CAD MODELING AND DRAFTING
Your ideas deserve
to come to life.
20 years of mechanical engineering experience — from semiconductor equipment to startup prototypes. Now focused on helping inventors, builders and fabricators get the CAD support they need.
Why "Ideal Forms"?
Plato imagined "The Forms" to be the perfect ideal of our world. Reality, the only thing we can actually see or touch, is an imperfect shadow of The Forms, cast onto the allegorical cave wall.
Your ideas are The Forms your business relies on. I specialize in the reality projection, taking ideas and sketches and turning them into manufacturing quality CAD and drawings.
I'll help you create reality out of your Forms. I've been doing mechanical engineering design and CAD modeling in Solidworks for 20 years. Let me help you.
What I Do
Every project is different, but these are the problems I solve most often.
Sketches to Models
Hand drawings, napkin sketches, AI-generated concepts — I turn them into manufacturing-ready CAD.
ASME Y14.5 Drawings
Proper GD&T documentation from your existing models. Drawings that machinists actually want to read.
Legacy Drawing Conversion
Old 2D prints gathering dust? I rebuild them as fully parametric 3D models.
Design for Manufacturing
Small tweaks that make big differences on the shop floor. I've seen what works.
Something else? Let's talk about it.
Describe your project →Selected Work
A sample of projects across industries — electronics enclosures, small parts, mechanical assemblies.
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Electronics Enclosure
Full assembly with thermal management
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Road Bike Chainring Converter
Adapter bolt pattern for Shimano crankset
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High Current Busbar
Busbar with integrated filter components
Let's Talk About Your Project
Whether you have detailed specs or just a rough idea, I'm happy to discuss what you need and whether I'm the right fit. No obligation, no hard sell.
brian.ratliff@idealformscad.comUsually respond within one business day