Design Tips

Practical design guides to help you optimize part design and improve manufacturing quality.

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2026-08-21

Flame-Retardant 3D Printing: Choosing the Right Material, Process, and Rating

A concise guide to UL 94 thickness, flame-retardant materials, DFM and validation for 3D-printed parts.

A Guide to Materials for SLS 3D Printing

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Understanding 3D Printing Tolerances

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

How to Design and 3D Print Flexible Parts

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

How Much Does 3D Printing Cost? The Real Drivers Behind the Quote

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Resin 3D Printing: Processes, Materials, and the Decisions That Actually Matter

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Choosing the Right Plastic Prototype Method — By the Question, Not by Habit

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Designing Parts for PolyJet Overmolding

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Designing Lattice Structures That Actually Deliver

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Designing Thin Walls, Tight Clearances, and Fine Channels That Actually Ship

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Vapour Smoothing for 3D-Printed Parts — When It Pays Back

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Designing for Powder Bed Fusion: Variants, DFM, and Depowdering

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

How to Design STL Files for 3D Printing in Your CAD Program

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

7 Mistakes to Avoid When Designing 3D-Printed Parts

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

How to Design for Nylon 3D Printing

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Carbon DLS for Production Parts: A Design and Process Playbook

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Post-Processing for Metal 3D Printing: The 40% of Cost That Decides 100% of Function

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

How to Design 3D-Printed Hinges That Survive 100k+ Cycles

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Designing Jigs and Fixtures for 3D Printing: DFM, Materials, and Shop-Floor Reality

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Secondary Operations for 3D Printed Parts: Costs, Dimensions, and Route Selection

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Designing Functional Parts for HP Multi Jet Fusion in 2026

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Industrial 3D Printing for Production Parts: From Prototype to Validated Lot

Industrial AM can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Prototyping with PolyJet 3D Printing

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Industrial 3D Printing Cost Playbook: Batch, Consolidate, Digitize

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Designing for Selective Laser Sintering — The DfSLS Playbook

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Designing for Stereolithography: Walls, Supports, Drainage, and Post-Cure

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Redefining Metal Part Design With 3D Printing

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

DfAM for DMLS: Supports, Orientation, and Alloy-Aware Features

3D Printing can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Solving Wall Thickness Issues in Injection-Molded Parts

Injection Molding can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

CNC Machining Tolerances: ISO 2768, GD&T, and Cost Trade-Offs

CNC Machining can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Sheet Metal Bend Radius: Working Numbers for Steel, Stainless, and Aluminum

Sheet Metal can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Corrosion-Resistant Metals: Mechanism-Driven Selection Guide

Metals can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

UV-Resistant Plastics for Outdoor Applications: A Selection and Validation Guide

Plastics can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Choosing Heat-Resistant Plastics: HDT, CSUT and the Material Ladder

Plastics can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.

Rapid Prototyping Iteration Loop: Velocity, Fidelity, and Knowing When to Stop

Rapid Prototyping can look straightforward in CAD and still fail after printing, finishing or inspection.