Evidence of Work

Purpose

The goal of this project was to reverse engineer an object to learn more about what is inside it and the parts that make up the product. To do this, the intial step was to take apart the object and observe and sketch everything that was inside. Next, we had to analyze each individual part to determine what it contributed to the overall product and how it functioned. From there, we had to look at the overall functioning of the object and determine how we could impriove it in some way. We didn't have to fully implement the improvement or addition, but we had to identify it and describe how it could potentially be done. The last step was to write a report about all of the above and put together a presentation to present to the class about our findings.

Our Project

For our project, we chose to reverse engineer a vacuum. First, we broke it apart and analyzed all of the different parts inside it. We created conceptual sketches, a flowchart, and an exploded view of the parts. Next, we did research on the vacuum, the parts that went into it, and the manufacturing, structural, and functional analyses. We also did any additional research that was necessary for the project to make sense. Finally, we put everything together in a slideshow and a report to show off our work. Both of these are down below.

Content

Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering is used to help in the design process of the same or similar products in the future. It helps identify key components of the product and allows the engineer to analyze the functions and materials of the product and how it was put together overall. Reverse engineering can also be used to help determine a failure, product improvement and documentation, and to make a more competitive product.

Functional Analysis

The functional analysis looks at the different parts of the product, how they work together, and what are scientific principles behind them. Functional analysis also covers mechanical systems, tension, compression, and more. Using measurement tools that are more precise will increase the reliability of collected data.

Structural Analysis

The structural analysis of a product has to do with the connections of all of the materials. It looks at internal and external links of parts and also the purpose of each individual part and how it contributes to the object as a whole. Lastly, it also involves principles of mechanics and material properties.

Material Analysis

The material analysis is about what kinds of materials were used and what are their properties. This includes material type, cost (manufacturer's cost too), and product number. It is important to find the specific parts that correlate to the same object otherwise the material analysis will have some errors and may turn out incorrect.

Manufacturing Analysis

The manufacturing analysis dives into how the product was made. It looks at the raw materials and goods that went into the product and also how they were made or formed. Forming, joining, and separation methods are all important parts of the manufacturing analysis that need to be addressed.

Reflection

Overall, I think that our project was a success and the outcome was worthy of our original expectations. During our time working together, I think two areas where we excelled were our collaboration and communication skills. When we started off with the reverse engineering, we weren't quite sure exactly how to do the project or what exactly all of us would be doing. However, throughout the rest of the time, we were able to work effectively because we communicated and collaborated really well with each other. Whenever we weren't sure what to do next, or wanted to add something, or research a piece of information, we would let the rest of our group know so that we could all stay on top of the project and know what was happening when and who was doing it. We also were able to collaborate well to get everything done on time with all of the requirements met.

Two things I think we could have worked on during this project were our work ethic and planning skills. Both of these contributed to our group feeling a little rushed towards the end of the project when we realized how much we have left to do in the time frame. In the end, we finished all of it on time, but we had to work harder at the end to do so. Throughout the time we worked on this project, we often got distracted and weren't focusing as much as we could have on the tasks at hand, which made the work load pile up. This improved as the project went on, but it made for a rougher start. For our planning skills, we did not start with an effective plan of how to exactly execute the project and so at times it became unclear what we needed to do, and in the end, we may have missed some information that would've been useful. Having a clear plan that we could adapt as the project went on could've come with possibly a better outcome for our project. However, overall, I think we did really well in our work, and accomplished all of the goals for this project that we set out to do.