Stage 01
Broken component
The part in hand, with material missing.
Capability / 02 Reverse Engineering
From what exists. To what’s possible.
Reconstruct, repair, reproduce, modify and improve existing components through precision digital design.
Reverse engineering is available on its own. Continuing into prototyping or manufacture is entirely your choice.
02 What can we start with?
We don’t always need the original drawing.
Existing physical information can provide the starting point. If all you have is the thing itself, that is a legitimate place to begin.
- 01 A physical part
- 02 A broken part
- 03 A 3D scan
- 04 A drawing or sketch
- 05 An existing CAD or digital file
- 06 Measurements
Reverse engineering
Investigating the component and developing geometry from what the available information actually contains.
Clean digital geometry
A model that can be measured, modified, documented and taken towards manufacture.
Not every input contains enough information to recreate every component. Condition, complexity, wear, internal features, material behaviour and intellectual property all affect what is possible, so feasibility is assessed project by project. We will tell you what we think is realistic before any work begins.
03 Broken, worn and obsolete parts
Broken doesn’t always mean irreplaceable.
When the replacement no longer exists, the original part can become the starting point.
Stage 02
Inspect
What broke, what wore, and what it has to fit.
Stage 03
Scan / measure
The surviving geometry captured as measured data.
Stage 04
Reconstruct
Missing geometry rebuilt from symmetry and design intent.
Stage 05
Clean CAD
Defined dimensions, interfaces and datums.
Stage 06
Replacement design
A model a replacement can be explored from.
Where suitable, Studio Variant can investigate damaged, worn, obsolete or unavailable components and reconstruct the geometry required to explore a replacement. This is not guesswork: symmetry, mating faces, fastener positions, wear patterns and the surviving profile all carry information about what was there.
It is investigative work, and it has limits. Where the part cannot tell us enough, we say so rather than filling the gap with an assumption.
Typical starting points
- A component that snapped, cracked or lost a mounting feature.
- A worn bore, face or interface that no longer holds position.
- A part that is out of production or no longer supported.
- A machine still in service with no spares available.
- An assembly where only one component has failed.
04 Design intent
Don’t just replace it. Reconsider it.
The original component tells us what was there. The next question is whether it should be recreated exactly, or whether there is an opportunity to make the replacement better suited to its job.
Original
As it was made
The geometry the part was manufactured to, reconstructed as faithfully as the available information allows.
Reconsidered
As the job requires
- A A mounting centre moved to clear an obstruction.
- B A loaded corner reinforced where the original failed.
- C A worn bore taken to a size that can be held.
Not every component can or should be changed. An original design may already be correct, a change may affect how the part fits an assembly you rely on, and a modification can carry consequences elsewhere. These decisions are discussed and evaluated with you according to the project, and the changes above are illustrative rather than a set of recommendations.
05 Material and process review
The right shape is only part of the answer.
When investigating a replacement, we can consider not only the geometry of the original part but the material and the manufacturing process that produced it.
Reconstructed design
Function / environment / requirements
Material & process review
Additive manufacturing
3D printing, where the geometry and duty suit it.
CNC machining
Subtractive work from solid material.
Mould / pattern development
Geometry developed as the starting point for tooling.
Other suitable routes
Where a project needs a process outside our in-house capability, an appropriate external route may be considered.
The original material may still be the right answer. Alternatively, where the application allows, another material or method may suit the replacement better. What decides it is what the part has to do — load, fit, temperature, wear, environment, service life and how many are needed.
Changing material does not automatically make a component stronger or better. A different material behaves differently, and a substitution that suits one application can be wrong for another. Selection follows the requirements of the application, and where a process sits outside our in-house capability we say so rather than implying otherwise.
We consider what the part needs to do — not just what it looks like.
06 Two directions
Recreate. Or redesign.
The same starting point leads to two different pieces of work. Which one you need is decided by what the part is for.
Recreate
Reconstruct what was there
Where appropriate, rebuild the original geometry as faithfully as is practical from the available information.
- Obsolete components
- Unavailable replacements
- Lost CAD
- Legacy parts
- Damaged components
- Digital archiving
Redesign / modify
Start from it, and change it
Start from the existing component and update the geometry where the requirement has moved on.
- Modify dimensions
- Alter mounting points
- Add features
- Change interfaces
- Improve manufacturability
- Adapt a component for another application
07 What can reverse engineering do?
One component. Six kinds of work.
01
Reconstruct
Turn existing physical information into usable digital geometry.
02
Repair
Reconstruct damaged or missing geometry to investigate replacement components.
03
Reproduce
Create the digital foundation required to explore reproduction of obsolete or unavailable parts.
04
Modify
Adapt existing geometry for new dimensions, interfaces or requirements.
05
Improve
Where appropriate, investigate changes to material, geometry or manufacturing method.
06
Digitise
Create maintainable digital design information where original CAD or drawings are unavailable.
08 Documentation from reality
When the drawing doesn’t exist.
Legacy and existing components do not always come with usable drawings or CAD data. Reverse engineering can provide a route from physical geometry back into a maintainable digital design.
01
Physical component
02
Measurement / scan data
03
Construction geometry
04
Clean CAD
05
Drawing / digital design
Sections, centre lines, hole centres, datums and dimensional callouts are how a component stops being a one-off measurement and becomes information someone can work from — including you, later, without us.
How complete that documentation can be depends on what the component reveals. Internal features, tolerances that were never recorded and material specifications cannot always be recovered from geometry alone, and where that is the case we set out what the model does and does not establish.
09 How it works
From existing part to digital design.
01
Inspect
Understand the component, its condition, its interfaces and what it is actually there to do.
02
Capture
Gather the geometry the job needs, through suitable scanning, measurement or existing data.
03
Reconstruct
Rebuild usable geometry, and investigate the features that are missing, damaged or unclear.
04
Refine
Develop the model according to the outcome you need, whether that is a faithful reconstruction or a modified design.
05
Review
Review critical dimensions, interfaces, material considerations and the intended manufacturing route where applicable.
06
Deliver
You receive the agreed digital design output. For many projects, this is the finish line.
Steps 07 and 08 are optional. Take the design and go, or keep going with us — the choice is made after delivery, not before the work starts.
Or continue with Studio Variant
07
Prototype
Make it once, check that it fits and functions, and adjust the design before committing.
08
Manufacture
Production, using the manufacturing processes that suit the part and the quantity.
10 Your project. Your route.
Use one Studio Variant capability, or use the whole system.
Both routes below are complete services. You are never required to continue into manufacturing.
Existing component
Reverse engineering
Digital design output
Route 01 — complete service
Design only
Need the reconstructed design but already have your own manufacturer or engineering workflow? We provide the agreed digital design output for your own next stage.
- Investigation of the component and the available information.
- Reconstructed geometry developed to the agreed outcome.
- A clear statement of what the model does and does not establish.
- No obligation to continue with Studio Variant.
Route 02 — complete service
Take it through manufacture
Need the physical replacement or the finished product as well? Continue through the appropriate Studio Variant manufacturing workflow, with one studio responsible at every stage.
- 01 Reverse engineer / design
- 02 Prototype
- 03 Additive, subtractive or laser processing
- 04 Other suitable routes where required
11 Who reverse engineering is for
One part is a project.
Reverse engineering is not reserved for factories and large engineering companies. A single broken component is a perfectly good reason to get in touch.
Commercial
Manufacturers, maintenance and engineering teams, product developers and operators keeping equipment in service where drawings were never supplied, the supplier has moved on, or the part is no longer made.
Individuals and creators
Restorers, makers, owners and enthusiasts with one part that matters — a bracket off a classic car, a fitting on something out of production, a component nobody stocks any more. No technical knowledge is assumed. Bring the part and the question.
12 Reverse engineering projects
Real project records will be published here.
These are reserved slots, not completed Studio Variant work. Each one is structured to hold a genuine project: the existing part, what was measured, the reconstructed geometry, the design and the finished result.
Project record — reserved
Imagery to be added
Existing part → Measured → Reconstructed → CAD → Finished result
Project record — reserved
Imagery to be added
Existing part → Measured → Reconstructed → CAD → Finished result
The part you have is the information. What it becomes is the decision.
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