Reverse Engineering is an often misunderstood and overly complicated process.
For example, Wikipedia defines it this way:
“Reverse engineering is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device, object, or system through analysis of its structure, function, and operation. It often involves taking something (e.g., a mechanical device, electronic component, software program, or biological, chemical, or organic matter) apart and analyzing its workings in detail to be used in maintenance, or to try to make a new device or program that does the same thing without using or simply duplicating (without understanding) the original.
Reverse engineering has its origins in the analysis of hardware for commercial or military advantage. The purpose is to deduce design decisions from end products with little or no additional knowledge about the procedures involved in the original production. The same techniques are subsequently being researched for application to legacy software systems, not for industrial or defence ends, but rather to replace incorrect, incomplete, or otherwise unavailable documentation…” …zzz…zzz…bored yet?
This isn’t always true. Reverse Engineering, in the world of CAD and mechanical engineering, is the process of taking a finished good and producing a CAD package from that finished good.
The main process flow for doing something like this in, say, SolidWorks, would be to
1) laser scan the finished good
2) process the scan data into usable files for the engineer
3) model around this processed scan data to build from it a parametric CAD file
Once this CAD model is complete, you can take this data to a manufacturer and build the part your after. This saves thousands of dollars and design hours. Rather than starting from scratch, revere engineering can get products in your hand faster and for less money!
This is what we do for you.
Do you need prints or 3D CAD for a machine that was built decades ago and for which the prints have long since been lost or destroyed?
Do you want to have your building laid out in CAD software to see if your new machine will fit and to map out your plumbing and electrical connections?
Do you have a part that you need to manufacture, but all you have is the finished good? No prints, no CAD?
We can do that! Give us a call today: 616-929-6926