OBJECT DIGITISATION & DIGITAL ARCHIVING UK
Get a permanent record of your physical parts
Surface Scan’s object digitisation service turns physical objects, assets and structures into a permanent, accurate digital record. We capture an artefact to 0.020 mm or a whole vessel as a point cloud, so it can be studied, shared, insured, and remade if the original is ever lost or damaged.
- Capture at any scale, from a coin or sculpture at 0.020 mm to a full building or boat as a point cloud.
- A file you own and keep. It doesn't degrade, and it's ready for research, display, insurance or remaking.
- Need the object back one day? We can reproduce it from your archive, in-house.
TRUSTED BY
SOUND FAMILIAR?
You've got the object, but nothing digital to fall back on
Maybe it’s one irreplaceable piece, maybe a whole range of products with no CAD left. Either way, the only version that exists is the physical one, and that becomes a problem the day you need to repair it, reproduce it, insure it, or simply prove what it was.
It's hard to replace
Whether it’s a one-off or just long out of production, losing or damaging it means a slow, costly hunt for a replacement, if one exists at all. A digital record means it survives whatever happens to the original.
There's nothing digital to work from
You’ve got the physical part, sometimes a whole catalogue of them, but no CAD or drawings to repair from or reorder. The objects themselves are your only reference.
You need it on record
For insurance, a grant, a restoration, or just so an accurate version still exists in twenty years. Photographs from one angle won’t cut it, you need a measurable record you can rely on and reuse.
HOW IT WORKS
How do you create a permanent digital record of an object?
Surface Scan creates a permanent digital record in three stages. We scan the object with non-contact equipment, on-site or in our Kent studio. We clean and align the data into an accurate, watertight 3D model and deliver it in the formats you need. Then you keep the file, and we keep a copy too, so the object can be studied, shared, insured or remade long after the scan. Most projects take one to two weeks.
Capture the part
- Non-contact, so nothing touches the object
- The Scanology NimbleTrack captures detailed items down to 0.020 mm
- The FARO Focus records large structures and sites as a point cloud
Process and archive
- Raw data cleaned and aligned to a coordinate system
- Either as-is with all imperfections or rebuilt to match original design intent
- You choose the deliverables: mesh, editable CAD, point cloud or print-ready STL
Keep it, and remake it
- You receive the file and own it outright
- We hold a copy too, so it's there whenever you need it
- Need a replacement? We reproduce it from the archive in-house, by 3D printing or CNC
YOUR DIGITAL RECORD
What does a Surface Scan digital archive give you?
A Surface Scan digital archive is more than a picture of an object. It’s a dimensionally accurate, measurable 3D record you can work from, reproduce from, and rely on for decades. Depending on the object and what you need it for, your archive can include any of the following.
An accurate 3D model
A dimensionally correct mesh of the object, capturing every curve, edge and surface detail down to 0.020 mm.
An editable CAD file
A parametric or auto-surfaced CAD model, ready to modify, engineer or remake. Opens in SolidWorks, Fusion 360 and most CAD tools.
A point cloud
For large structures and sites, a full-field point cloud captured with the FARO Focus, with 2D drawings and sections on request.
Colour and texture
Full-colour, true-to-life capture for display, study or replica work, so the digital copy looks like the original, not just its shape.
A file you own and keep
You own the file outright. It doesn’t fade, warp or degrade. We store a copy too, and clients regularly come back years later asking us to send it over.
Remake-ready
Because the record is accurate, you can reproduce the object from it whenever you need, by 3D printing, CNC or reverse engineering.
REAL PROJECTS
What does object digitisation look like in practice?
Maritime heritage
Allchorn Maritime
Allchorn Maritime are restoring the William Allchorn and Southern Queen, Eastbourne’s last two pleasure boats, with no original drawings to work from. We captured both vessels with the FARO Focus laser scanner, working around tight indoor spaces and an exposed beachfront, and merged the scans into one clean point cloud. They now have a verified digital record of every curve and detail to guide the restoration, plus the data to build VR experiences later.
Insurance & asset protection
Foskers, Koenig F48 Ferrari
Foskers, the UK’s oldest independent Ferrari specialist, came to us for a customer who had bought a Koenig Specials F48, one of just seven in the world and worth £93,000. Almost every panel is unique to the car, so a single accident could have been impossible to put right. We scanned the full body with the NimbleTrack at up to 0.020 mm and built a digital twin. If the worst happens, panels can be remade from the file, in carbon fibre if the owner wants.
Museum digitisation
West Berkshire Museum
West Berkshire Museum needed to keep Britain’s oldest carved wood on display while the original went out on loan. Historic England dates the Boxford Timber to the late Mesolithic, around 4640 to 4605 BC. We scanned the artefact on the museum’s premises with the NimbleTrack, using non-contact methods designed for fragile, irreplaceable objects, and delivered a clean STL for the archive plus a full-scale 3D printed replica for the cabinet.
Have something you can't afford to lose?
Send us a few photos and tell us what it is. We’ll talk you through how we’d capture it, what your archive would include, and what it costs.
Why Surface Scan
Why a digital record beats keeping the original alone
A physical object can be lost, damaged, stolen or simply worn down by time, and a drawer of photographs won’t let you remake it. A Surface Scan digital archive captures the object accurately enough to study, insure and reproduce, and it’s the only one of these options where you can get the physical part back. Here’s how the choices compare.
- One UK company that captures the object, archives it, and can remake it. You're not stitching together a scanner, a CAD bureau and a manufacturer.
- Non-contact throughout, so fragile and valuable items are never touched.
- 145+ five-star Google reviews, and named clients from museums to Ferrari specialists.
| What you can do with it | Keep the original only | Photos & written notes | DIY / phone-app scan | Surface Scan digital archive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Survives loss, theft, fire or decay | ✗ | Partial (2D only) | Partial | ✓ |
| Accurate enough to remake a part from | ✗ | ✗ | Varies, usually low | ✓ (up to 0.020 mm) |
| Stands up as an insurance or evidence record | ✗ | Limited | ✗ | ✓ |
| Captures full colour and texture | ✗ | Partial | Some | ✓ |
| Non-contact, safe for fragile items | n/a | ✓ | Risk of contact | ✓ |
| Lets you remake the physical object later | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ (in-house) |
| Ready to share for research, display or VR | ✗ | Limited | Some | ✓ |
What people archive
What do people digitally archive?
If it’s physical, valuable and hard to replace, it’s worth a digital record. These are the objects and assets we’re asked to capture most often.
Heritage & museums
Industrial & legacy parts
Insurance & asset documentation
Restoration reference
Art & sculpture
Forensic & evidence
For businesses
Build a digital parts library
A digital parts library is a managed archive of 3D scans and CAD files for your products or spare parts, including items that have no CAD or drawings left. We digitise your range once and hold the files, so any item is there to reproduce, repair or reference, instead of sitting in a warehouse or going obsolete when the original supplier disappears.
- Free up the shelf space that slow-moving spares tie up.
- Keep an accurate file long after the drawings, tooling or original supplier are gone.
- Reproduce the parts we make on demand, in the quantity you need.
- Or simply hold the library, yours to use for repairs, internal reference, or manufacturing.
When you need parts made from the library, that’s handled in-house through our obsolete parts replacement and low-volume manufacturing.
Our technology
What technology does Surface Scan use to digitise an object?
We choose the equipment to suit the object and what the record is for. Everything is non-contact, so nothing ever touches the original.
Geometry
Scanology NimbleTrack
Scale
FARO Focus
Colour & texture
iReal M3
Frequently Asked Questions
Object digitisation - your questions answered
How do you create a permanent digital record of an object?
We scan the object with non-contact equipment, either at your site or in our Kent studio. We clean and align the data into an accurate 3D model, then deliver it as a mesh, CAD file, point cloud or STL. You keep the file and we hold a copy too, so the record lasts and the object can be remade from it later.
Is scanning safe for fragile or valuable objects?
Yes. Every scan is non-contact and non-destructive, so nothing ever touches the object. We've digitised items from a 6,000-year-old carved timber to a one-of-seven Ferrari this way. For delicate or reflective surfaces we plan the approach in advance, using markers or matte scanning spray only where it's safe to do so.
Can you remake or 3D print the object from the archive later?
Yes, and this is what sets a Surface Scan archive apart. Because the record is dimensionally accurate, we can reproduce the object from it whenever you need, by 3D printing, CNC machining or full reverse engineering. Foskers had a Ferrari digitised so individual panels could be remade if the car was ever damaged. Alternatively the file could be used as a starting point for new product design.
How accurate is the digital record?
The Scanology NimbleTrack captures detailed objects to 0.020 mm, fine enough to remake parts from. The FARO Focus records large structures and sites as a measurable point cloud. We match the equipment to the object, so the accuracy fits what you need the archive for, whether that's display, insurance or manufacture.
What file formats do I get, and do I keep them?
You choose the deliverables: a 3D mesh, an editable CAD file, a point cloud, or a print-ready STL. You own the files outright. We also store a copy, and clients regularly come back years later to ask us to send theirs over. We don't lock your data away or charge to hold it.
Can a digital record be used for insurance or asset documentation?
Yes. An accurate 3D record of a high-value object, captured before anything happens to it, gives you a measurable account of its exact condition and geometry. If it's later damaged, the object can be re-scanned and compared against the original to pinpoint what changed, and parts can be remade from the archive.
Do you scan on-site, or does the object come to you?
Both. The FARO Focus travels to your site for buildings, vessels and anything that can't move. Smaller objects can come to our Kent studio for NimbleTrack capture, or we bring the equipment to you if the item is too fragile or valuable to transport. We'll advise which suits your object.
What's the difference between a point cloud, a mesh and a CAD model?
A point cloud is millions of measured points describing a surface, best for large structures. A mesh joins those points into a continuous 3D surface, a digital copy of the object's shape. A CAD model is a fully editable, engineered version you can modify and manufacture from. We'll recommend the right one for what you're doing.
How is this different from your heritage 3D scanning service?
Our heritage 3D scanning service focuses on historic buildings, monuments and sites, with point clouds, HBIM and conservation deliverables. Object digitisation is broader: any object or asset across industry, insurance, art, restoration and forensic work, as well as heritage items. If your project is a building or a site, start with the heritage page; for objects and assets, you're in the right place.
Can you build a digital parts library for our products?
Yes. We can digitise your whole product range or spare-parts list, including items with no CAD or drawings, and hold the files as a managed library. Where it's a part we make, we reproduce it on demand in-house; where it isn't, you still own an accurate file to use for repairs, as an internal reference, or for manufacturing. It's the "store the file, not the part" approach. Tell us roughly how many parts you have and we'll scope it.
Start your digital archive
Tell us what you’d like to capture and we’ll take it from there. Send a few photos of the object and we’ll explain how we’d scan it, what your archive would include, and what it costs.
What happens next:
- 01843 838818
- info@surfacescan.co.uk
- Unit 4 Little Cliffsend Farm, Ramsgate, Kent, CT12 5HP
Get your object digitisation quote
We reply within one working day. No obligation.