How
I work.
I would rather ask three times at the start than redraw twice at the end. Here is what a job looks like with me, from the first phone call to handover.
Process
From enquiry to handover
I listen to the whole idea
Not just the brief, but the whole picture as you see it. The better I understand what the thing has to do and why, the less gets redrawn later. I take this step seriously even on a small job.
We settle three things
What problem is being solved, what you want at the end — models, drawings, a calculation report, some other document — and by when you need it. Without those three there is no point starting.
I estimate scope and price
I work out how many hours it will take. The rate is 450 CZK/h and I allow a tolerance of roughly ±5 hours — design work cannot be planned to the minute and I don't want the invoice to surprise you.
I model and keep you posted
A check-in every two weeks, sooner on faster jobs. You see the work in progress and say whether it is heading the right way. The sooner it is corrected, the better for both sides.
I hand over what we agreed
Typically models, drawings and calculations — but the exact scope is the one we agreed at the start, not the one that suits me best.
Tools
What it is built in
CAD and drawings
Autodesk Fusion
My own licence — most jobs run in this
SolidWorks
I'm more experienced in it; needs a client-loaned licence
Calculations
SMath
Calcpad
Mathcad
3D printing
PrusaSlicer
Limits
What you won't get from me
Certified calculations
I am not a chartered engineer and I don't hold a professional stamp. On projects where load capacity or safety depends on the calculation, I work it out and write it up in a calculation report — but a chartered engineer has to sign it off. For drawings or a model alone, none of this applies.
FEA simulation
I don't have the software for it. I do calculations by hand in SMath, Calcpad or Mathcad and document them in a calculation report. Where a design cannot do without simulation, I say so at the very start.
Electronics and 3D scanning
I have done both on university projects, but I don't take them on as paid work. I would rather say up front that it is not my field than learn it at your expense.
Rate
450 CZK / hour
I estimate the hours up front from the scope, with a tolerance of roughly ±5 hours. I am not VAT registered, so the price we agree is the price you pay.