Exploded View¶

In one sentence: Create a step-by-step animated exploded view of the assembly — where each part moves apart along a path you define — for use in documentation, instructions, and presentations.

Overview¶

Workbench: Assembly
Menu: Assembly → Exploded View
Shortcut: none

Intuition¶

An exploded view shows all parts of an assembly separated along radial or directional paths so that each component is individually visible. The Assembly workbench's Exploded View tool lets you:

Define where each part should move (the "exploded" position).
Order the moves into a sequence of steps.
Play through the sequence as an animation or step through it manually.
Project the exploded state into a TechDraw drawing.

The key difference from simply moving parts in the 3-D view is that Exploded View is non-destructive — it stores the exploded positions separately and does not change the joint definitions or the solved positions of the assembly. Toggling "Collapsed" brings every part back to its joint-consistent position instantly.

Step-by-step¶

Creating the exploded view¶

Solve Assembly first — parts must be in their assembled positions before defining the exploded moves.
Choose Assembly → Exploded View. The Exploded View task panel opens.
The panel shows a list of Steps (initially empty) and controls for adding moves.

Adding a move step¶

In the task panel, click Create Move.
Select one or more parts in the model tree or 3-D view.
Use the manipulator (the arrow handles that appear on the part) to drag the part to its exploded position, or enter an exact distance in the task panel.
Click End Move to confirm the position. A step appears in the step list.
Repeat for each part or group of parts.

Ordering steps¶

Steps are played in the order they appear in the list. Drag steps to reorder them. A typical ordering explodes the outermost parts first, working inward to the core component.

Playing the animation¶

Play Forward — animates all steps in order, parts moving to their exploded positions.
Play Backward — reverses the animation (assembles the parts).
Step Forward / Backward — advance one step at a time for presentation control.
The playback speed can be adjusted in the task panel.

Exiting the task panel¶

Click OK to close the task panel and keep the exploded view definition stored in the model tree. The exploded view object appears under the assembly. Double-click it to re-enter the task panel.

Exploded state in TechDraw¶

After creating an exploded view, you can project it into a TechDraw drawing:

Open or create a TechDraw page.
Insert a view: TechDraw → Views → Insert Assembly View (or Insert View if the assembly is active).
In the view dialog, select the assembly and enable Exploded to project the exploded state.

The exploded view appears on the drawing sheet with the parts in their separated positions.

Managing exploded views¶

A document can contain multiple exploded view definitions (e.g. one for a full assembly explode, one for a sub-assembly detail). Each is stored as a separate object in the model tree. Delete the object to remove the exploded view definition.

Changing the assembly (adding parts, re-solving, changing joint parameters) does not automatically update the exploded view steps. If the assembly changes significantly, re-enter the Exploded View task panel and adjust the steps.

Common mistakes and pitfalls¶

Solve before creating exploded view

If parts are not in their assembled positions when you define the exploded moves, the moves will be relative to whatever position the parts were in. Always run Solve Assembly first.

Exploded view does not survive part deletion

If a part referenced by an exploded view step is deleted from the assembly, the step becomes invalid. Remove invalid steps from the step list in the task panel.

Animation quality depends on step count

Each step is a direct linear interpolation from assembled to exploded position. For parts that need to travel around other parts to avoid intersection, create intermediate steps that first move the part clear of obstructions.

Python API¶

import FreeCAD as App
import FreeCADGui as Gui

# Open the Exploded View task panel via GUI command
Gui.doCommand('import CommandCreateView')
Gui.doCommand('CommandCreateView.CommandCreateView().Activated()')

# Exploded view objects are stored as Assembly::AssemblyView objects.
# Programmatic creation of steps is not exposed in the public API;
# use the task panel UI for step definition.
doc = App.ActiveDocument
# List all exploded view objects in the assembly
asm = doc.getObject("Assembly")
exploded_views = [obj for obj in asm.OutList
                  if obj.TypeId == "Assembly::AssemblyView"]