The first question isn't "how much", it's "wait, can you actually do this?" These three answer that before you scroll.
3DPE remake · the real partOriginal part long out of production. Owner's restoration stalled on a small interior fastener. We worked from the one surviving clip, reverse-engineered it, and reproduced the set in PA12-nylon with a colour-matched finish.
1,000-unit batchOur biggest single job. OEM metal fabrication discontinued. We worked from the one surviving original and printed a full 1,000-unit batch, replacing a £35 metal fabrication on a 14-week OEM lead time.
REAL JOB
AFTERPool out of action waiting on a discontinued OEM front plate. Ben at Pooltec posted us the cracked original. We scanned it, reverse-engineered the bolt pattern, and reprinted in ABS, original returned tracked.
Most of our enquiries start after the obvious routes have failed. No shame in that. The routes themselves aren't broken, they just weren't built for parts where original tooling is gone.
"No longer stocked" or a 12-week backorder. Sometimes a "we'll take a deposit and let you know" that never comes.
Brilliant for knowledge, patchy for physical parts. Somebody's got one in a shed, then they don't, then they do, then they want £300 for it.
Counterfeit risk is real. Wrong-fit risk is worse. And the picture was taken in 2009.
Tolerance drift, questionable materials, and a tracking number that pings Guangzhou for six weeks.
A photo next to a ruler is the fastest path for 80% of our enquiries. If a photo isn't enough, we'll tell you within 2 working days. Three other input types below if you've already got something more detailed.
Place the part on a flat surface next to a ruler. Photograph it straight-down in good light. Send the photo.
Back of an envelope, pencil on graph paper, whatever. Key dimensions in mm. We'll translate it.
Post it to us. We scan it, measure it, and return the original tracked Special Delivery. Your only one is safe.
Got the file? Skip straight to the quote. STEP, STL, IGES, SLDPRT all fine.
Classic cars is our flagship vertical, but the "part nobody stocks anymore" problem isn't unique to any one sector. If your industry isn't on the list, the workflow still applies.
Interior trim clips, dashboard bezels, heater control knobs, window crank handles, glovebox latches, wing-mirror housings, engine-bay bracketry (non-safety), classic motorbike fairings, obsolete scooter panels.
Replacement parts for discontinued ag kit and wear parts that snap in the field.
Mounting brackets, diverter vanes, non-critical housings.
Obsolete OEM spares, jigs, fixtures, guards for kit still working but unsupported.
The "one plastic part broke, the whole machine's being skipped" situation.
If you're reading this and your sector isn't here, it just means we haven't written up a case study for it yet. Send a photo. If we can't make it, we'll tell you within 2 working days.
Most enquiries come in with the question "will the plastic hold up?". The answer depends on what the part has to do. Here's the short version.
Tough, impact-resistant, light fatigue duty. Good default for most functional parts.
Carbon-fibre-reinforced nylon. Stiff, dimensionally stable, real structural duty.
Handles warm environments and most solvents. Good for HVAC cosmetics + appliance housings.
UV-stable, paintable, behaves like traditional car-grade plastic. Good for trim and exterior cosmetics.
Rubber-like. For gaskets, bungs, flex-fit clips, vibration dampers.
Most obsolete-part reproductions sit in this band. Complex multi-part assemblies or oversized parts are priced on enquiry. Nobody else in UK 3D printing publishes this number · we publish it because the uncertainty is half the reason people keep stalling on the enquiry.
Every part we reverse-engineer gets its CAD file archived in our digital warehouse. Next time it breaks (or the neighbour's one breaks, or you move on to the next one on the fleet), you email us the previous job reference. We reprint it. Same fit, same finish, a fraction of the first-unit cost.
Standard reverse-engineering flow, with a progressive-commitment gate at step 3 that's missing from every competitor process diagram we studied.
Photo, sketch, the part itself, or a CAD file. Pick one of the four inputs from §03.
If you posted the part, we scan it in and return the original tracked Special Delivery.
We send back a CAD render and, if geometry is complex, a test-fit print. Nothing moves forward without your sign-off.
Material you picked (or we recommended). Typical single-part turnaround is days, not weeks.
Tracked Royal Mail to your door. Your CAD file is archived for 10 years. Reordering is one email.
"Can you really work from just a phone photo?"
Yes. For most single-plane parts we only need a straight-on photo with a ruler or coin in frame. For complex geometry we'll ask for 2 or 3 angles, or ask you to post the part. Either way, the answer is yes.
"Will a 3D-printed part hold up under heat, load, or oil?" Autocar reader · real quote
Depends on the part's job. PA12-nylon is the workhorse for most functional parts. PA12-CF (carbon-fibre-reinforced) handles structural load. PETG handles warm and chemical environments. Tell us what the part does, we'll match the material.
"Can you match the plastic grain and colour of my original trim?" Autocar reader · real quote
Most of the time, yes. We have textured filaments and a finishing process that replicates most factory plastics, and for exact colour matches we can spray-finish after printing. For a 100% invisible match on a 1970s era trim, ask us · sometimes yes, sometimes close-enough, sometimes honestly no.
"How much cheaper than the original part is it really?" Autocar reader · real quote
Honestly? Sometimes much cheaper (70% off OEM), sometimes similar, occasionally dearer on a single unit. But the right question isn't "is it cheaper", it's "is the original still available at all". Often it isn't.
"What if the fit is off when it arrives?"
First-article check is standard. If the measurement was wrong at our end, we reprint at our cost. 30-day fit guarantee on every reproduction.
"Will you sign an NDA?"
Yes. We routinely sign NDAs for pre-launch parts, prototype work, and anything where you'd rather your industry didn't know what you're reproducing. No extra charge.
If measurements were wrong on our side, we reprint at our cost. 30 days.
Post the broken part, we return it tracked Special Delivery both ways. Your only one stays your only one.
We tell you within 2 working days whether we can make it. If not, we refund any scan fee and say so.
We keep your CAD file. Reordering is one email, not a new job.
Live feed from our Google Business Profile. Recent reviews, unfiltered, in chronological order.
"Couldn't find a replacement dashboard clip for my 1974 Triumph TR6 anywhere. Sent a photo, had a quote back the same day, parts arrived in a week and fit perfectly."
"OEM quoted 12 weeks for a machine guard bracket. 3DPE scanned the broken one we sent in, had a working PA12-CF replacement back in 8 days. Machine was down, now it's running."
"Needed 1,000 cage doors for my farm. OEM version discontinued years ago. James worked from the one surviving original and printed 1,000 units at a fraction of the cost. Honest, fast, would use again."
Ben at Pooltec Maintenance (Ferndown, Dorset) had a pool out of action waiting on a skimmer front plate the OEM no longer makes. He posted us the cracked original. We scanned it, reverse-engineered the bolt pattern around the frame, reprinted the plate in ABS, and returned the original tracked. A real job, on file as INV-0079.
A conservatory roof end cap the original supplier had discontinued. We reverse-engineered it once, archived the file, and now reprint it to order. The per-unit price drops the more they need — the obsolete-part problem solved at trade volume, not just for one-offs.
A one-off £120 design fee applies under 100 units — fully waived from 100 up. Real trade quote, reference QUO-0001. Same part, reprinted to order, priced by volume.
You'll hear back from our team directly. No forms, no account managers, no "a team member will be in touch".
