makerx-dodge-running-board.3mf

The "Discontinued? Not Anymore" 2004 Dodge Running Board Trim

The customer had lost the passenger-side trim off his running board. Months of searching online turned up nothing - the part was discontinued years ago, no aftermarket replacement existed, and the only lead was the surviving driver-side trim still on the truck. He brought it in to see if it could be reverse-engineered. It could.

WHAT MAKES IT WORK - Measured and Modeled from Scratch: The surviving driver-side trim was measured and rebuilt in SolidWorks, with no factory drawings or CAD file to work from. - Prototype Revealed the Real Issues: A PLA prototype surfaced dimensional errors and a design flaw baked into the first model, instead of finding out after committing to a full-length run. - Cross-Section Testing From Both Ends: A series of cross-section test prints verified full contour compliance before any material was committed to the complete part. - PETG Proven On the Spot: When the customer questioned PETG's flexibility, a cross-section sample was bent by hand right there to show exactly how it would perform in service. - A Perfect Fit, One-of-a-Kind: After correcting the geometry, the full-length PETG part fit perfectly - a replacement for a piece that simply no longer exists.

PROJECT DETAILS

Reverse-engineered in SolidWorks | PLA prototype | PETG final part | custom one-off design

Got a part that's discontinued with no replacement in sight? This is exactly the kind of problem I like to solve.