Additive manufacturing of replacement parts

A method of making a replacement part, comprising:

• obtaining a physical example of a target part;
• imaging the physical example of the target part to produce a three-dimensional (3D) image of the target part;
• comparing the 3D image of the target part to parts in a product lifecycle management (PLM) database to identify a reference part to use as a basis for making a replacement part for the target part, wherein the PLM database includes a digital model for a baseline additive manufacturing (AM) technique for making the reference part;
• comparing the reference part to the target part to identify missing features, extraneous features or a combination of missing features and extraneous features on the reference part;
• determining a replacement part manufacturing method for modifying the reference part to provide the missing features, to remove extraneous features or a combination of missing features and extraneous features, to make a replacement part for the target part;
• making the replacement part for the target part using the replacement part manufacturing method.