Reverse engineering is a powerful way to create digital designs from a physical product or part of a product, and it is a process in which these products/parts are deconstructed to extract design information from them.

3D scanners are capable of measuring very complex parts very quickly and turn them into digital files which can then be used to recreate the part you have measured by 3D printing it. This is very useful for manufacturers as it can save a lot of time and it allows them to design 3D parts that are exact replicas of the object they have measured.

This process is very important when trying to reverse engineer. The reason for this is because, over the years, machines will lower in quality; they might need upgrading or a part of the machine might break. When this happens, you will need to replace whatever piece of the machine has broken and this is not always possible to do. If the piece you are trying to replace is old, for example, you might not have access to the original 2D drawings anymore, and this is when 3D scanning and printing come into place.

Reverse engineering is important when you want to create new parts that incorporate older designs, and in some cases, reverse engineering might be the only solution to obtain the original product/part design.

Reverse engineering is actually quite a straightforward process, but the first step is to find the 3D scanner that best fits your needs.

Manchester Metrology Ltd is a leading supplier of 3D scanners, 3D trackers and 3D printers. We have 4 top of the range 3D printers available to hire or use as a service – these include Project 460 Plus, Figure 4, Fabpro 1000 and Markforged 2.

Manchester Metrology Ltd also offers a Reverse Engineering service to produce true to form 3D data in .stl file formats. We are pioneers and innovators of metrology offering specialist contract measurement services using the latest metrology technology and equipment. Offering support across the UK and worldwide, our attention to detail and helpful attitude towards our customers are among the many positive attributes which distinguish the company as a benchmark metrology company.

We also supply a new generation of scanners: the HandySCAN BLACK™ | Elite hand-held scanners continue to be the reference stand in professional, metrology grade portable 3D scanning. Now in its 3rd generation, the new HandySCAN BLACK™ | Elite has been optimized to meet the needs of design, manufacturing and metrology professionals looking for the most effective and reliable way to acquire 3D measurements of physical objects anywhere.

You can read more about all our products and services here, or please call us on 0161 637 8744