Activity 4.4 – Reverse Engineering

 

Purpose

Today, when you purchase a product, you very seldom get the chance to see how it was made. Have you ever wondered how something works? Have you ever taken something apart so you could find out? Have you ever wanted to do just that?

 

With the use of your skills of sketching and using computer software, you will be able to explore how an object was originally put together. Your first reverse engineering project will involve looking at an object that is made out of wood or metal. You will look at it from all views and try to determine what different shapes make up the object and then to try and reproduce it from what you are able to determine from your observations and measurements of the object.

 

Reverse engineering is used by many engineers to study an object and to make innovations or changes to an existing product. You will find it helpful when you want to learn how something works. If you can take something apart, you generally realize it is made up of simple shapes and is not as complicated as it first appears.

 

 

Equipment

·    Sketch paper

·    Pencil

·    Ruler or scale

·    Engineer’s notebook

·    Computer with appropriate software, such as Inventor

 

 

Procedure

You and an engineering team member will be given an object. Maybe you’ll be given a wooden block that looks similar to Figure 1.

 

 

 

 

First, accurately describe the object without reference to measurement and record your description below. Check with your teammate to see if you are seeing the object from a different point of view and adjust your description.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Next, you will create a sketch of the object. Using the measuring device (i.e., ruler or caliper) provided, accurately measure the object to the nearest sixteenth of an inch, placing the dimensions on your sketch.

 

Work as a team and double check your answers by comparing your measurements with your engineering partner.

 

When sketching, look closely at the object and determine the basic shapes that make up the object, such as a square, rectangle, or triangle.

 

Your teacher may ask you to place your sketch in your engineer’s notebook. Have your teacher review your sketch before you move to the next step.

 



Next, you will create an orthographic and an isometric drawing of the object.

 

Work as a team and double check your drawing by comparing the views that you have drawn.

 

When drawing, be sure to choose your front view for the orthographic sketch carefully. Determining factors could be function or least amount of hidden views.

 

Your teacher may ask you to place your drawings in your engineer’s notebook. Have your teacher review your work before you move to the next step.

 


 


Using the appropriate software, such as Inventor, make an accurate computer model from the sketch and measurements you made. Check with your teacher if you have questions about the process.

 

Remember the steps of using the software you learned during the tutorial on sketching, constraining, and extruding.

 

Try to think of the simplest way of doing it and it probably will be the best way. Using the example, Figure 1, the approach would be to sketch a rectangle – constrain with dimensions and then to extrude to the correct depth.

 


 

Continuing using Figure 1 as an example, choose the front of the figure to add the front sketch. Sketch the added rectangular shape to the lower left corner, constrained with dimensions and extrude to proper depth.

 

The final procedure is to draw on the surface where there is an angular cut. Sketch the line, constrain with dimensions, and extrude but this time use the cut operation to remove the shape.

 


 

The finished 3D computer Model

 

 

Conclusion

1.      What is different about doing reverse engineering versus creating a drawing from an object you have not seen made?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.      How do you think the use of reverse engineering would help you when you are working on solving a problem?