From a Reference Photo to a One-of-a-Kind 3D Printed Gift

We were recently asked to design and 3D print a ceremonial key as a birthday gift, working from only a reference picture. After a bit of designing, tweaking and test printing, we landed on a piece that matched the brief and felt right in the hand, right down to the finish.

Step 1: the brief was one low-quality picture

There were no drawings, no measurements and no product to copy. Just a single low-resolution reference image of a ceremonial key that the customer had found and sent through, and a date the gift was needed by. That is a perfectly normal starting point for us, and it is usually enough.

Step 2: designed from scratch

From that picture we drew the key up properly in CAD: the bow with the interlocking rings, the "21" worked into the shaft, and the bit at the end, all proportioned so it looks right in the hand rather than just right on screen.

Step 3: printed, finished and boxed

After a bit of tweaking and test printing we landed on a piece that matched the brief and felt right in the hand, right down to the gold finish. It went out in a presentation box, ready to hand over on the day.

This is one of the projects we enjoy most: taking an idea, or sometimes just a photo someone has saved, and turning it into something physical you can actually hold and give.

If there is something you have always wished existed, a gift, a decoration, a practical fix, but could never quite find, that is exactly the kind of project we like to hear about.

Tell us what you have in mind and we will let you know what is possible.