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 […]
What File Format Should I Request for 3D Printing? Read More »
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
The Beginner’s Guide to Getting a Part 3D Printed (If You’ve Never Done It Before) Read More »
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
Can You 3D Print From a Photo? Here’s How It Actually Works Read More »
Photo by Daniel Smyth / Pexels Last month a client sent me his part as an STL file. He wanted me to make the hole 2mm wider. I had to tell him the bad news: I couldn’t just edit the hole. His entire model was a mesh of triangles. No dimensions. No feature tree. No
STL vs STEP — Which File Should You Send to Your Manufacturer? Read More »
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
How to Convert a Sketch Into a 3D CAD Model for 3D Printing or Manufacturing Read More »
