Custom CAD
In-house 3D CAD and design — from a sketch, a measurement or a rough file to a clean, print-ready model. Quoted per hour, written estimate first.
Bicester3D's CAD and design service turns an idea, a measurement or a rough file into a clean, manufacturable 3D model. We handle 2D and 3D modelling and drafting, design-for-print optimisation, and full product design from scratch — whether you arrive with a fully specified part or a sketch on the back of an envelope. We model in-house in Fusion 360 and SolidWorks using proper parametric pipelines, so the file you get back is editable, dimensioned and ready to manufacture. Quoted per hour from £30/hr, with a written estimate before any work begins.
What we can design
- 2D and 3D modelling and drafting — technical models, dimensioned drawings, and 2D-to-3D conversions built to your specification.
- Design for print (DFM) — wall thickness, draft angles, tolerances and infill optimised for your chosen material and process.
- Full product design — concept to print-ready CAD when you have a requirement but no model to start from.
- File modifications — changes and improvements to existing STL or STEP files.
- Mesh repair and conversion — low-quality or broken STLs cleaned into solid, printable geometry.
How we work
We model in Fusion 360 and SolidWorks using parametric pipelines, so your part stays editable rather than a frozen mesh. You get back the formats you need — STEP, STL, 3MF, or dimensioned 2D drawings. Every job is quoted per hour from £30/hr with a written estimate up front, and most small design jobs land in 2–6 hours.
Design and print under one roof
Because we print as well as design, a finished model can go straight into production — or stay design-only if you're manufacturing elsewhere. If your part starts from a physical object rather than an idea, reverse engineering and 3D scanning are the place to start.
CUSTOM CAD FAQ
Custom CAD starts from a brief, sketch, or requirement — you describe what you want, we build the file. Reverse engineering starts from a physical part — we scan it, then build the file from the scan data. Different starting points, same end product (a clean printable CAD file). Many projects use both: a worn part is reverse-engineered to capture its baseline geometry, then custom CAD modifies the design before reprinting.
Most small custom design jobs land in 2–6 hours of CAD time — a simple bracket, a one-off enclosure, a modification to an existing part. More complex assemblies, parametric design or full design-for-manufacture work runs longer. We give you a written hour estimate before any work starts, so there are no surprises on the invoice. Typical lead time: same week for small jobs, 1–2 weeks for larger assemblies.
Primarily Fusion 360 and SolidWorks for parametric engineering work; Blender for organic / artistic geometry; mesh tools (Meshmixer, Netfabb) for STL repair and conversion. We deliver files in whatever format you need — STEP, IGES, STL, 3MF, OBJ, or the native source file. If you need ongoing access to a parametric source for future iterations, we can deliver Fusion or SolidWorks files directly.
Yes — mesh modification, parametric remodelling, design-for-manufacture cleanup, scaling, splitting for assembly, hollowing for resin printing, adding lugs or mounting bosses. If you have the original parametric source (Fusion, SolidWorks, Inventor) we work from that for cleaner edits. If you only have the STL we'll either edit the mesh directly or remodel as parametric depending on what you need to do.
STEP and IGES for parametric engineering use, STL and 3MF for 3D printing, OBJ for visualisation/rendering use. If your downstream pipeline needs a specific format (DXF for CNC, native Fusion/SolidWorks for ongoing edits, etc.) we'll deliver in that. We don't lock files — you own everything we produce.