01/08/2026
We’ve been incredibly busy in the shop these last couple of months! We wanted to take a break and give you a behind-the-scenes look at a recent job. Some projects become difficult long before the print even starts!
Let's take you through this one 👇
This Nissan dashboard panel arrived severely damaged, incomplete, and completely unusable as a master scan copy. Several sections were broken, the vents were missing, and decades of wear had distorted what remained.
At that point, reverse engineering is no longer a process of scanning a component, tracing, remeshing, and printing a copy
The surviving geometry must be studied alongside photographs, mounting locations, dashboard curvature, and available digital references. Missing areas need to be reconstructed, while every opening must still align with the vents, radio, switches, and surrounding interior
The difficult part is not making something that looks similar but determining which measurements can be trusted, rebuilding what no longer exists, and converting everything into a component that can actually be manufactured and installed
Scanning, CAD, and 3D printing are only the tools. The real work lies in the judgment required between each stage
Some parts are straightforward. Others have to be brought back from almost nothing ⚡️🛠️