Reverse Engineering Project

Reverse Engineering Project Procedure

The Reverse Engineering Project was the second part of the Break It Apart Challenge. In our group we had to choose one group member's item to reverse engineer. We chose my alarm clock and got to work. The main goal of the project was to identify a need or concern that could be addressed through reverse engineering, and conceptualize a device that fixes the issue. We first needed to identify the purpose of our object, and develop a hypothesis. Then we continued to tear down the object. We looked into pieces that had been left untouched before, and researched parts we were unsure about. We then researched our object for four days, focusing on functional analysis, structural analysis, material analysis, and manufactoring analysis. With all of our new information we redesigned the product and prepared a final report displaying all our information. Finally, we compiled the information from our report into a presentation for the class.

We reverse engineered the alarm clock I disassembled the week prior. The first thing we did was make a Gantt Chart that broke up the time we had to complete the project. Making this chart helped us break up the work load, kept us on task, and made sure we were finishing everything by the deadlines we assigned. When researching our object, I focused on structural analysis. My job was to identify how all the parts work, and how they work together in subsystems. I then went deeper to explain how these subsystems work together to form a functioning device. Once our group was done researching, we put all of our information together to fully understand how the alarm clock works. We then began the process of redesigning our device to fix an issue with the original device. We decided that the sound the alarm made to wake someone up was too blaring, so, to fix this issue we wanted to make the wake up system more organic. We decided that by using light and a more calming noise, people would wake up more relaxed and ready to start their day. When the alarm is supposed to go off there will be a beam of yellow light that imitates the sun. This would gradually wake up the person and not disrupt their circadian rhythm. To go with the light, the clock would play a bird song of the “Endangered Bird of the Week.” The bird would be updated weekly via satellite connection and 5% of all profits would go to endangered bird research and habitat protection. Finally, we added all these components to a report and presentation to display our findings and propose our redeigned idea.

Content

• Reverse engineering: A strategy used to find answers to questions about an existing product that is used in the design of an improved product.

• Invention: Design work that results in something unique or novel.

• Innovation: Process of improving or modifying an existing product.

• Conceptual Sketch- A conceptual sketch expresses the functional connections among various parts of an object. It expresses, in visual form, the elements and relationships involved in a problem. Conceptual sketches help an engineer identify the elements in a problem, see how groups of elements are connected to form subsystems, and understand how subsystems work together to create a working system.

• Subsystems- A system can contain several subsystems. A subsystem is a circuit, device, or unit that is part of a bigger system.

• Flow Chart- A flow chart is a step-by-step diagram that illustrates how different components are connected in a system. A flow chart utilizes words and arrows to display the flow of a system.

• Engineering Drawing- A 3D object on a 2D piece of paper through projection. There are five different types of engineering drawings: isometric, axonometric, oblique, perspective, and orthographic.

• Isometric Drawing- A sketch in which three axes form 120 degree angles with each other. Circles will appear as ellipses.

• Perspective Drawing- Objects appear the way the human eye would see them. Parallel lines converge to the vanishing point on the horizon.

• Orthographic Drawing- Objects appear to be inside a "glass box" with each face of the object projected onto a side of the box.

• Engineering Design Process- 1) define the problem 2) generate alternate concepts 3) evaluate and select a concept (revise and refine) 4) detail the design (revise and refine) 5) design defense 6) manufacture and test (revise and refine) 7) evaluation of performance (revise and refine) 8) prepare the final design report.

Reflection

The Reverse Engineering project was a great way to re-evaluate the Break It Apart Challenge. It taught me how to research the questions I originally had about the object, and taught me how to fully understand how an object works through research. We were given plenty of time to finish this project and do a good job with re-doing drawings and finding in-depth information. The alarm clock was perfect for the redesign because we came up with good ideas on how to make it better. It was also a good object to research because all the pieces were explained on the internet. It wasn't too hard to figure out how the alarm clock works and the purpose of all the subsystems inside. Our group managed our time properly by maximizing class time and staying focused at all times. Our Gantt Chart helped us plan our process for the project and keep track of our tasks. This chart was effective and kept us on task because we had deadlines to keep up with. This chart also helped us break up the workload evenly among ourselves, and facilitated our time management. We checked the Gantt Chart at the beginning of every class to see what we needed to have done by the end of the day. We also adjusted the Gantt Chart often to make sure that it lined up with the progress we were making in class. For this part of the project I worked on improving my drawings by making them bigger and giving myself more room to work.

Two things that I did well with this project was critical thinking and conscientious learning. I demonstrated good critical thinking this project because I used evidence and reasoning to figure out how the systems in the alarm clock worked together. I also had good problem solving skills. I demonstrated good conscientious learning throughout this project by managing my time effectively. Our group set goals to get done with by the end of each class period so that we wouldn't fall behind. However, I think it is always important to work on collaboration and communication skills. Our group worked really well together and had great collaboration and communication. We talked through our ideas and research. The Gantt Chart really helped us all stay on the same page and hold each other accountable. While this was all great, I think groups can always work on improving communication and collaboration. All in all, I think this was a great project. I learned a lot and was able to practice new skills. Our group worked great together, and I hope to work with them again in the future!