MAJOR REASONS FOR SELECTING RE
1. The original manufacturer of a product neither produces a product nor exists, but a customer needs the product.
2. There is inadequate documentation of the original design or it may be lost.
3. Some bad features of a product need to be designed out.
4. To strengthen the good features of a product based on long-term usage of the product.
5. To analyze the good and worst features of a competitor’s product.
6. The original CAD model is not sufficient to support modifications or current manufacturing methods.
7. To update obsolete materials or antiquated manufacturing processes with more current, less-expensive technology.
RE enables the duplication of an existing part by capturing the component’s physical dimensions, features, and material properties. Before attempting RE, life-cycle analysis and cost/benefit analysis should be conducted to justify the RE projects. RE is typically cost-effective only if the items to be reverse engineered reflect a high investment or mass production. RE of the part may be attempted even though it is not cost-effective, but if a part is essentially required.
RE of mechanical parts involves, acquiring three-dimensional position data in the point cloud using CMM, laser scanners, or computed tomography (CT). Representing the geometry of the part in terms of surface points is the first step in creating parametric surface patches.
