Design patents protect how a product looks; utility patents protect how it works. Learn the difference, the costs, and why many products need both.
Author Archives: Shelle Parsons
A 2D drawing isn’t a 3D model. Here’s how engineers convert legacy prints, scans, and physical samples into validated, manufacturable STEP files — and where it goes wrong.
How post-tension strand sheathing gets stripped in the field, why it’s harder and riskier than it looks, and the depth-controlled tool PartSnap is developing.
How to order a 3D printed veterinary bone model: what CT/DICOM data we need, the step-by-step workflow, printing options, sterility, cost, and turnaround.
Why utility-knife strand stripping is the weakest link in post-tensioning installation, what ‘cleanly stripped’ actually means, and what a purpose-built tool should do.
A working engineer’s guide to choosing between worst-case and Root-Sum-Square tolerance analysis, with a 5-feature worked example and the three mistakes that cost the most money.
TPLO is one of the most common — and most variable — orthopedic surgeries in veterinary medicine. A patient-specific 3D printed tibia, in the surgeon’s hand the day before the procedure, changes the conversation.
DFM is where prototype budgets are won or lost. Twelve concrete decisions — tolerances, materials, geometry, finishes — that move parts from $400 each to $40 each without changing what the part does.
Confused about provisional vs. non-provisional patents? Here’s a clear, practical breakdown of what each one does, what it costs, and which you should file first.
Need to recreate a part with no drawings? Learn how reverse engineering services turn physical parts into manufacturable CAD models — and when it’s worth the investment.