Policies and trust

What happens when you send us a file

Uploading a file is not a commitment. It starts a review. A person confirms feasibility, pricing, capacity and timing before 7Fabs commits.

That review is done by a human, not a bot. STEP, STP and STL files open in an interactive 3D preview so the reviewer can turn the part over and see what you actually drew. DXF, DWG, PDF and image files are attached for a person to open and read. Either way the file is attached to your project and travels with it — your project folder, the revision name on it, the quote and the final invoice all point back to the same file, so there's never a question about which version a part was made from.

and no schedule is set until a person has looked at your file and you've said yes to a quote.

Will you sign an NDA?

Yes. Ask and we'll send ours, or send yours and we'll review it.

Do it before you send anything you'd rather not have out in the world. Say the word in your first email or on the phone and we'll get it moving — you don't have to make a case for it, and asking isn't taken as a signal about the kind of customer you'll be. Plenty of good projects start with paperwork.

Who owns the design?

Ownership is agreed in writing on every project before work starts. That covers what you bring us, the CAD and drawings we produce along the way, and anything developed jointly. Ask for the current terms and we'll send them for your project.

Agreeing this up front is not a formality, and the reason is in the law rather than in our preferences — see the section below on why paying for a design doesn't automatically make it yours.

Three more questions, answered by a person

How long your files are kept

Your files stay attached to your project, which is what makes reorders and revisions work. If you want to know what happens to a file beyond that, or you want one removed, email [email protected] and you'll get a direct answer.

Cancellations

Cancellations are handled by a person, not a form. Call (321) 321-9220 or email [email protected] and we'll tell you exactly where your job stands and what your options are from there.

Remakes, returns and refunds

If a part isn't right, tell us and send a photo — this goes to the people who made it, not to a ticket queue. Email [email protected] or call (321) 321-9220 and we'll work out what happened and what happens next.

Before you share a design with any manufacturer

This part isn't about us. It's the set of things worth knowing before you send a design to any shop, including this one, and most people learn them slightly too late.

Disclosing starts a clock

Under US law, publicly disclosing an invention, offering it for sale, or commercially exploiting it starts a clock: generally about one year to file a US patent application. The trigger is broader than most people expect. Even a private sale can start it, where there was a commercial offer and the invention was ready for patenting. So "I'll file once I see whether it sells" is a common plan and a bad one — it's how the option quietly expires.

A provisional application buys twelve months

A US provisional application establishes a priority date and lets you use "Patent Pending" for 12 months. It costs less than a full application and it isn't examined. It also lapses automatically if a nonprovisional application doesn't follow within that year, and the priority date it bought goes away with it. Diary the deadline the day you file.

Trade secrets have no time limit and no safety net

A trade secret lasts as long as it stays secret. There's nothing to file and no term to renew, which makes it the right tool for a process or a formulation you never intend to publish. The protection depends entirely on the information staying confidential — which is exactly why an NDA is a working part of the strategy rather than a piece of ceremony. The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 added a federal civil claim for misappropriation alongside existing state law.

Paying for a design doesn't automatically make it yours

Under the US work-made-for-hire doctrine, a commissioning party owns the copyright only in narrow circumstances: work made by an employee within the scope of their employment, or work falling into one of nine specifically enumerated categories where both parties also signed a written work-for-hire agreement. Absent a signed written assignment, an independent contractor who creates a custom design may keep the copyright even though the customer paid for it.

That applies to any designer, engineer or shop you commission. It's the reason ownership belongs in a signed document before work starts, rather than in an email after the invoice.

attorney before you disclose your invention to anyone, us included. An hour of their time before you share a file is cheap compared to what it buys.

Four things worth doing on your side

• Keep your own master revision. Whatever a shop's file handling looks like, you should be able to say which version is current without asking anyone.
• Mark what's confidential. A drawing with a confidentiality notice on it is easier to protect than one without, and it tells everyone downstream how to treat it.
• Get the agreement signed before the file goes out, not after someone has already seen it.
• Talk to a patent attorney before your first disclosure, if patenting is anywhere in your plans. The order of operations is the whole game.

Ask us something specific

A founder and a procurement reviewer ask different questions about this, and both should get a straight answer rather than a page of assurances. Ask yours directly.

Call (321) 321-9220 or email [email protected]. You'll hear back the same business day, usually within the hour. Business hours are Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm Eastern, closed federal holidays. Project reviews in Apopka are by appointment.