Tutorials

Tutorials

This page lists the available tutorials for FreeCAD AI, organized by difficulty level. Each tutorial walks through a real modeling task from start to finish using the AI assistant.

Tutorial	Level	Description
Tutorial: Simple Box	Beginner	Create a box, apply fillets, export to STL
Tutorial: Enclosure	Intermediate	Full electronics enclosure with snap-fit lid
Tutorial: Gear	Advanced	Involute spur gear with parametric dimensions

Prerequisites

Before starting any tutorial, make sure you have:

• FreeCAD AI installed and configured -- see Installation and Configuration
• An LLM provider set up -- at minimum, a running Ollama instance or an API key for Anthropic/OpenAI
• Familiarity with FreeCAD basics -- you should be comfortable with viewport navigation (rotate, pan, zoom) and the model tree

How Tutorials Work

Each tutorial follows the same pattern:

1. Goal -- what you will build, with specific dimensions
2. Steps -- what to type in the chat panel and what the AI does in response
3. What You Learned -- summary of tools and concepts covered

You do not need to write any Python code or click through FreeCAD dialogs. The AI handles tool execution automatically in Act mode. Your job is to describe what you want and review the results.

Tips for Following Along

• Use Act mode. All tutorials assume Act mode is enabled. In Chat mode the AI will describe steps but not execute them.
• Watch the tool calls. Each tool call appears in the chat with its parameters and result. Reading these helps you understand what the AI is doing.
• Inspect the model tree. After each step, expand the tree view on the left to see the objects the AI created.
• Undo if needed. If something goes wrong, type "undo" in the chat or use Edit > Undo. The AI also has an undo tool.
• Save your work. The AI does not auto-save the FreeCAD document. Use File > Save regularly.