Reverse Engineering

2004 Dodge Running Board Trim

The customer had lost the passenger-side trim piece from the running board on his 2004 Dodge truck. After months of searching online, he couldn't find the part anywhere — discontinued with no aftermarket replacement in sight. He brought in the surviving driver-side trim as a reference to see if it could be reverse engineered.

The profile was measured and modeled from scratch in SolidWorks. A PLA prototype quickly revealed several dimensional errors and a design flaw inadvertently built into the model. A series of cross-section test prints were then developed — working from both ends of the part — to verify full contour compliance before committing to a full-length run. When the customer raised concerns about PETG flexibility, a cross-section sample was printed and bent by hand on the spot to demonstrate exactly how the material would perform in service.

After correcting the geometry, a full-length PETG part was produced. It fit perfectly — a one-of-a-kind replacement for a piece that simply no longer exists.