A FreeCAD addon and a CLI tool to manage tool libraries
Project description
Better Tool Library (BTL)
Better Tool Library (BTL) is a FreeCAD addon (plugin) that replaces the built-in tool library for the Path workbench. It also provides a standalone tool if you want to use your library outside of FreeCAD.
Warning If you decide to switch back from BTL to the FreeCAD internal tool library, you may lose any extra information that was entered using Better Tool Library, like tool notes and hardness.
Warning I advise you make a backup of your tool library. I guarantee for nothing, there may be bugs.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Better Tool Library | FreeCAD internal library |
|---|---|---|
| Modern UI |  |
 |
| Provides a shape browser | |
|
| Tool search | |
|
| Powerful Feeds & Speeds calculator | |
|
| Tool dimension sketch for built-in tools | |
|
| Can be used standalone outside of FreeCAD | |
|
| Provides built-in common shapes | |
|
| Store tool notes and additional info | |
|
| Auto-generates tool icons | |
|
| Can be used with no document open | |
|
| Provides CLI tool for import/export | |
|
| Read BTL files | |
|
| Write BTL files | |
Deletes BTL extra data! |
| Import from Camotics | |
|
| Export to Camotics | |
|
| Export to LinuxCNC | |
|
Screenshots
Installation
Prerequisites
Better Tool Library (BTL) is compatible with FreeCAD 0.19 and 0.21.
Installation via the FreeCAD addon manager
- Open FreeCAD
- Open the Addon Manager via Tools -> Addon manager
- Search for Better Tool Library
- Click it
- Click Install
To run it, just open the Path workbench and there should be a new icon at the end of the toolbar:
Installation in standalone mode
To use via standalone, you will have to install BTL via setuptools.
pip install btl
Alternative installation for the development version:
git clone https://github.com/knipknap/better-tool-library.git
To run the UI, you need to point qbtl to your FreeCAD directories:
export PYTHONPATH=/usr/share/freecad/Ext/:/usr/lib/freecad/lib/
qbtl path/to/your/toollibrary/
CLI tool
Better Tool Library also comes with a CLI tool. After installation via setuptools (see above), you can use it as shown below.
Show the command line syntax
btl --help
btl -f camotics create --help
Print the whole library
btl fctooldir/ show all
(default for -f is freecad, so it can be omitted in that case)
Adding a tool to an existing library
btl fctooldir/ create tool endmill
Converting from FreeCAD to Camotics tool table
btl fctooldir/ export -f camotics camoticstooldir/
Converting from FreeCAD to LinuxCNC tool table
btl fctooldir/ export -f linuxcnc linuxcnc.tbl
Converting from Camotics to FreeCAD tool table
btl -f camotics camtest/ export -f freecad fctooldir/
Links
Download files
Download the file for your platform. If you're not sure which to choose, learn more about installing packages.
