Learning CAD for Hardware Design
How necessity drove us to learn FreeCAD for custom enclosure design — navigating thermal management, environmental resistance, and tight tolerances.
One thing this project has definitely pushed me to do: finally learn CAD.
When we couldn’t find any off-the-shelf enclosures that fit our layout, we had no choice but to design our own. I picked up FreeCAD — open source, free, and surprisingly capable — and dove in.
The learning curve was steep. CAD isn’t like writing code or designing a circuit. Everything you model has to live and function in the physical world. Tolerances matter. Assembly order matters. And what looks clean on screen might not survive a 3D print or a CNC run.
The constraints we’re working within are real:
- All the technology has to fit in minimal space
- Heat dissipation has to be managed properly
- The enclosure needs to resist water and dust
- Mounting points need to align with real-world hardware
It’s a different kind of problem-solving, but it’s been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey.
Precision Tech. Prairie Born.