Design for production.
Manufacturing has changed, and 3D printing needs its own kind of drawing. A part modelled for a machine shop rarely prints well, and a part modelled for a printer rarely needs one.
Print time is the driving factor. Every design decision either adds hours to the plate or takes them off, and that is what a part costs. Projects run through slicing software and our own estimating calculator before anyone quotes a price.
What gets decided first
Built to assemble
The first question on every part is whether it can be printed on a flat surface or needs to be assembled. Splitting a part often cuts print time and material.
Clean surfaces
In an ideal print, no support material is used at all — no waste to strip off, and a clean face everywhere it matters.
Holes that fit
Cavities and holes are drawn to come out round and to size, rather than ovalled by the printer and cleaned up afterwards.
Threads that last
Screws driven into plastic strip. Stainless inserts give real threads that take being undone and done up again.
How a project runs
Feasibility
Can it be printed at all, and should it be? Sometimes the answer is that machining or molding is cheaper.
Redraw
The part is redrawn to print — split where it helps, flat where it can be, supports designed out.
Hardware
Stainless inserts, fasteners and bearings specified and pocketed into the model.
Material
Chosen against service temperature, UV exposure and load, not against colour.
First article
One part printed and checked against the thing it has to fit before anything runs.
Production
Plated for throughput and run. One unit or a thousand, same model.
Materials we build in
| Material | Best for | Service temp |
|---|---|---|
| PETG | Enclosures, brackets, general product parts | ~75 °C |
| ASA | Anything that lives outdoors — UV stable | ~95 °C |
| ABS | Housings that get bonded, smoothed or painted | ~95 °C |
| PC blend | Load-bearing brackets, high heat | ~110 °C |
| PA12 nylon | Gears, wear surfaces, living hinges | ~100 °C |
| PA-CF | Structural parts standing in for aluminum | ~130 °C |
| TPU 95A | Gaskets, bumpers, feet, grips | ~80 °C |
| Tough PLA | Jigs, fixtures, cost-sensitive indoor volume | ~55 °C |
Hardware is stainless unless there is a reason otherwise. Finishing covers insert installation, deburring, bonding, assembly, tumbling, painting and vapour smoothing. Full filament properties are on the FDM materials page.
Rates
Consultation is free for the first ten minutes — usually enough to know whether a part can be made and roughly what it will cost. Design is $200/hr USD plus printing.