3D scanning · Killingworth, Connecticut
3D scanning and reverse engineering in Connecticut
From a physical part, to a digital file, to a better part. Atrick Design 3D scans parts in-house and turns the 3D scan into files you can print, machine, inspect or redesign.
Three scanners matched to the job, from fine detail on small parts (manufacturer-rated to 0.02 mm, under a thousandth of an inch, per capture) up to car-sized objects.
Checked, not assumed
3D scans are checked against real measurements
3D scan data is verified with a 24-inch (600 mm) digital vernier caliper on parts, and with tape measurements between points on very large 3D scans, so nothing has drifted across the length.
Sometimes 3D scanning is not the fastest path. For simple, precise parts, measuring with calipers and modeling directly beats 3D scanning, aligning and redrawing, and Atrick Design will tell you which way is faster for your part.
What a 3D scan can catch
On a GT40 transaxle job, the raw castings were 3D scanned and laid over the CAD. Green touch-point cylinders showed the machinists where each cutter would first meet raw material, so nothing crashes an expensive CNC machine. The overlay also revealed that the cores had shifted at both differential bearing bores. Machined straight to the drawing, those castings would have been scrap. More on the GT40 work →
Your data, your way
What you get
- STL files for 3D printing or CAD reference
- Mesh files (OBJ, PLY) for visualization
- Point clouds for inspection or validation
- Full parametric CAD models you can edit, as native SolidWorks or STEP (.step / .stp) files (additional service). The GT40 transaxle cases were modeled from 1960s drawings and checked against 3D scans.
- Raw-casting-to-finished-part overlays with machining touch points
Beyond the 3D scan
Complete reverse engineering
- Convert 3D scan data into manufacturable CAD
- Print-ready 3MF files from the finished model
- Find and correct wear in 3D scanned parts
- Create as-scanned, as-designed and overlaid versions
- Add modern improvements while keeping critical mounting points
- Design new parts that fit 3D scanned assemblies, with tolerance stack-ups checked
Examples
Parts with no drawings, worn parts, and parts nobody makes
Classic car parts that have not been made in decades. Worn or broken originals where the intended shape has to be reconstructed. Retrofit parts that must bolt into existing equipment. Inspection of castings before machining.
Process
How a 3D scanning job runs
- Evaluate the part and pick the best 3D scanning approach.
- Capture the data from multiple angles for complete coverage.
- Process and clean: remove noise, align 3D scans, optimize the mesh, verify dimensions.
- Convert to the formats your next step needs.
- Optional reverse engineering, from just the mating features up to complete parts and assemblies in parametric CAD.
Local and mobile
Bring the part, or Atrick Design comes to you
Set up an appointment, bring the part to Killingworth, watch it 3D scanned and leave with files. No shipping fragile or valuable pieces. The scanners are mobile too, for parts that are large or hard to move.
Most parts are 3D scanned the same day. Reverse engineering a complex part to CAD usually takes two to three days. One customer brought in a complex cast part at 9 AM and had 3D scan data by 2 PM, a cleaned-up CAD model two days later, and a 3D printed prototype for fit testing two days after that.
★★★★★“Frictionless. Customer service was well informed, and made things simple. I had a small artifact to be scanned and turned into a .stl file. The file handoff was quick and worked fine.”