Check an injection-molded snap-fit before you commit to tooling
You designed a plastic housing with integrated snap-fit clips. It looks clean in CAD, but you are not sure the undercuts are mold-friendly or whether the clips will force expensive side-actions. Fabdose reads the STEP file face by face and tells you, before tooling is cut.
The problem
Snap-fit clips and integrated features are where injection-molded parts quietly go wrong. An undercut that is trapped relative to the mold's pull direction needs a side-action, which adds tooling cost and lead time. Missing draft makes parts hard to eject. None of this is visible in a clean-looking render, and you usually find out at quote time, after the geometry is locked.
What Fabdose does in that moment
- 1
Drop the STEP file and pick injection molding
Open Fabdose on your computer, drag in the STP or STEP file, and select injection molding. Your CAD file is never uploaded. The analysis runs locally in under a minute.
- 2
See the exact faces that fail
The 3D viewer pins the faces with trapped undercuts and the faces below your draft threshold, each marked with severity. You see precisely which clips would need a side-action, not a vague "watch out for draft."
- 3
Fix and re-check before anyone sees it
Add draft, relieve the trapped undercut, re-export, and run it again. The whole loop stays on your computer, so you iterate in minutes instead of waiting on a quote round.
The result
You catch the trapped undercut before tooling, avoiding a rework that surfaces mid-quote and can cost thousands in tooling changes. The design rhythm stays intact, and your CAD never leaves your computer.
Honest limits
Fabdose reads injection-molding geometry face by face for undercuts and draft. Wall-thickness checks are a nominal estimate, not a full shell analysis, and rib and hole checks are not implemented yet. It is a pre-check that filters obvious problems, not a substitute for the manufacturer's review at quote time.
Questions
- Does Fabdose show which specific faces have undercuts?
- Yes, for injection molding. The 3D viewer pins each face with a trapped undercut or insufficient draft, relative to the pull direction, and marks its severity. You get specific faces, not a general warning, which is what makes the fix actionable.
- Will Fabdose tell me if a clip needs a side-action?
- It flags the undercuts that are trapped relative to the mold's pull direction, which are the features that typically force side-actions. That lets you redesign the clip with intentional draft before tooling is cut, instead of discovering it during a quote. The final tooling call still comes from your mold maker.
- Can I try this for free?
- Yes. The free tier includes 5 analyses with no credit card; an account (Google or email) is required. Your STEP files stay on your computer. Pro is $35/month for unlimited analyses and a multi-process comparison report.
Free tier needs an account, no card. Your STEP files stay on your computer.