Guides

Practical engineering explainers from the PartForm team - process selection, materials, and manufacturing trade-offs, written plainly for people deciding how to make a part.

Process selection

FDM 3D Printing vs Injection Moulding: When Each Wins

How tooling cost, volume, and lead time decide which process is the economical choice - and why the crossover is a range, not a single number.

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Design for printing

Splitting Oversized Parts for 3D Printing

When a part is bigger than the print bed, splitting it into sections and assembling beats a bigger machine - where to place the seam, and how to join, align, and bond the pieces.

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Material selection

Which FDM Material for Your Part? PETG vs ABS vs ASA vs Nylon vs PA-CF

Heat, UV, toughness, chemicals, printability and finishing compared across PETG, ABS, ASA, Nylon (PA12) and carbon-fibre PA-CF - with a pick-by-property table.

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Obsolescence & spares

Replacing a Discontinued Part: Scan & Reprint vs Bridge-Buy vs Re-Source

No CAD for an obsolete or broken part? When to reverse engineer and reprint, when to bridge-buy or stockpile, and when to redesign and re-source - with the accuracy to expect.

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Tooling & short-run production

Vacuum-Forming Tooling: Cast-Polyurethane Molds for Short-Run Parts

Cast-polyurethane vacuum-forming molds deliver production-quality thermoformed parts at a fraction of the cost and lead time of machined aluminium - durable enough for repeat short-run production. What it makes well, and how it works.

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