Aerospace 3D Scanning Services

accurately capture complex shapes to produce CAD drawings

What can be scanned?

There are a great variety of different parts and objects that can be scanned including: molds, tools, jigs, fixtures body panels and even complete aircraft. If you don’t have digital 3D drawings of your tooling, or any drawings at all, 3D scanning is a way to capture them and preserve their shape using precise 3D scanning technology. No prior 3D experience is required for you to start taking advantage of 3D scanning. Output files are provided in neutral standard formats that you can provide to your engineers to utilize.

How accurate are the results?

3D scanning is typically accurate to within +/- .005 for most applications, but depending on which scanner is used, accuracy in the .001″ range is achievable. We select the most efficient 3D scanning method that can meet your minimum accuracy requirement. By identifying the least amount of accuracy that you can live with, we can optimize the process to save you money.

Why do aerospace companies use 3d scanning?

Common reasons include:

To archive or reproduce molds, fixtures and tooling
Document and preserve hand-built designs
Reverse-engineer a part that has no drawings
For FAA repair stations to create replacement parts
Duplicate a part
Re-create a part using new methods such as 3D printing
Inspect parts for accurate manufacturing
Create drawings and prints for government certification
Obtain models for FEA and CFD simulation
Create a new mold for forming tool for a part

What can you do with a 3D model created by reverse engineering services?

Because of the high quality models produced during the reverse engineering process, the models happen to be very versatile. Among the many things that are possible:

Machining & molding
3D printing
Making changes to the design
Create 2D Drawings
Exploded 3D visualizations and animations
Comparisons with other parts or scans
Can be used to design mating parts or packaging
Drawings can be sent overseas for manufacturing instead of the part

Alternatively, you can just keep the 3D model for safekeeping as documentation for future reference knowing, should the part ever be lost or destroyed, that you have sufficient information build another one. The sky is the limit as to what you can do once the object is in its digital form.

Are there limitations on size?

Great news! With different laser scanners, we are able to scan parts as small as 1/4 inch to huge aircraft and everything in between. Most of our scanners are portable, therefore we are able to scan at the your location. But if your item is small enough, it is usually cheaper to ship the item to one of our scanning offices. This is because our offices are set up to scan items quickly and economically.