Custom 3D printing in Sault Ste. Marie Got a problem?
We’ll build the fix.
Norcode designs and 3D prints custom parts: replacements for things nobody sells anymore, upgrades for your car, home or hobby, and prototypes for things that don’t exist yet.
One-off fixes or runs of a few hundred, up to 600 mm across. Shipped across Canada, or ready for pickup in Sault Ste. Marie.
- Housing
- ASA, holds up in a hot car
- Light ring
- Translucent PETG, colour-swapped in
- LEDs
- Addressable RGB, 12 V
- Fit
- Clips into the stock opening
Bring us the problem, not the part number.
These are the kinds of problems we take on: something broken, something that doesn’t fit, or a thing you wish existed. Pick one to see how we’d handle it.
A replacement vent, or just the broken tab
- Send photos and the broken pieces, or pop the vent out and mail it in.
- Model the missing tab, or the whole vent if it’s worn out, to match the original clips.
- Print it in ASA so it survives a summer on the dashboard, check the fit, and send it back ready to clip in.
A replacement gear in tougher nylon
- Send the old gear, or a photo of it next to a ruler. We count the teeth and measure the shaft.
- Model a matching gear, and beef up the weak spot that made the original strip.
- Print it in nylon, which wears in rather than out, and send it with fitting notes.
A flexible replacement gasket
- Measure the groove it sits in rather than the old seal, which shrinks and warps with age.
- Model it with a raised sealing bead, the way the factory one was made.
- Print a couple of hardnesses in TPU so you can find the one that seals, and keep a spare.
A mount that bends instead of breaking
- Send the frame model, or measure the standoffs and the camera width.
- Model a mount at the camera angle you fly, with a little room to flex.
- Print it in TPU so it soaks up the hit, with carbon-fibre nylon wherever it has to stay stiff.
Lever grips that slip over the taps
- Measure the tap handles, or send a few photos with a coin in the shot for scale.
- Model levers that clamp over the existing handles, so no plumbing changes.
- Print a rigid core with a soft TPU grip, in a colour that’s easy to see.
Slim LED channels made to fit your cabinets
- Measure the cabinet undersides and find where the power can come from.
- Print slim housings with translucent diffusers that clip in, so you see a line of light, not dots.
- Wire it to a switch, a motion sensor, or your phone.
A small motor kit that fits your blinds
- Check how your blinds tilt or lift, and measure the rod or the cord.
- Print a bracket and coupling that fit the headrail and hold a small motor.
- Program an ESP32 to open them at sunrise, with a button and Home Assistant control.
A panel that fits the blank, with backlit labels
- Measure the blank, or send it in, so the panel clips in where it came from.
- Print the panel in ASA, with the switch labels colour-swapped into translucent plastic so they glow at night.
- Build a fused, relay-switched harness with proper connectors and a wiring diagram.
A short run of production-ready enclosures
- Design around your board: standoffs, cable glands, vents and a snap-fit lid.
- Add brass heat-set inserts so screws can go in and out without stripping.
- Print one for sign-off, then run the batch, with TPU gaskets if it has to keep water out.
Filament for the jobs PLA can’t do.
Plain PLA covers a lot. The interesting work needs plastic that flexes, takes heat, or survives a summer outside. All of these are on the shelf.
| Material | What it’s like | Heat it handles | Feel |
|---|---|---|---|
PLA |
Rigid and crisp, with fine detail and endless colours. Indoors only: it softens in a hot car. |
55 °C |
Rigid |
Specialty PLASilk, matte, wood, glow |
Metallic sheens, stone-matte, wood-fill and glow-in-the-dark, for parts people look at. |
55 °C |
Rigid |
PETG |
Tough with a little give. Shrugs off water and most chemicals. Translucent grades make good light diffusers. |
70 °C |
Slight give |
ASA |
Made for sunlight. Keeps its colour and shape outdoors and on a dashboard in July. Our go-to for car interiors. |
95 °C |
Rigid |
PolycarbonatePC |
Very tough and impact-resistant, with clear grades. Takes real heat. |
115 °C |
Stiff |
NylonPA12 |
Slippery and tough. Gears, bushings and hinges that wear in rather than out. |
85 °C |
Slight give |
Carbon-fibre nylonPA-CF |
Stiff, light and strong, with a matte carbon finish. Brackets, drone arms and engine-bay parts. |
150 °C |
Very stiff |
TPU 95AFlexible |
Rubbery but firm, like a phone case. Bumpers, grips, gaskets and cable strain reliefs. |
60 °C |
Like a phone case |
TPU 85AExtra soft |
Soft and squishy, like a shoe sole. Gaskets, seals, boots and dampers. |
55 °C |
Like a shoe sole |
No single material does all of that. One part can mix them, though: a rigid body with a TPU grip, or an ASA housing with a translucent lens. Tell us what it’s for and we’ll work it out.
Heat figures are approximate softening points. Real limits depend on the load and the part’s shape.
Every material, and what each one is forBig parts, mixed materials, any colour.
We print parts up to 600 × 600 mm, combine rigid and flexible plastics in one part, and swap colours partway through a print.
- Up to 600 × 600 mm
Large enclosures, signs, dash panels and display pieces in one piece, with no glued seams.
- Rigid and flexible in one part
A hard body with a TPU grip, seal or bumper, printed together instead of glued on.
- Colour swapping
Labels, logos and light windows printed into the part, so they never wear off.
- The right machine for the job
Not every material runs on every printer, and the biggest parts suit some materials better than others. We’ll tell you what’s possible when we quote.
Lights, switches and sensors, built into the part.
A printed part can do more than hold its shape. We design the housing around the electronics, so the light comes out where you want it and the wiring disappears.
- LED trim and ambient lighting. Diffused channels give you a smooth line of light, not a row of dots.
- Colour you control. Addressable RGB run from a switch, a remote, or your phone.
- Switch panels. Faceplates for dashboards, desks, workbenches and boats, with backlit labels.
- Sensor housings. Mounts and enclosures for ESP32, Arduino and off-the-shelf sensors.
- Wiring you can service. Fused circuits, real connectors, strain relief and labels, so the next repair is easy.
| Item | Part | Made from |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diffuser lens | Translucent PETG, 1.1 mm wall, so the strip reads as one line |
| 2 | Snap groove | The lens clicks in; no screws on show |
| 3 | Housing | Black ASA, so it holds up to heat and sunlight |
| 4 | LED strip | 8 mm COB, 12 V, dimmable |
| 5 | Mounting tape | 3M VHB, 1 mm |
| 6 | Your panel | The housing is modelled to follow its curve |
We write the code too.
Norcode started as a software shop, so the electronics don’t stop at wiring. We write the firmware that makes a part smart, and connect it to the things you already use.
- Lights that react
Stairs that light up as you climb them, footwells that fade up when a car door opens, a workshop that switches on with the garage door.
- Control from your phone
Colour, brightness and scenes over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
- Home Assistant and ESPHome
Your project shows up on your dashboard next to everything else.
- Motors and sensors
Blinds that open at sunrise, a feeder on a schedule, or a sensor that warns you when the freezer warms up.
# Stair lights: fade up when someone's on the stairs
esphome:
name: stair-lights
esp32:
board: esp32dev
light:
- platform: esp32_rmt_led_strip
id: stairs
name: "Stairs"
pin: GPIO13
num_leds: 48
chipset: WS2812
rgb_order: GRB
default_transition_length: 800ms
binary_sensor:
- platform: gpio
name: "Stairs motion"
device_class: motion
pin: GPIO4
on_press:
- light.turn_on:
id: stairs
brightness: 60%
on_release:
- delay: 30s
- light.turn_off: stairs
What jobs usually cost
Every job gets its own quote, and quotes are free. These ranges give you an idea before you ask.
| Job | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Copy of a broken partClips, gears, gaskets and knobs, from a sample or good measurements | $25 to $60 |
| Part designed to fitBrackets, adapters, mounts and panels modelled from scratch | $80 to $250 |
| Lit trim or switch panelPrinted, wired and ready to install | $150 to $450 |
| Firmware and app controlAdded to any project with electronics | From $120 |
| Product prototypeDesign plus two or three rounds of test prints | From $400 |
| Small batchesPriced per part, and cheaper as the quantity goes up | Quoted |
Prices before tax. Big parts and engineering materials like carbon-fibre nylon cost more. Every price is confirmed before we start.
All prices and common questionsHow a job goes
You see a price and a 3D preview before anything gets printed, and you try a prototype before we make the final parts.
-
Send the problem
Photos, a sketch, rough measurements, or the broken part itself in the mail. Quotes are free.
Reply within a day -
We model it
You get a price and a 3D preview to look over and approve.
1 to 3 days -
Test fit
We print a prototype for you to try in place. If it’s off, we adjust and reprint.
2 to 5 days -
Final parts
Printed in the right material, finished, wired and programmed if it needs it, then shipped or ready to collect.
Depends on quantity
Tell us what’s broken, missing, or not invented yet.
Photos help. Measurements help more. The broken part itself helps most, so mail it in if you can.
We’re in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Pick your parts up here, or we’ll ship them anywhere in Canada.
Rather email or call? Write to hello@norcode.com or call 519-697-8524.