I have no 3D file: the four ways to get one
Model libraries, custom modelling, scanning and drawing it yourself. What each route costs, how long it takes, and which suits your part.
Nearly half the people who write to us have no file. It is not an unusual obstacle: it is the normal starting point, especially with spares for appliances nobody makes any more. There are four routes, and they differ in money, time and how much you have to put in.
1. Look for it in a model library
Printables, Thingiverse, MakerWorld, Cults and GrabCAD hold millions of models, many free. It is the first thing to try and it costs five minutes. It works well for common objects — organisers, phone stands, parts for popular machines, figures — and badly for anything bespoke. Check two things before trusting one: that the dimensions match yours, because many models are for a different version of the appliance, and what licence it carries if the use is commercial.
2. Have it modelled for you
The normal route for a spare or a bespoke part. You send photos with a ruler or calipers beside the part, or bring it to the workshop, and it gets drawn in CAD. It is quoted before any work starts and billed separately from printing, because it is design work. Many simple parts — a bracket, a cover, a bush, a trim piece — come to considerably less than people fear.
3. Scan the part
It sounds like the obvious answer and it is the least understood. A scanner gives a surface mesh, not a dimensioned model: what comes out is a noisy cloud of triangles, with no clean edges, no genuinely round holes and no flat that is flat. For a sculpture, an organic shape or a complex surface it is irreplaceable. For a mechanical part with flat faces and holes, measuring with calipers and drawing it in CAD is faster, cheaper and produces a part that actually fits. Often the scan serves as a reference and the CAD is built on top of it.
4. Draw it yourself
More approachable than it looks if the part is geometric. Tinkercad takes an afternoon to learn and is enough for boxes, brackets, spacers and adapters. Fusion 360 and Onshape have free personal licences and are real CAD, with the learning curve that implies. If the part is four extrusions and two holes, drawing it yourself is the cheapest option and the one that gives you most control.
| Route | Cost | Time | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model library | Free or a few euros | Minutes | A common, standard object |
| Custom modelling | Quoted separately | Days to a week | Spares and bespoke parts |
| Scanning | The dearest | Days, plus clean-up | Organic, complex shapes |
| Draw it yourself | Your time | An afternoon upwards | Simple geometric parts |
Can you make a part from a photo?
From a single photo, not reliably: the scale is missing and so is everything the photo does not show. With several photos from different angles, a ruler or calipers in frame and a few key dimensions noted, yes — and that is exactly how most spares get solved.
What does it cost to have a part modelled?
It depends entirely on complexity, so it is quoted case by case and always before starting: you never receive a modelling invoice you did not approve. A cover, a bracket or an adapter is in a very different order of magnitude from a curved enclosure with snap fits.
Is the file you model for me mine?
Yes. The model made for your job is yours: you can ask for it, take it away and print it wherever you like. It is not shared, not published and not reused for other customers.