Reverse engineering services and 3D scan to CAD for legacy parts

• Scan data and mesh (STL, OBJ or PLY). The raw capture, useful for 3D printing, visualization and inspection, but it cannot be edited like a CAD model.
• Surface model (STEP or IGES). Smooth surfaces fitted over the scan. Good for freeform shapes such as housings, blades and molds.
• Parametric solid model (STEP, SolidWorks, Inventor, Creo or NX). An engineer rebuilds planes, cylinders, holes and fillets as editable features with dimensions. This is what a machine shop or a design team normally needs.
• 2D drawings with dimensions and tolerances, produced from the solid model, for shops that work from prints.
• Deviation report. A color map and a table of the CAD model against the scan, which proves the rebuilt model is within tolerance of the real part.

Ask which of these is in the price. A mesh costs hundreds, a parametric model with drawings costs thousands, and mixing them up is the main reason quotes do not compare.

Which scanner a shop uses depends on size, material and the accuracy you need. Our 3D scanning services page compares all of them in detail.

• Structured light scanners capture small to medium parts at accuracy around 0.02 to 0.05 mm, and are the usual choice for precision machined and cast parts.
• Handheld laser scanners handle larger parts, tooling and assemblies, and work on site. Accuracy is typically around 0.03 to 0.1 mm.
• Tactile CMM probing records exact diameters, datums and flatness when you need tolerances, not shapes. Shops often combine it with a scan.
• Industrial CT scanning is used when features are hidden inside, for example internal channels of a casting. See industrial CT scanning.

Maintenance and reliability teams order it for obsolete parts when the original manufacturer has gone out of business and a spare is on a six month lead time. Machine shops and job shops buy it when a customer sends a worn sample instead of a drawing. Tooling and mold makers use it to rebuild a mold from a master. Product teams and startups use it to capture a clay model or a competitor's part for form and fit. Aerospace, energy and food processing plants use it for legacy line equipment that has no digital record. Each of these buyers needs a firm price, a tolerance in writing and a file their CAD software opens without repair.

1. You describe the part, the quantity, the material and what the model is for. Photos and the function of the part help the shop decide how much of it is critical.
2. The shop confirms the scan method and the tolerance that matters. Critical dimensions such as bores, mating faces and threads get a tighter requirement than cosmetic surfaces.
3. The part is shipped or scanned on site. Reflective, black or transparent parts may need a developer spray, which the shop handles.
4. An engineer builds the CAD model from the scan, then checks it back against the scan.
5. You get the files, the deviation report and drawings if ordered. One round of revisions is normal.

Simple parts often come back in one to two weeks. Assemblies with many components can take four weeks or longer.

These are typical US planning ranges, not quotes. Part size, complexity, tolerance and the deliverable set the real price.

Price per part falls when you order several related parts together, because setup and CAD time are shared. The deeper breakdown of line items sits in our 3D scanning services cost guide.

Look for a shop that shows a deviation report from a past job, not only a scan photo. Ask whether the CAD engineer will build the model in your software and whether files come as native or STEP. Confirm who owns the data, since some shops keep copies, and check that your part is not covered by someone else's patent or restricted by export rules. For a part that must fit a mating component, ask to receive tolerance on the critical features in writing. Our NDT companies page shows how to compare providers on scope instead of the lowest unit price alone.