Reach for the design that matches the product
The library's top shelf is whole-product 3D designs — not just a plain box, but a shape built for a kind of product, with the features that product needs. Instead of describing an enclosure from scratch, you reach for the one that matches.
What's on the shelf:
- Lamp — weighted base, adjustable arm, a hollow shade with an LED mount.
- Speaker — a sealed cabinet, a driver baffle, a tuned bass port, a removable back for the amp/battery, a snap-on grille.
- Storage — Gridfinity bins/trays on a 42 mm grid, with a matching baseplate.
- Sign — an edge-lit or backlit light box that spells a word or a logo shape.
- Handheld — a two-part clamshell for a screen, buttons, and an 18650 battery.
- Weather station — a louvered radiation shield over an electronics base.
- Gearbox, camera slider, planter, tool mount — each with its own built-in features.
- Device / instrument enclosure — the general MCU + display + buttons case that "looks like a product."
Pick the design whose shape matches your product; you get its features for free and then tailor from there.
Which design for which product
Choosing the right domain design is mostly matching the product's job to a shape:
| You're building… | Start from |
|---|---|
| A self-watering planter | Planter — self-draining pot, soil-sensor channel, display pocket |
| A portable speaker | Speaker — cabinet, baffle, tuned port, removable back |
| A parts organiser / drawer insert | Storage — Gridfinity trays + baseplate |
| An outdoor temp/humidity station | Weather station — louvered radiation shield |
| A retro game handheld | Handheld — clamshell with 18650 bay |
| A light-up name or logo sign | Sign — backlit light box |
| A desk instrument (screen + buttons) | Device / instrument enclosure |
| A wall holder for tools | Tool mount — Gridfinity wall plate |
When you describe the product to the 3D part designer, using the product's name ("a planter," "a speaker," "a sign") nudges it toward the matching design. From there you adjust dimensions and openings to your parts — the inside-out method from BWF1 still applies.
You're building a self-watering planter with a moisture sensor and a small display. Which domain design is the natural starting point?
Try it — generate a whole-product enclosure
Now generate a whole-product enclosure and see how much a domain design gives you.
This opens the 3D part designer with a speaker cabinet described. Generate it and study the parts it produces — the sealed box, the driver baffle, the tuned port, the removable back for the electronics, the snap-on grille. None of that came from you; it came from the design.
Then try again with a different one — swap the description for a planter or a weather-station shield — and watch a completely different, purpose-built shape come out.
This opens the 3D part designer with a speaker cabinet described. Generate it and study the parts it produces — the sealed box, the driver baffle, the tuned port, the removable back. Try swapping in a planter or a weather-station shield instead.
A portable Bluetooth speaker cabinet with a driver baffle, a battery bay, and a snap-on grille.
Opens in a new tab so you keep this lesson open. Nothing to buy — this is just to see how Forge reasons. This step isn't graded.