Full Pipeline · CAD · CAM/CNC

Precision Ergonomic Component

A client brought us a component they used every day and found uncomfortable, and asked us to reproduce and improve it in wood. We had full discretion over the design and the manufacturing method, and took it all the way from reference measurement to finished walnut parts, with a 3D-printed fit prototype along the way before we committed to final machining.

3D Model

Working from the reference measurements of the original part, we rebuilt the geometry in CAD and reworked the areas the client found uncomfortable, reshaping the contact surfaces for a better fit in the hand. A photorealistic render went back to the client for sign-off before any material was cut. A 3D-printed prototype then let us confirm the fit and proportions in the real world, so we only committed the design to walnut once both the look and the feel were approved.

Photoreal render of the reshaped ergonomic component in walnut, produced for client sign-off before machining

CAM

Because the part carries detail on both faces, we programmed it as a two-sided job. The first face was machined from flat stock, then the toolpaths for the reverse were referenced to a custom fixture: a negative cavity milled from the first-face geometry, so the part drops in and is held in exactly the right position and orientation. This let us cut the second face without losing alignment, keeping both sides true to the model.

Fusion 360 CAM view showing machining toolpaths generated over the component's first face

Fusion 360 CAM view with a blue contour toolpath tracing the component's perimeter

CNC

The component was machined from solid walnut on our in-house CNC router. With the first face cut, the piece was transferred into the fixture and flipped to machine the reverse, the cavity holding it steady against the cutting forces. Because both faces were referenced to the same model, the two halves of the form met cleanly along the part's edges, ready for hand sanding and a linseed-oil finish.

CNC router spindle machining the first face of the walnut component on the machine bed

The walnut part held in a pink negative-cavity fixture while the CNC router machines its second face

Finish

CNC-milled walnut components during hand sanding

The challenge

Machining both faces of an ergonomic part to tight tolerances means flipping it mid-job without losing your reference. We machined a negative-cavity fixture from the first-face geometry, which locks the part precisely for the second operation. Both faces end up accurate to the original reference dimensions.

Services used

Reference measurement and reverse geometry
Parametric CAD (Fusion 360)
Render and client approval workflow (Blender)
3D print prototype
Two-sided CAM (Fusion 360)
CNC machining in solid walnut
Hand sanding, finishing, and linseed oil treatment

Deliverables

Finished physical components in walnut, hand-finished
CAD file (STEP + native Fusion 360)
CAM files and setup documentation
Render for client reference

Notable technical detail. The double-sided machining fixture was the engineering heart of this job. Without a precise way to hold the part for the second operation, you can't keep both faces accurate on a CNC router. The negative-cavity approach is a standard move in precision fixture design, used here at small-batch prototype scale.