Reverse Engineering
Introduction to Engineering Design © 2012 Project Lead The Way, Inc.
Taking things apart …
• Have you ever
noticed how children
are fascinated with
how objects work?
• Some professionals have stated that they
can trace back their interest in
engineering to their childhood, when they
would tear apart everyday objects to
figure out what caused them to move and
function.
WHAT is Reverse Engineering?
Reverse engineering (RE)
is the process of taking
something apart and
analyzing its workings in
detail, usually with the
intention of understanding
its structure, function, and
operation.
Microsoft Office clipart
WHY is Reverse Engineering Used?
• Collect documentation for a product, machine, or
building that has been lost, destroyed, never
formalized, or must be transferred to a new
form—such as a computer 3D model.
• Gain possession of a competitor’s product or
another government’s military equipment to identify
the components, function, and operation of new
technology to acquire a commercial or military
advantage.
• Model a product for analysis and testing.
©[Link]
WHY is Reverse Engineering Used?
• Verify patent infringement if a competitor releases
a product that appears to include patented work.
• Assess a product to improve the product or to
avoid mistakes made by previous
designers—increase efficiency, reduce
environmental impact, improve reliability, increase
product life, eliminate a failure mode, reduce cost or
increase profits, increase ease of use.
• Investigate the as-built conditions and to identify
the mode of failure during a design failure.
©[Link]
WHY is Reverse Engineering Used?
• Discovery
– Academic/research/learning
– Curiosity
Human Genome Project
Reverse-engineer the brain
©[Link] Source: Wikimedia, [Link]
Modified from Human Genomne Project
WHY is Reverse Engineering Used?
• Discovery
– Military or commercial intelligence
– RE is very common during wartime.
B-29 RQ-170
Source: Wikimedia - [Link] Sourde:Wikimedia, author BBC
WHY is Reverse Engineering Used?
• Investigation
– Analysis and testing
– Document patent infringement
– Forensics: Design failure
Source: Wikimedia, author: Dr. Lee Lowery Jr., PE Source: Wikimedia, author: Dr. Lee Lowery Jr., PE
WHY is Reverse Engineering Used?
• Improve or redesign a product
– Increase efficiency
– Improve reliability
– Improve manufacturing techniques
– Eliminate failure mode
– Reduce cost
– Increase ease-of-use
– Reduce negative environmental impacts
– Recycle parts
– Etc.
Reverse Engineering Tools
Micrometers Caliper Optical Probe
Source: Wikimedia, author: Christophe ©[Link]
Cattelain.
Source: Wikimedia, author: Splarka
Handheld 3D Laser Scanner
Medical Imaging
Source: Wikimedia, Author: Creative Tools, License: [Link]
Source: U. S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Julianne Showalter Source: National Center for Computational Sciences
Steps of Reverse Engineering Process
1. Visual Analysis – Give it a look.
2. Functional Analysis – the “meat” of RE.
Hypothesis - how does it work?
3. Structural Analysis - Physical disassembly
to determine how it actually work.
Visual Analysis
Giving it a “look”
• What does it look like?
• What features does it
have?
• Are there structural or
color patterns?
• What materials are used?
• Proportion, balance, form
• Etc.
Functional Analysis
After a product has been selected, a
non-destructive functional analysis is
performed.
• First, the product’s purpose is identified.
• Next, observations are made to determine
how the product functions. These
observations are recorded in detail.
• Lastly, the system’s inputs and outputs are
listed.
Functional Analysis: Example
Purpose:
The purpose of a
toothbrush is to clean
teeth and gums to prevent
tooth and gum decay.
Water and a cleansing
paste are used in
conjunction with the
brush.
Functional Analysis Example
Function
An annotated sketch, with
all visible components
labeled, is created.
A hypothesis is devised to
describe (in detail) the
sequential operation or
function of the device
using the sketch as a
reference.
System Input / Outputs - Black Box
Systems Model
A black box systems model is used to
identify what goes into and out of the
product in order to make it work as a system.
Inputs Output
Product
Function
Black Box Systems Model
The “black box” is used to represent the
product’s internal components or
processes, which are deemed unknown at
this point.
Inputs Output
Product
Function
Functional Analysis Example
• Sound
• Hand Motion
• Toothpaste • Heat
• Water • Waste
• Energy • Clean teeth
and gums
Inputs Output
Product
Function
Structural Analysis
• Analyzing the materials that make up the
product.
– Are they appropriate?
– Could they be better?
– Do they perform as they should?
• Failure
• Premature wear
– What is the intended Product life cycle?