Replacement door latch guides for an older car

New door latch guides for a private client's older car, rebuilt in CAD from the original, tried on the car and 3D printed in black carbon-fibre PETG, each one engraved.

Client: A private client
Service: Industrial 3D Printing
What it is: A clip-in latch guide for a car door
Started from: The client's original guide
Order: Eight guides in black PETG-CF, each engraved

Quote a production run Send a brief

Latch guides, each one engraved: 8
Printed parts in each guide, a frame and four clips: 5
Long, the frame of each guide: 30 mm
Fitment tests on the client's car: 2

What we brought

What we can do
We rebuild a part from the original
We measured the client's original guide and rebuilt it in CAD as a frame and four clips, shaped for FDM printing in carbon-fibre PETG.
How we look after you
Tried on the car before the run
The client drove the car to our studio twice to try the prototype on the door, and we printed the set once the fit was right.
What you get
Made personal
Each guide carries an engraving on the side of its frame. The client chose the car's number plate.

Gallery

The whole project at a glance. Drag or swipe to browse; tap a picture to enlarge it.

1 / 8

The finished piece
All eight, engraved and assembled.
Design and prototypingRenderRevision 0, sent to the client on 6 April.
RenderThe guide with its four clips in place.
DrawingSide and top views, 30 mm long.
The prototype, four clips in the frame.
Turned over to show the clips.
The hooked end clips, from the front.

The build

How we built it

5 steps, from the brief to the finished piece. Pick a step to jump to it.

The brief

Step 1 of 5 · 27/03/2026

Part: Car door latch guide, a clip-in part
Started from: One original guide from the car
Material: Black PETG-CF, raw print finish
Our scope: Measuring, CAD, a prototype, fitment tests on the car and the final set

At Additive Inn, our 3D printing studio in Singapore, we reverse engineer replacement parts from the originals. A private client needed new door latch guides for an older car. We were to measure an original guide, rebuild it in CAD for FDM printing, try a prototype on the car and then print the set in black PETG-CF.

Design and prototyping

Step 2 of 5 · 06/04/2026

We measured the original and rebuilt it in CAD as five parts: a rounded frame, 30 mm long, and four clips that fit into it before the guide goes on the door. We kept a flat face on the side of the frame for an engraving, the client's initials or the car's number plate.

The first design went to the client on 6 April as a mock-up deck, with a prototype already printed and engraved. The client drove the car to our studio on 7 April to try the prototype on the door. We fine-tuned the clips and tried the revised guide on the car again on 14 April.

Revision 0 slide: the assembled guide, an exploded view of the black frame and its four grey clips marked to be assembled before installation, a dot on the frame's side for the engraving, and side, top and front views with dimensions — RenderRevision 0, sent to the client on 6 April.

Render of the assembled guide: a black rounded frame with two long grey clips along its sides and a shaped clip at each end — RenderThe guide with its four clips in place.

Side and top views of the first design with its dimensions: 30.0 long overall, 10.6 tall with the clips, and an opening 20.0 by 9.7 — DrawingSide and top views, 30 mm long.

The black PETG-CF prototype from above at an angle, its four clips fitted into the frame around the opening — The prototype, four clips in the frame.

The prototype turned over on a white table, its long clips and end clips standing up from the black frame; the engraving on the side is blurred — Turned over to show the clips.

The prototype from the front: the rounded frame on top, a long clip below it and an end clip with a hooked tip at each side; the engraving is blurred — The hooked end clips, from the front.

Printing the set

Step 3 of 5 · 17/04/2026

We started printing the set on 17 April, in black PETG-CF on our FDM printers. The client had asked for eight guides, two more than the six first planned, so we printed 40 parts in all: a frame and four clips for each guide. The guides are left as printed, with the carbon fibre texture of the material.

Engraving and assembly

Step 4 of 5

Each frame was engraved on its flat side with the car's number plate, as the client asked. Then the four clips of each guide were fitted into its frame, so every guide was ready to go on the door.

The final build

Step 5 of 5 · 22/04/2026

All eight guides were printed, engraved and assembled by 22 April. The client collected eight door latch guides in black carbon-fibre PETG, rebuilt from the original and tried on the car.

The eight finished latch guides in black PETG-CF on a white table, in two staggered rows, each with its clips fitted; the engraving on each is blurred — All eight, engraved and assembled.

More production runs

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Replacement door latch guides for an older car

What we brought

We rebuild a part from the original

Tried on the car before the run

Made personal

Gallery