Is there any reason why the fork is not being exported into FreeCAD or I am doing something wrong?
This is intentional. Although BikeCAD gathers all the info needed to generate a decent 2D view of the fork, it does not gather all the information needed to generate a 3D model. Having said that, when exporting to FreeCAD, a dialog box comes up to collect additional data that is not already prompted for in the regular BikeCAD interface:
It would be possible to add a few additional fork specific input fields to gather what is needed to generate a rigid fork as well. However, to generate a really thoroughly modeled suspension fork would require a lot more than a few additional input fields. This leads me to wonder about how best to handle that. With rear dropouts, you can use BikeCAD to parametrically configure your own dropouts. For some simple plate style dropouts this works out pretty well. However, as dropouts get more elaborate, it becomes impractical to fully capture all the nuances of a dropout design with drop down menus and input fields. That’s where it’s better to use the Define by static drawing method.
When BikeCAD exports dropouts to FreeCAD, it will generate a custom dropout based on your input parameters if using the custom dropout option.
If the Define by static drawing option is used, it simply pulls in a 3D STEP file which fortunately manufacturers like Paragon Machine Works have made available to us.
Currently, forks are strictly defined by parameters in BikeCAD. There is a menu which includes some standard forks, but these are just custom forks preconfigured with some of the critical dimensions of standard forks. I do not have a database of actual standard fork drawings. As much as I would like to implement an option for forks similar to what I’ve done with dropouts, I don’t think that good drawings and 3D models are as readily available for forks as they are for dropouts.
For your model, what kind of fork was supposed to be used? If it was a suspension fork, would you be satisfied if I built up a 3D version of the simplified 2D model in the BikeCAD drawing or would you be looking for a 3D model of the latest RockShox brought in from a library of static drawings? I think a lot of people would appreciate the latter, but I have thus far failed to gain permission to access such a library.
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