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 […]
I Redesigned the Same Part 4 Times. Here’s What Each Client Got Wrong. Read More »
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: 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 »
