Skip to main content
Introduction
For over 25 years, Primary Designs has been at the forefront of high-performance exhaust design and manufacture, supplying precision-engineered systems to Formula One teams, hypercar manufacturers and specialist automotive customers.
Based in Thame, Oxfordshire, the company has built its reputation on delivering lightweight, high-quality exhaust solutions where precision, craftsmanship and repeatability are essential.
Working across both modern motorsport programmes and bespoke heritage vehicle projects presents a unique set of engineering challenges. While many current vehicle programmes are developed from existing CAD data, classic and low-volume projects often require complete reverse engineering, with accurate measurement forming the foundation of the entire design process.
To further enhance its engineering capabilities and maintain the exceptionally high standards demanded by its customers, Primary Designs invested in the Creaform HandySCAN 307, supplied by Measurement Solutions Ltd (MSL).
Since bringing portable 3D scanning in-house, the company has transformed the way it captures measurement data, develops new products and validates finished components, while bringing the measurement process in-house, creating new opportunities across the business and enhancing the way it develops, manufactures and validates high-performance exhaust systems.
Objectives
Primary Designs initially invested in portable 3D scanning to gain greater control over its product development process and eliminate the challenges associated with traditional measurement methods and outsourced scanning services.
Previously, developing bespoke exhaust systems often meant fabricating the first development part directly on a customer’s vehicle before creating a hand-built manufacturing jig back at the workshop. This process could require two or three highly skilled engineers spending up to a week on-site before development could continue.
Outsourcing scanning presented its own challenges. Although third-party providers could capture scan data, they often lacked the engineering knowledge required to identify the features most important for exhaust design, resulting in incomplete datasets and unnecessary delays.
By bringing 3D scanning in-house, Primary Designs gained complete control over the scanning process, allowing engineers to capture exactly the information required for each project. This gave the engineering team the flexibility to capture additional geometry that might not initially appear important but could prove valuable later in the design process.
This approach has enabled the company to complete more development work digitally in CAD while improving efficiency, repeatability and confidence in every stage of the development process. It also positioned Primary Designs to meet the growing demand for comprehensive digital inspection reports from Formula One and high-performance automotive customers.
As John Salisbury explains:
“Now we have our own scanner, we can control the whole process. We’ll always scan a bit extra, even if it takes a little bit longer, because there might be something we need later.”
Application Examples
Today, portable 3D scanning supports a wide range of applications across Primary Designs’ engineering workflow.
One of its primary uses is the development of bespoke exhaust systems for heritage vehicles and specialist automotive projects. Many of these vehicles are too rare or valuable to leave the customer’s premises, making traditional development methods both time-consuming and impractical. With portable 3D scanning, Primary Designs can visit the customer, capture a complete digital model of the vehicle and return to the workshop to complete the remaining design work in CAD. This significantly reduces development time while ensuring accurate measurement data is available throughout the project.
The scanner also plays an essential role in reverse engineering. Where original CAD models are unavailable, Primary Designs can scan existing exhaust systems to create accurate reference geometry for replacement or upgraded components.
Wherever possible, however, the team prefers to scan the entire vehicle rather than the original exhaust, recognising that original components may have distorted over time and no longer accurately represent the vehicle.
Within the company’s Formula One programmes, portable 3D scanning has become an integral part of quality assurance. Every race-ready component is inspected against its CAD model using VXinspect, generating detailed surface deviation reports that verify dimensional accuracy before components are supplied to the customer.
Beyond product development and inspection, Primary Designs also uses the HandySCAN to digitise manufacturing jigs, thereby preserving valuable engineering knowledge while meeting insurance requirements and supporting future production. Scan data is linked to customer records and serial numbers, creating complete digital traceability and enabling historical data to be referenced whenever required.
Challenges
Designing and manufacturing exhaust systems for elite motorsport demands absolute precision. Whether producing one-off systems for rare heritage vehicles or supplying components for current Formula One programmes, Primary Designs must consistently meet extremely tight tolerances while delivering products within demanding project timescales.
Before introducing portable 3D scanning, the company relied on manual development methods and a Faro Arm for inspection. While suitable for basic measurement tasks, these methods could not provide the comprehensive surface deviation analysis increasingly required by customers, particularly within Formula One.
Developing bespoke systems directly on customer vehicles also required considerable time and resources. At the same time, outsourcing scanning often resulted in incomplete datasets because external providers were not involved in the design process and therefore did not always understand what information was required.
As customer expectations evolved, Primary Designs needed a solution that would provide complete control over data capture, improve inspection capabilities and allow the business to work more efficiently without compromising quality.
Benefits
Bringing portable 3D scanning in-house has also given Primary Designs complete control over the measurement process. Engineers can capture exactly the data they need, rather than relying on third-party providers, ensuring every project begins with accurate, comprehensive scan data and eliminating much of the guesswork traditionally associated with bespoke exhaust development.
Instead of sending multiple engineers to develop the first prototype directly on a customer’s vehicle, a single engineer can now capture all of the required geometry during a one-day site visit before completing the remainder of the development digitally in CAD. This has significantly reduced development time while allowing skilled fabricators to remain focused on manufacturing.
As John Salisbury explains:
“One of the last projects we completed before 3D scanning was introduced required three of our highly skilled employees for at least a week to build one system. Now I can go and scan the vehicle in a day and complete the rest of the development in CAD.”
The digital workflow has also improved collaboration with customers, allowing them to visualise the evolution of a project from the initial scan through to the finished design. Rather than relying solely on physical prototypes, customers can review CAD models and design iterations throughout the development process, providing greater confidence before manufacture begins.
The technology has also enabled Primary Designs to produce comprehensive inspection reports for Formula One customers while creating a permanent digital record of projects, inspection data and manufacturing information. This has strengthened traceability, improved customer support and provided valuable engineering records that can be referenced long after production has been completed.
Perhaps most importantly, the investment has enabled Primary Designs to take on projects that would previously have been difficult to undertake, strengthening its competitive position and giving customers confidence in its fully integrated digital engineering workflow.
Results
Since integrating the HandySCAN 307 into its workflow, Primary Designs has significantly improved the efficiency, flexibility and accuracy of its engineering processes.
The company now undertakes projects that would previously have been impractical, captures all measurement data in-house and provides the detailed inspection reports increasingly expected by Formula One customers. By combining portable 3D scanning with digital design and inspection software, Primary Designs has strengthened its competitive position while reducing development time and improving communication throughout the manufacturing process.
What began as an investment to streamline bespoke exhaust development has evolved into an integral part of Primary Designs’ engineering workflow. Today, portable 3D scanning supports everything from heritage vehicle development and reverse engineering to Formula One inspection, digital traceability and long-term customer support.
By bringing the entire measurement process in-house, Primary Designs has strengthened its competitive position while continuing to meet the evolving demands of Formula One, hypercar and specialist automotive customers without compromising the precision, quality and craftsmanship on which its reputation has been built.
Ready to streamline your engineering workflow?
Whether you’re developing bespoke components, reverse-engineering legacy parts, or validating high-performance assemblies, Measurement Solutions can help you capture accurate data faster and with greater confidence.
Contact our team today to discuss how portable 3D scanning can support your next project.
