Using 3D scanning and 3D printing in combination facilitates the reverse-engineering of parts.

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As proof, anybody with access to CAD software and a 3D printer—which, given the prevalence of cloud-enabled design tools and online service bureaus, is almost everyone—can dream up a new product today and hold a physical version of it in his or her hand tomorrow.

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Often, though, the goal isn’t to create anew but to replicate the old, missing, or broken. If you need an old part and there is no CAD model or drawing available, what then? An old-school designer might look to a coordinate measuring machine to handle this reverse-engineering task, followed by days or weeks of CAD reconstruction.

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No Print? No Problem

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Les Baker, senior applications engineer and scanning arm specialist at FARO Technologies Inc. , Lake Mary, […]

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