Welcome to Chapter 2 of SendCutSend Education. In this chapter, we shift from learning CAD tools to designing with intent and building real parts that can actually be manufactured. In the first lesson Jake introduces reverse engineering, where we take an existing object, in this case, an Arduino Uno circuit board, and recreate its essential features in CAD. Instead of modeling every tiny detail, we focus on the key dimensions that matter: the overall rectangular outline, the mounting holes, and critical ports like USB, power, and the reset button. You’ll learn how to measure these features with calipers, apply them in your CAD program, and create a fully defined, robust sketch.

Along the way, we’ll explore simple measurement tricks for hole spacing, highlight why it’s best to capture only what’s necessary, and show how you can use sites like GrabCAD or Thingiverse when you need ready-made STEP files. By the end of this lesson, you’ll understand how to design around real-world parts, setting the stage for creating a custom enclosure and moving into assemblies with joints in the next lesson.

What You’ll Learn:

• The importance of designing with intent in CAD
• How to reverse engineer real-world parts for your projects
• Using calipers to measure overall shapes, hole locations, and port positions
• Quick methods for calculating hole center-to-center spacing
• Why focusing on only the key features keeps designs simple and effective
• How to create a robust sketch in CAD for the Arduino Uno
• When to download existing models (GrabCAD, Thingiverse) vs. sketching from scratch