Custom 3D design service
Got a photo of a broken part, a sketch on the back of an envelope, or just an idea in your head? We turn a photo into a printable STL — or model it from your sketch or description — send you a fixed quote, and 3D print it once you're happy: a custom 3D print or replacement part, designed for you. No CAD skills needed on your side.
Simple part
Brackets, spacers, hooks and wall mounts, or a simple ornament, keepsake or figurine — straightforward shapes from your photo, sketch or description
Standard design
Enclosures, snap-fit assemblies, recreating a broken part with exact fits and tolerances
Complex project
Organic sculpts, moving mechanisms, multi-part products — handled with our specialist design partner
Tell us what you need
The more you can tell us — measurements, what it attaches to, a photo — the faster we can quote. You'll get a fixed price by email within 24 hours, and nothing to pay until you accept it.
What you get
A model you own, in files you can use anywhere — not a mesh that ties you to one supplier.
Editable CAD, not just a mesh
You receive a STEP file alongside the print-ready STL. That is a real parametric model: it can be opened, measured and changed by any engineer or manufacturer, here or anywhere else.
You own it outright
Once it's paid for the design is yours — to reproduce, to sell products made from it, and to take elsewhere. We keep no licence, never reuse it for anyone else, and never add it to any catalogue.
Two rounds of changes
One after you've seen the CAD on screen, and one more after you've held the printed part — because the dimensions you can hold are the ones you actually judge.
How a design job runs
Nothing is charged, and nothing is printed, before you say so.
- You send the brief. A photo, a sketch, a drawing or a description. Measurements help — a ruler or calipers is plenty — and you can post us the broken part if that's easier.
- We quote a fixed price. By email, normally within 24 hours, against the published bands above. If we think the job isn't worth doing, or is better done another way, we'll say so.
- The model is drawn. Properly, in CAD, so it can be edited later. You see it on screen and ask for changes before anything is made.
- We print it — or you don't. Printing is quoted separately once the model exists. Plenty of customers take the files and cast, mould or machine the part instead. That's fine; you own it.
Masters for casting and mould-making
If the printed part is going to be a master — for a silicone mould, for casting in Jesmonite, resin or plaster — say so at the brief stage, because it is modelled differently from a part meant to be used as printed. Generous radii throughout. No undercuts that would lock the mould on. Draft on the vertical faces so it releases cleanly. Wall sections thick enough to survive being demoulded over and over.
One thing worth knowing before you spend anything: a 3D print is built in fine layers, and a silicone mould copies its master faithfully — layer lines included. A master usually wants sanding and a couple of coats of filler primer before it's moulded. That's ordinary practice and it isn't difficult, but it is real work, and we'd rather tell you at the quote than let you discover it at the mould stage.
Custom 3D design — your questions
Can you design something for me if I have no 3D file?
Yes — that is the whole service. Send a photo, a sketch, a drawing or just a written description and we model it properly in CAD, then print it in our own UK workshop if you want it made. You never need to open a CAD program, and there is nothing to pay until you have seen and accepted a fixed quote.
How much does a custom 3D design cost in the UK?
We publish fixed bands rather than an hourly rate, so you know the cost before any work starts. Simple part parts — brackets, spacers, hooks, a straightforward keepsake — are £20–£55, usually 1–2 days. Standard design work such as enclosures, snap-fit assemblies or recreating a broken part to exact dimensions is £140–£300, usually 1–2 weeks. Complex project projects — organic sculpts, moving mechanisms, multi-part products — are £400–£950, usually 2–4 weeks. You get a fixed quote for your own brief before anything is drawn.
What files do I get, and can I edit them later?
You get a STEP file as well as a print-ready STL, so what you own is a real editable CAD model rather than a mesh you are stuck with. You can take it to another manufacturer, hand it to a mould maker, or have it changed by anyone you like, whether or not you ever print with us again.
Who owns the design once it is paid for?
You do, outright. The model is yours to use commercially, to reproduce, to sell products made from it, and to take elsewhere. We keep no licence over it, we never reuse your design for anyone else, and it is never added to any catalogue.
How many changes are included?
Two rounds. One after you have seen the CAD on screen, and — if you are having it printed — one more after you have the part in your hands, because dimensions you can hold are the ones you actually judge. Anything beyond that is quoted separately, but two rounds covers almost every job.
Can you design a master for casting or mould-making?
Yes, and it is worth saying so up front, because a master is modelled differently from a part meant to be used as printed: generous radii, no undercuts that would lock the mould on, draft on the vertical faces so it releases cleanly, and wall sections thick enough to survive being demoulded repeatedly. One thing worth knowing early — a 3D print is built in fine layers, and a silicone mould copies its master faithfully, layer lines included. Masters usually want sanding and filler primer before moulding, and we will tell you honestly where that applies to your part rather than let you find out at the mould stage.
Can you recreate a part from a photograph?
Usually. Photographs of a broken or discontinued part, plus a few measurements taken with a ruler or calipers, are enough for most brackets, clips, knobs, housings and trim pieces. Send whatever you have — including the broken pieces themselves if you would rather post them — and we will tell you before quoting whether the shape can be recovered reliably or whether it really needs measuring properly.
How long does the design work take?
Simple part jobs are usually 1–2 days, Standard design work 1–2 weeks, and Complex project projects 2–4 weeks. Printing is quoted and scheduled separately once you have approved the model, so nothing goes on a machine before you are happy with it.
What happens after I send my brief?
We read it and send you a fixed quote by email, normally within 24 hours. If you accept, the model is drawn and sent to you to look at before anything is printed. You approve it, we print and post it, and the files are yours. If we think a job is not worth doing, or is better done another way, we will say so rather than take the money — there is no charge for looking at a brief.
Do you design parts you will not be printing?
Yes. The design work stands on its own, and plenty of models made here are produced another way entirely — cast in resin or Jesmonite, moulded, machined, or printed elsewhere in a material we do not run. You are buying a model you own, not a tie-in. If you do want it printed too, upload the finished file for an instant price or email [email protected].