Reverse-engineered hinge cover for a Nissan Silvia

A replacement for a broken hinge cover on a private client's Nissan Silvia, scanned from the broken original, rebuilt in CAD, tried on the car and 3D printed at full scale.

Client: A private client
Service: Industrial 3D Printing
What it is: A hinge cover for a Nissan Silvia
Started from: The client's broken original
Made in: White ASA, plus one set in black PETG-CF

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Full scale, rebuilt from the broken part: 1:1
Test fit on the car before the sets were printed: 1
Sets printed in white ASA: 3
Set printed in black PETG-CF: 1

What we brought

What we can do
Rebuilt from a broken part
We 3D scanned what was left of the original cover and rebuilt the missing shape in CAD, screw boss underneath included.
How we look after you
Tried on the car first
The client brought the car to our studio to try the prototype in place before we printed the sets.
What you get
A material for outdoors
We moved the sets to ASA, which handles sun and heat better than PETG-CF, because the part lives on the outside of a car.

Gallery

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

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The finished piece
The briefThe hinge on the car, with the old cover broken away.
The broken original, cracked at one corner.
The tab and the split edge.
The old cover on the car, before it came off.
Where the cover sits on the car.
Design and prototyping · First designRenderThe 3D scan of the broken cover.
Design and prototyping · Rev 0, approved 20/10/2026RenderThe design from every side, with sizes.
RenderThe approved test fit, on the deck.
The model, all round.
The prototypeOur prototype beside the broken original, from underneath.
Test fit on the carFitting the test cover by hand.
In place on the car.
Sitting flush with the seal.
Up close, fitted.

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 · 01/10/2026

Part: Hinge cover, broken
Scale: 1:1, full scale
Our scope: 3D scanning, CAD, a prototype, a test fit on the car and the sample sets

At Additive Inn, our 3D printing studio in Singapore, we reverse engineer replacement parts from the originals. A private client came in with a broken hinge cover from their Nissan Silvia. We were to rebuild it as a 3D model at full scale, print a prototype to test fit on the car, and then print sample sets.

The hinge on the car with its cover missing: the bolt and the broken base of the old cover on a black bracket, beside the rubber seal — The hinge on the car, with the old cover broken away.

The broken black hinge cover held in a hand beside the car, one corner cracked open and patched with yellow tape — The broken original, cracked at one corner.

The broken original from another side, its tab and the split along its edge — The tab and the split edge.

The old black hinge cover still in place on the car, over the hinge beside the trim panel — The old cover on the car, before it came off.

The hinge and bracket on the car seen from above, beside the trim and the rubber seal — Where the cover sits on the car.

Design and prototyping

Step 2 of 5 · 12/10/2026

We 3D scanned the broken original and used the scan as the base for the model. Because the part was broken, the scan could not be copied as it was: we rebuilt the missing and cracked areas in CAD, and modelled the boss underneath that takes the screw holding the cover in place.

First design

The 3D scan of the broken cover.

Render
Rev 0, approved 20/10/2026

The replacement as a left and right pair, measured from the broken part, with the fixing point modelled in. The client approved it after the test fit.

RenderPhoto +2 more

The prototype

Step 3 of 5 · 19/10/2026

We 3D printed a test cover from the model in black on our FDM printers, for the client to try on the car.

Two black hinge covers upside down on a wooden table: our printed prototype on the left with a clean screw boss, the broken original on the right — Our prototype beside the broken original, from underneath.

Test fit on the car

Step 4 of 5 · 20/10/2026

The client brought the car to our studio on 20 October and fitted the prototype in place of the old cover. It fitted on the first try, and the client gave the go-ahead to print the sets.

The client fitting the black printed test cover over the hinge by hand — Fitting the test cover by hand.

The test cover in place over the hinge, beside the seat-belt guides — In place on the car.

The test cover fitted, the rubber seal running past it — Sitting flush with the seal.

Close-up of the fitted test cover on the leather-grain trim — Up close, fitted.

The sample sets

Step 5 of 5 · 23/10/2026

The cover sits on the outside of the car, so we suggested ASA, which stands up to sun and heat better than PETG-CF. We printed three sets in white ASA and one in black PETG-CF, and they were ready for the client to collect on 23 October.

Eight white ASA hinge covers in two rows on a white table — The white ASA sets.

More production runs

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Reverse-engineered hinge cover for a Nissan Silvia

What we brought

Rebuilt from a broken part

Tried on the car first

A material for outdoors

Gallery