3D Printing & CAD Design

I originally got into 3D printing because I wanted to be able to make parts for my other projects instead of always having to find something that already existed.

Pretty quickly, learning how to actually design those parts became a project of its own.

I’m using Autodesk Fusion and a Bambu Lab A1 Mini to learn the full process of taking something from an idea to a physical object: designing it, figuring out how it can actually be printed, making a first version, finding what doesn’t work, changing the model, and trying again.

The work has already spread into a few very different areas. I’ve been designing flexible TPU bracelets and wrist straps, workshop organization, filament storage, display hardware, mechanical test pieces, and parts for some of my other engineering projects.

What interests me most isn’t really downloading models and printing them. It’s getting better at designing my own.

That means learning CAD, parametric modeling, tolerances, material behavior, print orientation, supports, assembly, and how to design around the limitations of the machine making the part.

This project is where I’m documenting that process as I get better at it.