At 3fD, we’ve never been afraid to challenge convention. Back when most design consultancies still began every project with a sketchpad, we were already exploring a faster, more precise way to bring ideas to life — by jumping straight into 3D.

It’s a story that Develop3D magazine covered in a feature piece (you can read the full case study here), but the thinking behind it is still at the heart of how we work today.

From Pen and Paper to 3D Sketching

When our founder, Austen Miller, set up 3fD (then 3form Design) in 2000, he wanted to close the gap between design and engineering. Traditional sketch-first processes created a disconnect — ideas would be drawn, reinterpreted by engineers, and too often lose something along the way.

So we threw away the marker pens and developed what we call “3D sketching” — the process of exploring form, proportion and texture directly inside CAD from the very start. This approach keeps ideas grounded in real-world constraints like scale, manufacturability and cost, while still leaving plenty of room for creativity.

As Austen puts it:

“Creativity shouldn’t be measured by the medium we choose, but by how successfully we can use it.”

Building for Manufacture — From Day One

The natural next step was to extend this thinking beyond design. If you can model it and test it digitally, why not take full ownership of making it too?

That’s how our integrated design-to-manufacture model began — an approach that’s now central to everything we do at 3fD and IKONYX, our manufacturing division.

By designing products and tooling side by side, we spot and solve production challenges before they exist. This is how projects like the Grolight, Wean Machine, and Miura payment terminal became commercial successes — because they were engineered for reality from the very first CAD model.

The Benefits of Integration

Owning both the design and manufacturing process has huge advantages:

• Speed and efficiency — no time lost translating ideas between teams
• Better design integrity — what’s imagined is exactly what’s produced
• Fewer prototypes — simulation and digital iteration reduce waste
• Smarter production — tooling designed in parallel with the product

And because we manage certification, packaging and logistics too, clients benefit from a genuine turnkey solution — from first concept sketch (digital, of course) to fully manufactured, boxed product.

Always Evolving

Today, our process has evolved even further — integrating advanced simulation, sustainability considerations, and digital manufacturing through IKONYX. But the principle remains the same: use technology to design smarter, faster, and closer to the real world.

If you’d like to see where it all started, you can download the original Develop3D case study here
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