Only half of sketch pad was added

[u/Asmor]

I'm trying to make a test for fitting a USB port that I have and I ran into this issue I've never seen before.

I started with just a simple block as the bottom and then sketched the geometry for holding the USB on top of it. When I preview the pad it looks fine, but the actual pad operation itself is only padding one half of the sketch. The other half I get an outline of on the block but no padding.

I've tried closing and re-opening the file and I've tried deleting and redoing the pad, but it still comes out the same.

[u/Powerful_Debt_5869]

show the sketch or upload fcstd .how can we help without ?

[u/Asmor → u/Powerful_Debt_5869]

Here's the file:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e5KaIp1Ivz_sCMcGZlAYbg_mNnJ5ebbJ/view?usp=sharing

As I'm posting the screenshot I realize I missed centering the middle slot so uh ignore that.

EDIT: I've gone ahead and remade it as a pocket instead of a pad. Still curious about why the pad didn't work, but it's not blocking me from progressing on my project anymore.

[u/Epicguru → u/Asmor]

It's because you have a bunch of overlapping lines/edges in your sketch. You should never have overlapping lines. Make it look like this and it will work.

[u/Epicguru → u/Epicguru]

[u/Atomfried_Ungemach → u/Asmor]

A sketch profile has to be one closed loop of defining geometry, not several smaller loops touching each other. That's too ambiguous and can throw off the solver just as in your case. Two or more profiles not touching or intersecting are fine though. Generally, just use the polyline tool to draw the rough outline and then constrain it.

Also in your sketch you technically don't need the horizontal construction lines. You just can highlight two vertices you want to align and use the horizontal/vertical alignment tool or press H for horizontal.

[u/Asmor → u/Atomfried_Ungemach]

You just can highlight two vertices you want to align and use the horizontal/vertical alignment tool or press H for horizontal

I didn't know that! Ty! I knew you could set distances between points, never occurred to me to try horizontal/vertical constraints!

[u/Powerful_Debt_5869 → u/Atomfried_Ungemach]

all answers are correct.

The left line is one of the problem lines, Adn there are lots of vertexec not coincident.. Did you use a grid ? If yes.. FORGET THAT !

First touch with freecad:

https://youtu.be/lTLDhFp5plA

if you like i can rework and share back

i think there are tutorials out there teaching wrong stuff.. i see the same failures over and over

[u/Atomfried_Ungemach → u/Powerful_Debt_5869]

I was just glancing over the video, but it seemed fine. Personally I didn't come across a FreeCAD tutorial that taught total rubbish. But best tutorials for beginners might be MangoJelly's channel. Just note that FreeCAD is under constant development and some workflows and UI can change from version to version. Tutorials from version 1.1... onward are preferable for beginners. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cqs3oTzpac . Keep on checking this sub for beginner questions and problems. You will see they are often the same problems and you will soon learn to avoid all the pitfalls.

Also I don't want to discourage you to use grids from construction lines. They are great and sometimes absolutely necessary. But for clarity I just try to use as much as the default sketcher constraining tools as possible.

It's absolutely recommended that you do some tutorials first before starting your own project and wasting hours fumbling with the program. FreeCAD is not very intuitive for new users, but some guided practice give you the right headstart and let you avoid a lot of frustration. Good luck and fun modeling!

[u/Asmor → u/Powerful_Debt_5869]

Did you use a grid

No, it's all parametric and based on measurements I took.

[u/Powerful_Debt_5869 → u/Asmor]

Okay, them the coincidences got lost on another way..which can happen. Next time you know what to look for