Case Study: Advanced Design Concepts achieves rapid, 0.003-inch-accurate digital recreation of a classic Harley-Davidson Dyna Wide Glide gas tank with 3D Systems

Harley-Davidson Uses Geomagic 3D Reverse Engineering Software To Recreate A Classic Dyna Wide Glide Part

Harley-Davidson, famed for its handcrafted styling, faced a challenge digitizing legacy parts whose soft, sculpted shapes (like the Dyna Wide Glide gas tank) were originally made in wood, clay or fiberglass and proved difficult to reproduce accurately in traditional CAD. Integrating these complex, legacy pieces into modern CAD workflows was time-consuming, costly and limited the company’s ability to manage or modify older designs.

An engineering consultant from Advanced Design Concepts scanned the tank with an ATOS white‑light 3D scanner and used Geomagic Wrap to convert point cloud data to polygonal and then NURBS/IGES surfaces, finishing the model in Pro/ENGINEER for parametric features. The workflow cut surfacing time from days to hours, produced a watertight model accurate to 0.003 inch (versus 0.010–0.015 previously), and enabled a digital parts inventory that lowers costs, simplifies replacement and enables faster customization.

Advanced Design Concepts

Mark Schaefer

Harley-Davidson Engineering