Tutorial: Simulate and Animate a Compression Spring Using FreeCAD 1.0 and Blender 3.6

In this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll learn how to simulate and animate a compression spring using FreeCAD 1.0 and Blender 3.6 — two powerful, open-source software tools. We start by importing a spring model from a STEP file (available on Sketchfab) and setting up a finite element analysis (FEA) in FreeCAD’s FEM Workbench. You'll learn how to assign material properties, apply loads and boundary conditions, generate a mesh, and run the simulation using CalculiX. After completing the simulation, we visualize the results using warp deformation and color mapping. Both the deformed and undeformed models are exported in X3D format and imported into Blender. In Blender, we use shape keys to animate the spring’s compression. The animated model is then exported as a GLB file, previewed in Windows’ 3D Viewer, and finally uploaded to Sketchfab for online presentation. 🔗 Download the STEP file on Sketchfab: Spring Animation Using FreeCAD and Blender https://skfb.ly/pwCRq 📝 Full details in this LinkedIn article: Simulation and Animation of a Compression Spring Using FreeCAD 1.0 and Blender 3.6 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/simulation-animation-compression-spring-using-freecad-christophe-oiv7e/ 🎵 Soundtrack: The Silent Film Music Podcast – Ep. 54: Playing different theatre/pipe organs in Oct & Nov 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1tQc8scN7Y&t=2854s 🗣 Voice-over: NaturalReader AI Text-to-Speech (Derek) --- 🦀 If you enjoyed this tutorial, have a look at "the Crab," a compliant mechanism used to adjust GMT time and featured in Patek Philippe Advanced Research’s Aquanaut Travel Time (Ref. 5650G, limited edition manufactured in 2017). I recreated this model based on the manufacturer’s marketing materials (photographs and drawings). To animate the model, I used FreeCAD’s FEM workbench and Blender, following the method detailed in this tutorial video. https://youtu.be/OWDF3tjw4NI