Page 154 - Fundamental of Engineering Design

◦ In some cases, the only way to obtain the design of an original product is

through reverse engineering. With some older products that have not been

manufactured for 20 years or more, the original 2D drawings are no longer

available. Often, there will be no way to contact the original manufacturer,
as the company may no longer be in business.

◦ Companies sometimes use reverse engineering to regain design data on

their own long-discontinued products. For example, a small company that
has been in businesses for more than 40 years may have manufactured

numerous products before the days of computer-aided design and digital

file storage. Consequently, these older products may be based on long-lost

paper blueprints. Through reverse engineering, companies can regain their
lost designs and create archives of their product legacy.

◦ Even if the company still has their paper blueprints, they may want to

create a digital version of them to make the plans easier to access and

use. The business could use certain reverse engineering techniques to
create this digital design file.

◦ Reverse engineering requires a series of steps to gather precise information

on a product’s dimensions. Once collected, you can store the data in
digital archives. Often, engineers will enhance the design with new

developments and innovations. Sometimes, they will replicate the original

model exactly.
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