Broke a part? Photograph it. Print a replacement.
Upload a photo of the broken piece — a snapped bracket, a stripped gear, a cracked clip. Formo reconstructs the geometry and hands you a validated, watertight file ready for your slicer.
Replace what you broke, without CAD
Most people who need a replacement part either can't find the exact one online, or don't own CAD software to model it from a photo and calipers. Formo's photo-to-3D path exists specifically for this: describe or photograph the broken piece, note the critical dimensions if you know them (or let Formo ask), and get back a file.
Every generated file goes through the same watertight and dimensional-consistency validation as any other Formo generation — a replacement part that doesn't fit or won't print isn't useful, so the check happens before you ever see the download link.
If the broken piece is a common shape — a knob, a bracket, a clip — there may already be a parametric starter for it. Those are free, need no account, and let you type the exact dimensions instead of describing them: knurled knob, L-bracket, cable clip, or the full gallery.
FAQ
What if I don't have exact measurements for the broken part?
Include something for scale in the photo — a ruler or a coin — or just tell the chat the dimensions you do know. Formo asks a clarifying question for anything critical it can't infer.
The part fits onto a shaft or into a socket. Can a photo capture geometry I can't see?
No — and neither can any other photo-based tool. A photo shows the outside; on a knob, pulley or clip the fit is on the inside. Measure that surface and state the numbers in the chat: socket diameter and depth, and for a D-shaft the flat-to-flat distance too. Formo builds the geometry around the dimensions you give rather than inferring them from the picture. Ask for a short test coupon of just the fitting surface first — a wrong tolerance then costs a few minutes instead of a whole part.
Nobody has ever printed this file before. How do I de-risk the first print?
Correct — unlike a model pulled from a repository, a freshly generated part has no community Makes, ratings or proven print profiles behind it. Two things close most of that gap: print the fitting surface as a small test coupon before committing to the full part, and check the file against our design-for-3D-printing guide for wall thickness, overhangs and print orientation. Watertight means a slicer will accept it, not that the geometry suits your printer and material.
Can Formo replace mechanical parts like gears, not just brackets?
Yes, for describable geometry — gears, clips, hooks, mounts, brackets. Highly complex mechanical assemblies may need more back-and-forth in the chat to get right.
What file do I get?
STL and 3MF for printing directly, plus a STEP file if you want to open and adjust it in CAD software.
Is this the same as generic photo-to-3D-model AI tools?
No — general-purpose AI 3D tools optimize for visual appearance, not print-readiness, and commonly produce non-watertight geometry that fails in a slicer. Formo validates every file for watertightness and dimensional consistency before delivery.
How is this different from a freelancer, marketplace, or quote-based part-replication service?
Those work too, especially for complex parts where a human's judgment helps — you send photos, they quote a price and turnaround. Formo skips that back-and-forth: describe or photograph the part yourself in chat, get a validated file back in minutes, on a free tier that includes the actual download — not just a preview or a quote request.