Guides · 29 Oct 2026

From a phone photo to a parametric bracket

A common first request from participants: take a photo of a worn bracket and get a CAD model out of it. Here is what currently works, and what you still have to decide yourself.

What works

Given a photo with a ruler in frame, an assistant can estimate overall dimensions, recognise standard features — holes, slots, fillets, bends — and propose a modelling order. For simple sheet-metal and machined brackets, the proposed feature tree is usually sensible.

What doesn't

• Dimensions from photos are estimates. Measure the critical ones: hole spacing, mounting faces, material thickness.
• Hole sizes come back as round numbers. Check them against the fastener and the fit you actually need.
• The assistant has no idea which faces are functional. That decides which dimensions are driving and which are reference.

Design intent first

Before asking for any geometry, write two lines: what the part bolts to, and what must not move when the part is changed. Give those lines to the assistant along with the photo. The difference in the proposed constraints is immediate.