Engineering

Reverse engineering is the process of duplicating an existing product without the aid of drawings, documentation, or computer models. In ordinary engineering, the product designer creates a drawing showing how an object is to be built, and then the object is manufactured by following the design drawing. In reverse engineering, the steps are inverted. First, engineers identify the system components and their interrelationships. The object is taken apart to discover its structure, function, and operation. Duplication of the part is enabled by capturing physical dimensions, features, and material properties. Next, a CAD drawing or other representation of the system is created. Then a reproduction of the original system is accurately created based on that drawing. Why reverse engineering is needed A common scenario in which reverse engineering is needed is as follows: a company has a machine. A part fails and a replacement part is needed. But the manufacturer has discontinued the machine and no longer makes parts for it. The machine owner can reverse engineer a replacement part from the failed part, preventing the machine from going out of service. Reverse engineering can shortcut product development time. It quickly captures a product in 3D digital form and exports the data for rapid prototyping, tooling, or manufacturing. There are many other situations in which reverse engineering can be used: *Substituting an original part design that has inadequate or no documentation available. *Redesigning a part to eliminate a bad feature or to reinforce good features. *Analysing competitor products. *Supporting new modifications where original CAD models cannot. *Updating obsolete products with current technology. *Updating or creating as-built documentation. *Supplying a part with little downtime that is mission-critical to a system, reproduced in large quantities, or reflects a big investment. *Performing fine element analysis or computational fluid dynamics on parts for which no design […]