Reverse engineering is a technology opposite to forward engineering. According to incomplete market statistics, in real life, 30% of the work is completed through forward-thinking, and 70% of the work is carried out through reverse thinking. Therefore, it is not difficult for us to find the importance of reverse engineering, especially in the field of industrial manufacturing, The value of reverse engineering is extraordinary. In this article, we discuss what is reverse engineering, what are functions of reverse engineering and what are applications of reverse engineering.

Definition Of Reverse Engineering

Reverse Engineering is the process of measuring and engineering analyzing the physical product without the original product drawings and documents, reconstructing the geometric model through data processing, generating NC programs, and reprocessing and copying the product by NC machine tools.

It is different from the traditional forward thinking mode of making products from drawings. Once this new technology came out, it has been highly valued by countries and academic circles.

With the continuous development of reverse engineering technology, reverse engineering has become a link between various advanced technologies in the process of new product development. It is widely used in the modification and innovative design of household appliances, automobiles, motorcycles, aircraft, molds and other products. It has become an important technical means to digest and absorb advanced technologies and realize the rapid development of new products. In particular, with the development of modern computer technology and testing technology, the use of advanced manufacturing technology to realize the reverse engineering of product objects is not limited to the imitation of products but has been extended to the reproduction of human bones and joints in the medical field, the reproduction of works of art and antiquities in the art and archaeology, and this technology has been integrated with computer-aided integration technology, virtual reality technology Neural network, artificial intelligence, knowledge engineering and other modern design, manufacturing and control technologies are integrated into one, forming today’s cutting-edge technology.

Functions Of Reverse Engineering

1. Design of new parts
In the industrial field, some complex products or parts are difficult to be expressed by a certain design concept. In order to obtain more optimized design, designers often design complex or important parts by creating a physical model based on function and analysis needs, and then construct a three-dimensional model by reverse method, and make further modifications on the basis of the model, Realize product modification or profiling design.

2. Copy of existing parts
In the absence of two-dimensional design drawings or original design parameters, three-dimensional scanning can convert physical parts into digital models, so as to copy the parts through reverse engineering method, so as to reproduce the design intention of the original products or parts, and carry out re innovative design of products.

3. Restoration of damaged or worn parts
When a part is damaged or worn, the digital model of the part can be reconstructed by three-dimensional scanning, the damaged part surface can be restored or repaired, and the replacement parts of these parts can be produced quickly, so as to improve the utilization rate of the equipment and prolong its service life.

4. Repeated modification of design products and improvement of accuracy
For example, in the shape design of automobile, the designer conceptualizes the product based on the needs of function and aesthetics, and then uses some soft materials to make the design model into a physical model. In this process, due to the great changes to the initial model, it is not necessary to spend a lot of time to make the accuracy of the physical model very high. At this time, the role of three-dimensional scanning is very obvious. Reverse methods can be used to make, modify and refine the model, so as to improve the accuracy of the model until various requirements are met.

5. Detection of digital model
The three-dimensional scanning measurement of the processed parts can detect the manufacturing error and improve the detection accuracy by comparing the data with the original design model on the computer.

6. Reproduction of products in special fields
For example, the reproduction of works of art and archaeological relics, the reproduction of human bones and joints in the medical field, and the manufacture of space suits and helmets with personal characteristics require original three-dimensional data. In these cases, the product digital model must be obtained from the physical model.

Application Prospect Of Reverse Engineering – An Important Way To Realize Innovative Design

Under the pressure of economic globalization, the competition faced by countries and enterprises is becoming increasingly fierce, and the market competition mechanism has penetrated into various fields. With the high development of science and technology, the application of scientific and technological achievements has become an important means to promote the development of productive forces and social progress. How to develop science and technology and economy faster and better, countries all over the world are studying countermeasures, making full use of the scientific and technological achievements of other countries to digest, absorb and innovate, and then develop their own technology has become a common means.

Due to the confidentiality of technology, it is almost impossible to obtain product drawings, technical documents, processes and other technical data unless purchased and transferred. As commodities and final consumer goods, the physical product is the most easily obtained research object. Under the condition of only product prototype or physical model, the product can be copied reversely based on the product physical model. At the same time, by reconstructing the model of product parts, the prototype can be modified and redesigned on the basis of inquiring and understanding the original design technology, so as to achieve the purpose of design innovation and product renewal.

For other parts with complex surface shape, reverse engineering has become the main design method.