3D Scanning Services in Rhode Island
Kemperle Industries provides 3D scanning services in Rhode Island — reverse engineering, CNC machining, and custom fabrication handled from its Brooklyn, NYC studio. Rhode Island’s coastline, deep boating culture, and concentration of historic architecture make it one of the most naturally suited markets for the kind of precision, one-off work we specialize in — scanning and fabricating the custom parts, restored details, and vintage boat parts that no catalog carries and no production shop will touch.
Whether you’re a boat owner in Newport with a discontinued fitting that needs to be reproduced, a preservation architect in Providence working on a landmark Federal-style building, or an artist coming out of RISD with a fabrication problem, Kemperle brings 40+ years of hands-on scanning and fabrication expertise to bear on the work that requires it most.
3D Scanning for Marine Applications & Vintage Boat Parts in Rhode Island
Rhode Island is boating country. Newport hosted the America’s Cup for over fifty years and remains one of the most concentrated ports for classic and custom yachts on the East Coast. The state’s harbors stretch from Narragansett Bay to Block Island Sound, and facilities like Newport Shipyard, Hinckley’s Bristol yard, and dozens of independent boatyards keep an extraordinary range of classic and working vessels in the water year-round.
That marine heritage generates exactly the kind of fabrication challenges we handle best: boat restoration parts that were hand-made decades ago with no drawings, custom marine hardware that hasn’t been in production for thirty years, hull geometry that needs to be documented for insurance, refit, or custom modification. 3D scanning captures the precise geometry of physical objects — cleats, winch bases, helm components, custom deck hardware, interior joinery — and converts that geometry into digital data that can be used to reproduce, modify, or fabricate replacements.
For marine clients, this means we can take a worn or broken original, scan it at engineering-grade accuracy, and produce a dimensionally faithful reproduction in the appropriate material — bronze, stainless steel, aluminum, or engineering polymer — without guesswork. For larger projects — documenting a full hull section for a refit, scanning an installed engine mounting system, capturing the geometry of a custom frame — we can deploy scanning equipment on-site at Rhode Island boatyards and marinas. For smaller components and fittings, shipping parts to our Brooklyn studio is straightforward: overnight courier from Providence or Newport delivers to us the next morning.
Reverse Engineering Discontinued Marine Hardware
Classic and vintage vessels constantly run up against the same problem: the original hardware is worn, damaged, or missing, and the manufacturer either no longer exists or no longer supports the part. Reverse engineering solves this directly. We scan the original — or a surviving reference piece — and produce a fully dimensioned CAD model that serves as the engineering foundation for reproduction.
From that model, we can machine the replacement in-house using our CNC machining capability, produce a casting pattern for bronze or aluminum casting via molding and casting, or combine methods to achieve the right result for the material and finish required. The entire workflow — scan, model, fabricate — happens under one roof, which means no translation errors between vendors and no broken chain of custody on your original parts. Classic yacht restoration work often involves all three processes on a single project.
Heritage and Historic Preservation in Providence and Newport
Providence’s College Hill, Federal Hill, and Benefit Street corridor contain some of the finest surviving 18th and 19th-century architecture in the United States. Historic Newport is equally extraordinary — Federal-period mansions, Gilded Age cottages, and colonial-era buildings that require preservation expertise and fabrication precision in equal measure.
Our scan-to-fabrication workflow applies directly to the ornamental details that define this architecture: carved stone capitals, cast iron railings, decorative plasterwork, custom millwork, and hand-wrought metalwork. We scan surviving original elements, produce accurate CAD models, and fabricate replacements using the process best suited to the original material and historical context — machining, casting, or a combination. For preservation architects, building owners, and historic district commissions working in Rhode Island, this capability provides a technically rigorous path when original sources no longer exist. See our heritage and restoration page for more on how we approach this work.
Sculpture, Public Art, and the RISD Ecosystem
The Rhode Island School of Design and its alumni network make Rhode Island one of the most creatively dense states in the country relative to its size. Artists, sculptors, and designers working at the intersection of craft and precision fabrication are a natural fit for what we do — and we work with this community regularly on projects that require both artistic sensitivity and technical rigor.
We support sculptors and fabricators on maquette digitization, scale enlargement, custom armature fabrication, and finishing work for cast bronze and aluminum pieces. For public art commissions and monumental work, our ability to scan physical models and translate them accurately into fabrication-ready geometry is particularly useful when the artist’s hand-built form needs to be reproduced or enlarged without losing its character. More on our sculpture and public art page.
Legacy Equipment and Component Reproduction
Rhode Island has a long history of precision craft — watchmaking, tool-and-die, specialized industrial equipment — and that legacy leaves behind exactly the kind of orphaned components and undocumented parts that reverse engineering was made for. When a critical machine component has no surviving drawing, when a custom fixture needs to be reproduced because the original fabricator is gone, or when a piece of legacy equipment needs a replacement part that no supplier carries, we provide the scanning and engineering work to get it made.
This is not production work — we’re not running thousands of parts. We’re solving the one-off and short-run problems that require someone who understands the full workflow from physical object through finished, verified part. Where a replacement needs to be verified against spec before installation, our metrology and inspection services confirm dimensional accuracy against the original engineering requirements. If you have a component that needs to exist and doesn’t, that’s the work we do.
3D Printing and CNC Machining in Rhode Island
Our 3D printing capabilities in Rhode Island — FDM, SLA, and SLS — give clients fast turnaround on complex geometry, functional prototypes, and casting patterns that would be difficult or uneconomical to machine. For parts requiring tighter tolerances, harder materials, or specific surface finish, our CNC machining in Rhode Island produces finished components in aluminum, steel, brass, and engineering plastics. Both services run in-house, and both feed directly into the broader scan-to-fabrication workflow that makes Kemperle different from a standalone print shop or machine shop.
Working with Rhode Island Clients from Brooklyn
Providence is roughly three hours from Brooklyn — close enough for on-site visits when a project requires them, and well within overnight courier range for parts that can be removed and shipped. Newport, Bristol, and the coastal communities are similarly accessible. For most Rhode Island projects, the workflow is simple: ship parts to our studio, we execute the full scope of work, and return finished deliverables by the same method.
For on-site scanning — large vessels, installed equipment, architectural elements that can’t be removed — we plan site visits with appropriate lead time. Call us to discuss logistics for your specific project.
Reach us at 718-557-9578 or contact us online to talk through what you need.
For Rhode Island clients who need engineering and design support alongside fabrication — taking a scan or concept through to production-ready CAD — our design and engineering team handles that work in-house. For projects requiring non-standard approaches, unusual materials, or fabrication methods outside the standard service categories, our specialized manufacturing capability fills the gap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you scan and reproduce vintage boat parts?
Yes — this is some of our most common marine work. Vintage and classic vessels regularly have hardware, fittings, and structural components that no longer exist in the supply chain. We scan original or surviving reference pieces at engineering-grade accuracy and produce the CAD models and finished parts needed to restore or maintain the vessel. Ship the original piece to our Brooklyn studio and we’ll take it from there.
Can you reproduce bronze or stainless custom marine hardware from a scan?
Yes. Depending on the part geometry and required material, we can produce reproductions via CNC machining, casting, or a combination. Bronze reproduction typically involves producing a pattern and working with a foundry; stainless and aluminum components are often machined directly. We’ll recommend the right approach based on the part and your budget when you reach out.
Do you do on-site scanning at boatyards or marinas in Rhode Island?
Yes. For projects where components can’t be removed — large hull sections, installed deck hardware, engine mounting geometry — we can deploy scanning equipment on-site at Rhode Island boatyards and marinas including facilities in Newport and Bristol. Contact us to discuss the project scope and we’ll let you know what access and setup time we need.
Can you help with historic preservation work in Providence or Newport?
Yes. We work with preservation architects, building owners, and contractors on ornamental plaster, cast iron, carved stone, custom millwork, and decorative metalwork — scanning surviving originals and fabricating accurate replacements. Rhode Island’s architectural heritage is exactly the kind of work our scan-to-fabrication workflow was built for. See our heritage and restoration page for examples of how we approach this.
I have a part with no drawings and no supplier. Can you help?
That’s a core part of what we do. Bring us the physical part — or ship it to Brooklyn — and we’ll scan it, produce a dimensioned CAD model, and fabricate the replacement or reproduction you need. We handle the entire workflow in-house: no handoff between a scanning vendor and a fabrication vendor, one team, one point of accountability.
How much do 3D scanning services cost?
What a project costs depends primarily on three things: the scan itself, what you need delivered, and what steps are required afterwards. Most scanning projects start in the hundreds and quickly exceed a thousand dollars depending on part complexity, size, accuracy requirements, and whether we’re traveling on site or working in our studio. Complex multi-part assemblies or large on-site jobs can quickly run into the several thousands. The deliverable matters too — we include full scan cleanup in every project unless a client specifically wants raw data, which is rare. If the work continues into CAD conversion, CNC machining, 3D printing, or custom fabrication, the scope and cost increase accordingly. We quote the full picture upfront so there are no surprises — the fastest way to get a real number is a short call.
To discuss a 3D scanning, reverse engineering, or fabrication project in Rhode Island, call us at 718-557-9578 or visit our contact page.