Giovanni Faiella
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November 2025 Complete

Reverse-Engineered Pull-Up Bar Assembly

I took apart a commercial pull-up bar, hand-measured all 16 parts, and rebuilt it as a fully mated SOLIDWORKS assembly with an exploded view, BOM and dimensioned drawings.

  • SOLIDWORKS
  • Reverse engineering
  • Technical drawings
My SOLIDWORKS assembly. Click and drag to rotate it.

Overview

This was my SOLIDWORKS capstone, a course project in reverse engineering. I started with a store-bought doorway pull-up bar and ended with a complete digital twin: every part modeled to measured dimensions, assembled with proper mates, and documented in a full drawing package.

The commercial doorway pull-up bar before disassembly
The real pull-up bar
SOLIDWORKS assembly drawing of the pull-up bar in four views
My assembly drawing

My process

  1. Disassembly and measurement. I took the bar completely apart, measured all 16 parts by hand, and drew dimensioned sketches of each one to work from.
  2. Part modeling. I modeled every component as a dimensionally accurate SOLIDWORKS part, including the bent tubes, foam grips and fasteners. I used helical sweeps to model the threads on the screws, bolt and nuts.
  3. Assembly. I assembled all 16 parts into a fully mated assembly, so the model fits together the same way the real bar does.
  4. Documentation. I produced an exploded view, a numbered bill of materials tied to the individual part drawings, and a dimensioned drawing for each part.

Exploded view and bill of materials

Exploded view drawing of the pull-up bar with numbered balloons
Exploded view. The numbered balloons match the bill of materials below.
No.PartQty
1Plastic bar1
2Rectangular foam pad1
3Curved bar2
4Screw (small)2
5Lock washer4
6Acorn nut4
7Curved bar foam2
8Tube cap6
9Foam grip #16
10Bar (inner)1
11Screw2
12Bar (outer)1
13Bolt1
14Foam grip #22

Part drawings

A selection of the dimensioned part drawings. Click any drawing to see it full size, or open the complete drawing package (PDF).

Tube cap drawingTube cap Acorn nut drawing with modeled threadsAcorn nut Large screw drawing with helical threadLarge screw Curved bar drawingCurved bar Bar 2 drawing with detail viewOuter bar Bolt drawingBolt

Taking it apart

Photos from the disassembly, used as references while measuring and modeling.

Pull-up bar, second angle Curved bar removed from the assembly Straight bar section Plastic bar Rectangular foam pad Curved bar foam Foam grip Tube cap Screws

Skills used

  • SOLIDWORKS part and assembly modeling, including helical sweeps for threaded hardware
  • Dimensioned drawings with section and detail views
  • Exploded views and bills of materials
  • Hand measurement and dimensioned sketching