Your tool still runs, but nobody has the CAD. DeWys Engineering reverse engineers worn, damaged and undocumented tooling, including stamping dies, injection molds and foundry patterns, into clean, manufacturing-ready CAD that your toolroom or tool builder can machine from.
Since 2014 we’ve helped stampers, molders and foundries across West Michigan and beyond keep critical tools running long after the original drawings, and often the original tool builder, are gone.
When Tooling Needs Reverse Engineering
- The tool was built before CAD, or the data never came over from the original tool builder
- The tool builder has gone out of business and can’t supply replacement details
- Wear has pushed your parts out of spec, or flash is showing up at the parting line
- A crash damaged a die detail or mold surface
- Years of hand work and polishing mean the tool no longer matches any drawing that does exist
Foundry Patterns: From Hand-Carved Wood to CNC-Ready CAD
Many foundries still run patterns that a craftsman carved by hand from teak or other hardwoods 50, 60 or 70 years ago. They sit on the shelf between infrequent runs, there’s no CAD data, and the pattern shop skills that once kept them in service are harder and harder to find. Eventually the wood starts to break down.
We laser scan the original pattern and reverse engineer it into clean, solid CAD that your pattern shop or machinist can program CAM against. That lets you replace the old wood with durable CNC-machined tooling board or aluminum, and keep a permanent digital record of the pattern.
Stamping Die Details: Engineering Out the Wear
Every stamping die has a lifespan. Eventually the details wear to the point where the parts coming out of the press drift out of spec. On older dies the CAD is often long gone: lost over time, never handed over by the original builder, or held by a tool shop that no longer exists.
Tool and die shops and stampers send us the worn or crashed details, wear and damage included. We scan them, fully reverse engineer them, and engineer the wear and damage back out of the model. When you can share the CAD for the stamped part itself, we use it alongside the scan to work backward and reconstruct what the detail originally looked like. The result is a detail you can recut with as little hand work as possible to get good parts again.
Injection Molds: Parting Line Wear and Crash Damage
Molds wear too, especially when they run glass-filled materials. As the parting line erodes, flash starts to appear. Crashes happen as well: an overmolding insert that isn’t seated correctly can be crushed when the mold closes, damaging the area around the insert locator.
When the original mold builder can’t help, we scan the damaged area and produce fresh CAD data of the correct geometry. Your toolroom can weld up the existing mold and remachine it back to net surface, often avoiding the cost and lead time of building a new tool.
Big Tools Scanned On Site, Even in the Press
If your tool is too big or too busy to move, we’ll come to it. Our portable FARO ScanArm goes into your toolroom or onto your press. We’ve climbed into a press in Fort Wayne, Indiana to scan very large hydroforming dies in place. For tools that ship to us, a 5-ton overhead crane and heavy-lift forklifts let us unload them straight off a flatbed.
What We Deliver, and What We Don’t
Every tooling job includes a 3D STEP file your toolroom or CAM programmer can work from. Everything else is available on request and included in your quote:
- Native SolidWorks, IGES or Parasolid files
- 2D drawings of individual details
- A 3D color deviation model or PDF report showing where the tool has worn
- Raw scan data (STL mesh)
We’re reverse engineers, not tool designers. We don’t design new tools from scratch. Instead, we give your toolroom or tool builder accurate data to repair, recut or rebuild the tool you already have.
Who Calls Us
Most tooling projects come from the maintenance and engineering departments of stampers, injection molders and foundries, along with engineering teams at tool and die shops. We quote reverse engineering at ±0.002″ (±0.05 mm), and most jobs are delivered in 1–2 weeks. When a tool is holding up production, ask about expedited service. For more on our scanning methods and accuracy, see 3D scanning and reverse engineering services.
Related Services
- 3D scanning & reverse engineering: capturing existing parts and assemblies as editable CAD
- Fixture & tooling design: assembly, inspection, weld and laser cutting fixtures and trim tooling
- Design for additive manufacturing: parts, tooling and fixtures engineered for 3D printing
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you scan a die or mold in our plant?
Yes. Our FARO ScanArm is portable, so we can scan tools in your toolroom or in the press. That saves you pulling and shipping a large tool.
Can you remove the wear and damage from the model?
Yes. We reverse engineer the detail as it should be, not as it is today. If you can share the CAD for the part the tool produces, it helps us reconstruct the original geometry more precisely.
Can you capture hand work that was never in the original design?
Yes. Polishing, spotting and other hand work that your tool depends on are captured in the scan, so the new data reflects the tool that actually makes good parts.
Do you design new tooling?
For fixtures, trim dies and secondary tooling, yes. See our fixture and tooling design services. For molds, stamping dies and foundry patterns, this page is about reverse engineering existing tools so your toolroom or tool builder can repair or remake them.
Get Your Tooling Back in Spec
Send us photos of the tool or detail, its approximate size, and what’s wrong with it. Call 616-604-1977, email [email protected], or use our contact form.