Reverse engineering as a learning tool in design process

Abstract

To include an element of practice in an engineering design course, a reverse engineering activity in the form of a project could enhance engineering students' learning experiences through the tear down of an existing product or device. This activity helps the student learn the principles behind the design of the product under study, uncover the inner workings of the device, as well as ways to redesign and improve the performance of the system. In the body of this paper, a preliminary reverse-engineering design methodology is presented followed by case studies in which students as groups of three to four take an existing product and apply the reverse engineering technique to learn the design process behind the product. The types of product being studied are based on either instructor's suggested list of products or choice of the students design team. In most cases students selected a device with some kind of malfunction to study the reason behind the unit breakdown. These case studies are presented on reverse engineering projects performed by mechanical engineering students. Their learning experiences, as well as the challenges on trying to come up with conceptual ideas to improve the existing product based on their studies are presented. The ABET outcomes for both students' and instructor's assessment presented in the paper prove that the reverse engineering process has been successful in our mechanical engineering program, enhancing students' skills in engineering design, hands-on experience, team-work, and engineering problem solving. © 2012 American Society for Engineering Education.