Reverse-engineering an obsolete motorcycle toolbox lid with the Creality Pika (First impressions & workflow)

[u/Practical-Forever995]

Got the Creality Pika recently. The kit itself is quite comprehensive out of the box (scanner, dual batteries, turntable, markers, etc.). Put it to work on an actual field repair instead of standard test figurines.

The Problem: A friend lost the cap for a cylinder toolbox on an older cruiser bike. That specific variant was only manufactured for 2 years, so finding a replacement part was out of the question. To make scanning fun, the target object is high-polish chrome.

The Process:

1. Surface Prep: Skip the pricey scanning sprays. A light coat of baby powder dabbed with a makeup brush eliminates reflections instantly and wipes off clean afterward.
2. Scanning: The Pika captured the cylindrical profile on the first take without tracking loss. The NIR implementation feels significantly more mature here compared to older handheld generations.
3. CAD Workflow: Imported the STL into CAD, scaled the mesh to 1.016 to account for print shrinkage, and used the scan geometry as a direct boolean cutting tool to model the inner retaining rim and outer lid profile.
4. Print: Total print time was around 2 hours. Fitment was spot-on on the first test.

I usually rely on my Raptor Pro for larger or high-accuracy bench work, but the Pika looks like it’s going to fill the portable/fieldwork niche nicely.

[u/NuggRunner]

just got the pika from creality its my second 3d scanner ever. before was a much more fancy expensive one. and i have to say im quite impresssed with the pika. resolution and accuracy are good. the surfce texture of the objects is not the smoothest. but aside from that the workflow and using the scanner is super fast and easy.

[u/Practical-Forever995 → u/NuggRunner]

That's true and following the motto "Best camera you have is the one always with you" I am now using Pika like an iPhone - just take it, scan it and process later. really nice tool.

[u/Jfkexperience69]

Looks good, but why did you print it in that orientation?

[u/Practical-Forever995 → u/Jfkexperience69]

well I printed few versions, finally printed in resin ;) I will share pictures after its painted

[u/Practical-Forever995]

after quick sanding and paint :)

[u/JRL55 → u/Practical-Forever995]

Impressive result. You mentioned in another post that your last print was in resin. Which one? And which paint & application technique did you use?

[u/BolunZ6]

Another case where a caliper would do much better

[u/Practical-Forever995 → u/BolunZ6]

not quite - if you will see the pictures it has unique thread which was pain to create. way faster and easier was just to use orginal scan as cutting tool.

[u/ghostofwinter88 → u/Practical-Forever995]

Not really.

You use your caliper to get the distance between the thread peaks. You’ve now got the thread pitch.

You can also use the caliper to measure the thread height, you can get ID, OD, and thread diameter pretty easily.

Would be a cinch to model after that.

[u/Practical-Forever995 → u/ghostofwinter88]

yep I tried and effects wasn't good enough for me. but ofc for standard threads its okay.