hole diameter: M3 (3.5 mm), M4 (4.3 mm), M5 (5.3 mm), or M6 (6.4 mm).
Rotate 90°	Draws the rail with its length along the Y axis instead of the X axis. Useful for vertical rail placement.

Slot Algorithm¶

The slot geometry mirrors the OpenSCAD reference implementation (rails.scad):

end_margin    = rail_height          (if end holes enabled)
              = 3 mm                 (if end holes disabled)
available     = total_length − 2 × end_margin
min_pitch     = 29.21 mm + 3 mm      (slot min width + support width)
num_slots     = floor((available + 3) / min_pitch)
actual_slot_w = (available − (num_slots − 1) × 3) / num_slots

Slots are centred vertically within the rail height and have rounded corners (1 mm radius). They are distributed evenly between the end margins.

Sketch Behaviour¶

The rail origin is at (0, 0) — the bottom-left corner of the outer rectangle.
When Rotate 90° is checked, the rail's length runs along Y and height along X.
End holes are centred in the square end-support regions.

Comparison with the Fusion 360 Add-in¶

Both tools produce identical geometry from the same specification constants. The main differences are in their host environments:

Aspect	Fusion 360 Add-in	FreeCAD Workbench
Internal units	Centimetres	Millimetres
UI framework	Fusion CommandInputs	PySide (Qt) task panels
Sketch API	`adsk.fusion.Sketch`	`Sketcher::SketchObject` + `Part`
Save/reset defaults	Built-in JSON persistence	Not yet implemented
Live preview	Yes (parametric mode)	Not yet implemented
Platform	Windows, macOS	Windows, Linux, macOS

Troubleshooting¶

Workbench not visible in the selector: Ensure the MakerPanel folder (containing InitGui.py) is directly inside the Mod directory — not nested in an extra subfolder.

Import errors on startup: Check the FreeCAD Report View (View → Panels → Report View) for Python tracebacks. The workbench requires FreeCAD 0.21+ for PySide2 support.

Commands greyed out: Both commands require an active document. Create or open a document first (File → New).