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New design packages for legacy parts and competitor teardowns, ready to quote
Get your legacy parts back in supply. Free assessment and roadmap.
A part your equipment needs has no drawings, or the shop that made it is gone. Each failure means a long search, a costly one-off, or a machine that sits idle. Many plants run on parts designed decades ago. The people who knew those designs have moved on. Our reverse engineering services measure the part, rebuild its CAD and drawings, and put it back into supply. We go past copying. We check the part in FEA against the real loads and fix it where it failed. The new part lasts longer, and more shops can quote it.
If nothing changes, every failure is a crisis. Downtime stretches while you hunt for a source. Prices rise because only one shop can help. The risk grows each year the part stays undocumented.
PPS reverse engineering goes past copying. We measure and model the part, check it in FEA against the real loads, and improve it where it failed, so the new part lasts longer and more shops can make it.
✓
No drawings
You need a replacement part with no drawings, and nobody can say how it was made.
✓
Supplier gone
The only shop that made it has closed or stopped.
✓
Rising one-off prices
Each replacement costs more and takes longer to arrive.
✓
Repeat failures
Copies fail the same way the original did.
✓
Downtime waits on parts
Machines sit idle while you search for a source.
✓
Knowledge left with people
The engineers who knew the design have retired.
The 34% less rework, 51% fewer prototypes, and 37% shorter test phase figures are from the PPS Innovation Edge white paper.
Public benchmark
At least $22M
Saved through reverse engineering
Precedent
Reverse-engineered spare parts saved DLA at least $22M in lower prices, FY2015–18 (GAO, 2019).
What it means
An approved design package gives a part a second source, and competition lowers the price. We deliver that package for your legacy parts.
Lever
Decision it lets you make
Result
Documentation
Parts with no drawings
Decision
Parts with no drawings are measured and modeled into CAD with tolerances.
→
Result
Parts any shop can quote. CAD design services →
Strength
Copies that fail the same way
Decision
FEA finds why the original failed, and the design fixes it.
→
Result
Longer life in service. FEA services →
Supply
Single-source parts
Decision
DFMA moves single-source parts to standard processes.
→
Result
Wider sourcing, lower prices. Value engineering services →
Upgrades
Old designs in new duty
Decision
Old designs are redesigned for today's loads and speeds.
→
Result
Machines that keep up. Machine design services →
01
A documented part: CAD, drawings with tolerances, and fixes where the original failed, ready to quote.
02
Measurements and FEA results you review and approve at each gate, before any part is made.
03
You own the IP by default. When an OEM or partner manufacturer is involved, the contract spells out who owns what.
04
If we missed it in our QC, we fix it. If your supplier can't make the part within three years, or supply dries up, we fix that too.
You send
What we need to start
The part, or several if they vary
Photos and any old drawings or notes
Service history: failures and how often
Mating parts or the assembly it fits
Targets: life, cost, or supply
→
You get
What you hold at the end
CAD and drawings with tolerances
Material identification and specification
FEA results you approved for loads and life
An improved design where the original failed
A roadmap for other at-risk parts, and a team that stays
We price to the value we deliver, not the hours we log. If the value isn't there for you, we'll say so in the assessment.
Bring your own manufacturer or lab, or work with our partner network. See how we partner by industry.
You approve every measurement, design change, and its cost at every gate, so nothing that affects function surprises you. If we missed something in our QC, we fix it. If a supplier can’t make the part within three years, we fix that for you too.
Every day a part is missing costs output. Free roadmap.
Get Your Free RoadmapWear parts, gears, and castings from older machines, redrawn and improved with better materials too.
Keep old machines going.
Applications
Castings
Gears
Wear Parts
Pump, valve, and deck parts for older vessels, documented and improved for seawater and constant motion.
Keep your vessels at sea.
Applications
Pumps
Valves
Deck Parts
Mill, kiln, and conveyor parts with no drawings, measured, modeled, and redesigned to last much longer.
Fewer surprise stops.
Applications
Mills
Kilns
Conveyors
Obsolete turbine, pump, and plant parts, redrawn and redesigned so outages don't wait on old sources.
Fewer forced outages.
Applications
Turbines
Pumps
Plant
Take cost out of the parts themselves: same function, fewer parts, less material, and wider sourcing.
Lower cost per unit.
Applications
DFMA
FEA
Sourcing
Design or redesign machines and fixtures around cost, uptime, and service from the start, not after.
Design it right, once.
Applications
Machines
Fixtures
Uptime
Prototyping, HALT, R&D, reverse engineering, and more. See every problem our engineering team solves.
Find your problem here.
Solutions
Prototyping
HALT
R&D
FEA, CFD, CAD, DFMA, and testing under one roof. Engineering is a team sport, and you get the whole team.
One team, every skill.
Under One Roof
FEA
CFD
CAD
DFMA
Testing
Veteran-owned SDVOSB status gives defense and federal buyers a set-aside path to proven engineering.
Verify our SDVOSB status.
Credentials
SDVOSB
VOSB
CAGE 8ZK73
NAICS 541330
Missed something in our QC? We fix it. Supplier can't make the part within three years? We fix that too.
Support for the long run.
We Fix
Our QC Misses
Supplier Gaps
Supply Chain
We price to the value we deliver, not hours logged. You buy a design that works, not more iterations.
Pay for the result only.
Collections
Gold
Platinum
Diamond
How accurate are your reverse engineering services?
Accuracy in reverse engineering services depends on two things: how well the part is measured, and how well those numbers become a design. We measure with methods matched to the part, such as 3D scanning, coordinate measuring, and hand gauges for critical features. Each fits the feature it checks. But a worn part shows where it has been, not where it started. Copy it exactly and you copy the wear. GAO describes reverse engineering as measuring an item to develop the technical data needed to reproduce it, both in function and in size. Function comes first, so an engineer has to decide what each dimension should be.
Fits, bearing seats, and sealing faces get tolerances based on function and mating parts. Other features get tolerances that keep it easy to make. You get a drawing a shop can quote, with critical dimensions called out. We also tear down competitor products; your right to use a teardown-informed design, including any patent clearance, is set in the contract. You approve the drawing before any part is cut.
Can you improve a part instead of copying it?
Copying a part that keeps failing gives you a new part that fails the same way. Our reverse engineering services look at why the original wore, cracked, or broke. We check it in FEA against the real loads, study the failure surfaces, and confirm the material. Often the fix is simple: a larger radius, a better alloy, or a heat treatment the original never had. Sometimes the duty has grown since the part was designed, so it needs more strength than it was ever given. To confirm the alloy, labs test against reference materials from the NIST Material Measurement Laboratory.
We also look at how the part is made. A casting only one foundry can pour may become a machined part or a weldment many shops can quote. That is legacy part redesign: same fit and function, longer life, and wider supply. If a whole machine needs work, our machine design services take it further. You approve every change, and the IP is yours by default, set in your contract.
Can PPS work with our manufacturer or test lab?
Yes. Our reverse engineering services work with the shops and labs you already trust, or with our partner network of machine shops. Many projects use both. What matters is that one engineering team coordinates them, so the builder and the lab always work from the latest released design and data.
When every vendor reports to you separately, you become the integrator. Design changes travel by email, parts get cut to old drawings, and test results arrive without anyone tasked to act on them. The Department of Defense's IPPD Handbook organizes programs around integrated product teams for this reason, with design, manufacturing and test under one shared plan.
PPS manages your builders and test labs inside one engineering loop. We release the design, track every build and test, read the results and make the fix ourselves. Data and NDAs are set up between all parties at the start. You decide how far we take the design, up to the start of production. The IP is yours by default, as set in your contract.
What do you need from us to start?
To start a project with our reverse engineering services, send what you have, in any format. That usually means the part itself, or several if they vary, plus photos and any old drawings or notes. Add the service history, the mating parts or assembly it fits, and your targets for life, cost, or supply. Old invoices help too. Missing data is the most common reason engineering projects stall, because a model built on guessed inputs gives a guessed answer. That is why we don't start the work until every data set is in.
Once it is, the first step is a free assessment of your project scope. We confirm what the work can and can't answer, and tell you what is still missing. Then we send a roadmap proposal with scope, targets, and approval gates. Every project is scoped on its own, so the roadmap sets the schedule, not a stock promise. NDAs are available before you share any files. For gaps in material data, NIST material measurement data is a good first stop.
Who owns the design and the models?
You own the design, the drawings, and the models from your reverse engineering services project by default, as set in the contract. When an OEM or partner manufacturer is involved, the contract spells out who owns what. Some firms keep the models, or license them back to you, so every later change sends you back to them. That locks your product to one vendor and makes design reviews harder, because your team can't open the evidence behind the decisions. You receive the native CAD, the drawings, the simulation model files, and the documented results. Your engineers can then check the work, rerun a load case, or hand the package to a supplier or customer.
We sign mutual NDAs before any of your data is shared, and your files stay in our controlled project folders while we work. If your program has export-control or customer data rules, tell us at the start and we will set up the data handling to match them. For defense programs, the State Department ITAR guidance sets the rules we follow.
What happens if the new part doesn't fit or fails?
If the new part doesn't fit or fails, we find out why and fix the design. Hard engineering carries unknowns on any project: real loads, material lots, and assembly effects never match a model perfectly. With reverse engineering services from PPS, you approve the data at each gate. A test result is then checked against predictions you have already seen, not a black box. A failure in test is data. It shows which assumption was wrong: a load, a material property, or a boundary condition. That data improves the model and the design.
When testing is in scope, we plan the test to confirm the margins that matter most. Then we correlate the model to the results, following ASME verification and validation practice. If the miss was ours, because something slipped through our QC review, we fix it. If the test uncovers a condition nobody knew about, we scope the change with you and update the roadmap. Either way, you get a clear answer and a path to a design that holds.
How are reverse engineering services priced?
We price reverse engineering services to the value they deliver, not the hours we log. Hourly billing rewards extra iterations, so the cheapest quote often becomes the most expensive project once tooling, rework, and field failures show up. Our incentive is to get the design right the first time. We engage by fit, not as a ladder. Gold (from $35K): you have one project and need help with it. Platinum (from $15K/mo): you have recurring work at a steady rhythm. Diamond (from $800K/yr): you have a long development program, often multi-year.
Gold is never required, and some clients start at Platinum or Diamond. These are starting points, not quotes; your roadmap sets the price. We price to the value we deliver, not the hours we log. If the value isn't there for you, we'll say so in the assessment. Our engineering consultant pricing page explains how each collection works in more detail.
A part nobody can make? Send it to us. Get a free roadmap.
Send your parts, photos, and service history. We review your project scope in a free assessment and reply within one business day with next steps.
On-site assessments that require travel are quoted separately.
