Author name: Ahmed Essawy

Four iterations of a 3D-printed bracket on a desk with corrected technical drawings and engineering tools

I Redesigned the Same Part 4 Times. Here’s What Each Client Got Wrong.

Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels Let me tell you about a pipe clamp. Simple part. U-shaped bracket, two bolt holes, holds a 25mm pipe to a flat surface. I’ve modeled variations of this part at least 50 times over the years. It should take 30 minutes and one revision round. Maybe zero revisions if the

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Computer monitor showing CAD software with a 3D-printed part and file format sticky notes on the desk

What File Format Should I Request for 3D Printing?

Photo: Oleg Laptev / Pexels Got a 3D model. Want to print it. Which file do you send to the printer? This question comes up constantly, and the internet gives you six different answers with conflicting advice. Here’s the straightforward version from someone who exports print-ready files every single day. The Short Answer Request an

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Hands holding a freshly 3D-printed bracket with a desktop 3D printer and sample parts in the background

The Beginner’s Guide to Getting a Part 3D Printed (If You’ve Never Done It Before)

Photo: Jakub Zerdzicki / Pexels You’ve got an idea for a physical part. Maybe it’s a replacement knob for your dishwasher. A custom mount for a camera. A prototype of a product you want to sell. And you’ve heard that 3D printing can make it real. But you’ve never 3D printed anything. You don’t own

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Entrepreneur's desk with CAD model on laptop, hand sketch, 3D-printed prototype, and Amazon FBA shipping boxes

From Amazon FBA Idea to Manufactured Product: The CAD Step Nobody Talks About

Photo: cottonbro / Pexels Here’s a pattern I see at least twice a month. Someone finds a product opportunity on Amazon. Kitchen gadget, phone accessory, pet tool — doesn’t matter. They’ve done the market research. They’ve found three suppliers on Alibaba. They send the supplier a sketch or a photo with a message that says:

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Smartphone photo of a metal part next to its 3D printed replica on a workshop desk

Can You 3D Print From a Photo? Here’s How It Actually Works

Photo: ThisIsEngineering / Pexels A client in Texas messaged me last Tuesday. He had a broken plastic clip from his vintage motorcycle — one of those parts that doesn’t exist anymore. No part number. No manufacturer. Just the broken piece sitting on his workbench. He took six photos with his phone, held a quarter next

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Hand-drawn pencil sketch of a bracket transforming into a 3D CAD model on a laptop screen — the sketch-to-CAD process visualized

How to Convert a Sketch Into a 3D CAD Model for 3D Printing or Manufacturing

From a rough sketch to a precision SolidWorks model — the MiniCAD process. Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels You have an idea. Maybe it is a sketch on the back of a napkin, a pencil drawing with rough dimensions, or a photo of an existing part you need to replicate. The question is: how do

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