My first Ponoko mess-up and how I could have avoided it...
A recommendation from Josh Judkins.
LEFT: result of my original design. | RIGHT: what it was meant to look like.
Yes that's right - I managed to make a TINY unreadable business card (about the size of a Mahjong tile) as a result of using the wrong Units when I was designing it. Suffice to say, Pixels do not equal Millimeters.
I console myself that this age of rapid prototyping and digital manufacturing allowed me to discover my mistake quickly and with minimal expense. Not like the $327.6 million which went down the drain due to improper Unit conversion with the Mars Climate Orbiter.
However, I could have easily spotted the mistake before even uploading my design. I now know that I could have prototyped my design at (virtually) zero cost to myself, using equipment available in my own home.
I could have printed out my design on paper.
So next time you're uncertain whether your design is too detailed, if you've left enough room to fit chain through a hole, or if you want to see how large your Ponoko business cards will turn out...
Print it out at 100% scale and make your first prototype FREE.
All good? Jump back to myPonoko.
Did you need to make some adjustments? Upload your updated design.
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