01When you need it

A drawing, a model, or the part itself.Any of them is enough to start.

Some jobs arrive as a full CAD model, some as a dimensioned drawing, and some as the part itself with nothing behind it at all. The aim is the same each time: geometry a mould can be made from and a laminate can be designed around.

If all you have is a problem, that is a good place to start too. Tell us what the part has to do, what it fits against and what it has to survive.

No drawing? See 3D scanning

02How it works

From brief to buildable model.

The route depends on what you send us. These are the stages every job passes through.

Understand the part

What it does, what it fixes to, and what loads and temperatures it sees.

Capture the geometry

From your CAD, your drawing, or a scan of the component where there is nothing else.

Design for composite

Plies arranged so the laminate is stiff where it needs to be and balanced, so it does not twist as it cools.

Design the tooling

Draft angles, split lines and release, so the part comes out cleanly and can be made twice.

Hand over the model

Supplied as STEP or IGES, straight into tooling and manufacture on the same site.

03Designing for carbon

A copy, or a carbon part.

Carbon behaves differently from the metal or plastic it often replaces, so a straight copy rarely makes the best part.

Copying the shape

The same part, in a new material

Wall thickness carried over from the original
Fixings and joints left as they were
Loads treated as if the material were the same
Weight saved, but less than it could be

Designing for composite

The part, rethought for carbon

Plies laid in the directions the loads actually run
A balanced laminate, so the part holds its shape after cure
Fixings and joints designed around how carbon carries load
Tooling designed from the start so the part releases cleanly

04Who uses it

Where this comes up most.

Every job starts with a drawing, a model or a part, so design touches every sector we work in.

Motorsport & automotive Aerospace & aviation Drones & UAV Defence & military

05Next

Where this fits.

Alongside3D scanning

For parts with no drawing or model left anywhere.

Common questions.

About design and reverse engineering specifically. The general ones are answered on the homepage.

Do I need a drawing?

No. If you have the part, we can scan it and rebuild the geometry from that. If you have neither, tell us what the part needs to do.

Can you work from a sketch or a photograph?

As a starting point, yes. A photograph with a few key measurements, or a sketch showing what fits where, is usually enough to price the job and plan how to capture the rest.

My part is currently made in metal or plastic. Can it be made in carbon?

Converting a part to carbon is a redesign rather than a copy. The shape may stay the same, but the wall thickness, the fixings and the way loads pass through the part usually change. Tell us what the original is made from and what it has to do.

Design and reverse engineering.