By Fictiv Inc. - Sep 12, 2017

Heat Sink Design Guide

In a world of ever-increasing electronics, our lives are continuously impacted by devices that incorporate some sort of heat-generating circuitry. When it comes to electronics that dissipate power in the form of heat during normal operation, it is often necessary to manage this heat, to ensure the components don't exceed

By Fictiv Inc. - Sep 04, 2017

Intro to Button Design

Here we'll use button design as a showcase for excellence

You've worked for months to get your prototype functioning. It's time to take that ugly (but functional!) works-like prototype and create a real consumer product. Right now, you may be focused on the general shape, smoothing out the curves and accommodating the awkward PCB shape (darn those electrical engineers!), but

By Fictiv Inc. - Aug 28, 2017

Enclosure Design 101

While the power of a hardware product comes from its internal components, a product is typically recognized by its enclosure, the outer shell that encloses electronic products, making them appealing and user-friendly. In this post I'm going to walk you through the steps for designing a basic enclosure, using the

By Fictiv Inc. - Aug 21, 2017

Learn by Example: How to Design Light Pipes

Light plays an important role in the design of many hardware products. Often, they are both decorative and functional. Indicator lights are the most minimal user interface: They tell you whether the device is turned on, low on battery, or "thinking" really hard. On modern electronics, the light's source is

By Fictiv Inc. - Aug 14, 2017

How to Set Up Your Files for Multimaterial 3D Printing

When you're ready to get with Polyjet

One of the major benefits of printing in Polyjet is the ability to print in multiple materials for a single part. This allows you to simulate overmolds, create soft touch applications, and build living hinges among many other applications. We get a lot of questions about how to prepare files

By Fictiv Inc. - Aug 07, 2017

CAD Design Terms

The 16 words novices need to learn

For those of you just learning CAD, some words may seem foreign—extrusion, chamfer, radius, and fillets aren't exactly intuitive. No worries, read up on the terms below as a refresher or an introduction to the most common CAD terms and operations.

By Fictiv Inc. - Jul 31, 2017

From SketchUp to 3D Printer: 3 Common Surface Modeling Issues & How to Fix Them

You've created a seamless design—structurally sound, sufficiently thick, and mindful of overhangs. However, you get your part back to find out that it's not printable! Many of the errors we see stem from how the digital model was created and often the main problems come down to whether the design

By Fictiv Inc. - Jul 24, 2017

How to Reduce 3D Printing Costs by Cutting Your 3D Model

We receive a lot of questions about how to reduce the cost of 3D printing. One of the best ways to do this is to ensure your model fits on a smaller build bed to ensure the fastest build time on the cheapest machine available to produce your part. In

By Fictiv Inc. - Jul 17, 2017

A List of CAD Software Programs, Both Paid and Free

Designing 3D parts is tough, but with good software it becomes easier. Everyone has their favorite tool, and below we outline some of the most popular CAD programs. And if you're prototyping on a budget, or have a quick fix to make, there's lots of great free tools out there

By Fictiv Inc. - Jul 10, 2017

Understanding the Different Types of 3D Files

You should know your .STLs from your .STPs

There are three different types of digital files, broadly speaking: ones for printing, ones for modeling, and ones for 2D drawings. In order to produce a physical part, a 3D printer requires a specific file type. Known as a 'mesh model', the most common file type for 3D printing is

By Fictiv Inc. - Jul 03, 2017

Helpful Design Constraints vs. "Over-Constraint"

How to find the sweet spot

If you design products, whether you're a full time in-house engineer, a professional freelance industrial designer, or a moonlighting inventor, you've likely come across situations in which there is no solution to the design problem you have come across. I'm not referring to a scenario in which you cannot come

By Fictiv Inc. - Jun 26, 2017

Fillets: When to Use 'Em, When to Lose 'Em

Understanding when fillets are a bad idea, a good idea or absolutely necessary

Fillets are one of those design features for which there seems to be no middle ground, or at least not one that is widely known. Either a part is devoid of them, and most or all edges are well-defined, or the part's designer decided to take the opposite route, and

By Fictiv Inc. - Jun 19, 2017

Thoughts on Designing for Disassembly

Someday someone will need to repair, upgrade, remanufacture or recycle the things you design

All right, all right! I'll confess: I'm part of the last generation to enter college without a cell phone—part of the last generation to graduate before iPhones were even on the market (Gasp! The horror!). My parents gave me my sister's old phone as a sophomore, and I remember not

By Fictiv Inc. - Jun 12, 2017

Design for Manufacturing Terms

Five basic words you need to know in order to communicate with manufacturers

Manufacturing is hard enough without knowing terms most manufacturers use. Here's a quick resource to help you learn the most common terms around describing physical parts. DFM (Design For Manufacturing) TermsUndercut: In manufacturing, an undercut is a special type of recessed surface. In machining it refers to a recess in

By Fictiv Inc. - Jun 05, 2017

Different Types of Threaded Locking Methods for Secure Connections

Nuts, bolts & beyond

Threaded connections, such as bolts and nuts, are used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from plastic toys to massive bridges. The one similarity that ties them together is that these connections need to stay together when we want them to, but also come apart when needed. For example,

By Fictiv Inc. - May 30, 2017

Best Practices for Adding Ribs and Gussets to 3D Printed Parts for Structural Integrity

When designing components that will be made of plastic, it's often necessary to add ribs and gussets to improve the stiffness and strength of load bearing features. This reduces material volume and print time for 3D printed parts, compared to the time it would take to make these features out

By Fictiv Inc. - May 23, 2017

Strain-Relief: Design Tips for Durability and Aesthetic Appeal

When designing for strain-relief, don't make the mistake that Apple did

You reach over to plug in your phone, and you feel that spark – and not in a good "I love this product!" kind of way. The wire is broken, and yet another charging cable is about to make its way to a landfill, while you have to make a

By Fictiv Inc. - May 15, 2017

How to Design Living Hinges

Best material options & tips for injection molding, urethane casting and 3D printing

If you've worked with consumer electronics, you'll have come across living hinges. They are found in a wide variety of components – clamshell packaging, attached bottle caps, and electronic cases, just to name a few. They are low cost, easy to manufacture, and have little wear or friction involved in

By Fictiv Inc. - May 08, 2017

How to Design Snap Fit Components

Up your 3D printing game using these crucial tips, calculations and features

Designing components with snap fits can save you time and money in production by reducing material costs and part quantities as well as improving ease of assembly. While in the past injection molding has been the only viable method for producing snap fit joints in plastics, 3D printing opens up