This paper describes one method of reverse engineering that machines a free form shape without descriptive model. A portable five-axes 3D CMM was used to digitize point data from physical model. After approximation by rational B-spline curve from digitized point data of a geometric shape, a surface was constructed by the skinning method of the cross-sectional design technique. Since a surface patch was segmented by fifteen part, surface merging was also implemented to assure the surface boundary continuity. Finally, composite surface was transferred to commercial CAD/CAM system through IFES translation in order to machine the modeled geometric shape.