Raja V., Fernandes K.J. Reverse Engineering: An Industrial Perspective

Springer, 2007. — 242 p. — (Springer Series in Advanced Manufacturing (SSAM)). — ISBN 978-1846288555.You hold in your hand perhaps the first book solely written on mechanical reverse engineering from an industry perspective. The motivation for this book originates from the needs of today’s global industry. We recall an incident during one of our industrial trips to a local manufacturing company. The office secretary was photocopying documents for this meeting, when the manufacturing manager remarked, «Wouldn’t it be nice if I could do the same with mechanical parts, it would save me and my team a lot of time and money». «Have you not heard of reverse engineering?» we asked him. «Reverse engineering, isn’t that something to do with programming computers?» No, we replied. «Reverse engineering (RE) refers to creating a computer-aided design (CAD) model from an existing physical object, which can be used as a design tool for producing a copy of an object, extracting the design concept of an existing model, or reengineering an existing part». His eyes lit up. Such situations are not uncommon in today’s manufacturing arena. With globalization and trade liberalization, manufacturing companies face increasing competition from goods and services produced in lower wage economies. Countries in the West cannot compete against low wages and must therefore depend on raising innovation and best practices to create better products.
Reverse engineering is the process of discovering the technological principles of an object or component through analysis of its structure and function. Such analysis can then be used to redesign the object very quickly using computer-aided design in concert with rapid-manufacturing processes to produce small numbers of components adapted to the needs of a particular customer. This way of working has huge benefits of speed and flexibility over traditional mass-production-based design and manufacturing processes.This edited collection of essays from world-leading academic and industrial authors yields insight into all aspects of reverse engineering:
The methods of reverse engineering analysis are covered, with special emphasis on the investigation of surface and internal structures.
Frequently-used hardware and software are assessed and advice given on the most suitable choice of system.
Rapid prototyping is introduced and its relationship with successful reverse engineering is discussed.
Importantly, legal matters surrounding reverse engineering are addressed as are other barriers to the adoption of these techniques.
Applications of reverse engineering in three significant areas: automotive; aerospace; and medical engineering are reported in depth.Reverse Engineering is a "must have" title for anyone working with advanced modern manufacturing technologies, either with a view to researching and improving them further or to making their company leaner and more agile in a competitive manufacturing marketplace.The Springer Series in Advanced Manufacturing (SSAM) publishes the best teaching and reference material to support students, educators and practitioners in manufacturing technology and management. This international series includes advanced textbooks, research monographs, edited works and conference proceedings covering all subjects in advanced manufacturing. The series focuses on new topics of interest, new treatments of more traditional areas and coverage of the applications of information and communication technology in manufacturing.List of Contributors.
Introduction to Reverse Engineering.
Introduction.
What Is Reverse Engineering?
Why Use Reverse Engineering?
Reverse Engineering–The Generic Process.
Phase 1–Scanning.
Contact Scanners5.
Noncontact Scanners.
Phase 2–Point Processing.
Phase 3–Application Geometric Model Development.
Methodologies and Techniques for Reverse Engineering – The Potential for Automation with 3-D Laser Scanners.
Computer-aided Reverse Engineering.
What Is Not Reverse Engineering?
What is Computer-aided (Forward) Engineering?
What Is Computer-aided Reverse Engineering?
Computer Vision and Reverse Engineering.
Coordinate Measuring Machines.
Active Illumination 3-D Stereo.
Benefits and Drawbacks.
Structured-light Range Imaging.
Source Illumination Categories.
Sheet-of-light Range Imaging.
Scanner Pipeline.
Data Collection.
Mesh Reconstruction.
Surface Fitting.
Conclusions.
Acknowledgments.
Reverse Engineering–Hardware and Software.
Introduction.
Reverse Engineering Hardware.
Contact Methods.
Noncontact Methods.
Destructive Method.
Reverse Engineering Software.
Reverse Engineering Software Classification.
Reverse Engineering Phases.
Fundamental Reverse Engineering Operations.
Conclusion.
Selecting a Reverse Engineering System.
Introduction.
The Selection Process.
Team Formation.
Identify the Business Opportunity and Technical Requirements.
Vendor and System Information Gathering.
Vendor Short-listing.
Visit the Short-listed Vendors.
Detailed Vendor Assessment.
Benchmarking.
Perform a Commercial Evaluation of the Vendor Chosen.
Some Additional Complexities.
Point Capture Devices.
Contact Devices–Hard or Manual Probe.
Touch-trigger Probe.
Continuous Analogue Scanning Probe.
Other Facets of Probe Selection.
Noncontact Devices.
Triangulation Approaches.
«Time-of-flight» or Ranging Systems.
Structured-light and Stereoscopic Imaging Systems.
Issues with Light-based Approaches.
Tracking Systems.
Internal Measurement Systems.
X-ray Tomography.
Destructive Systems.
Some Comments on Accuracy.
Positioning the Probe.
Postprocessing the Captured Data.
Handling Data Points.
Curve and Surface Creation.
Inspection Applications.
Manufacturing Approaches.
Conclusion.
Appendix.
Data Capture Vendors.
Postprocessing Vendors.
Introduction to Rapid Prototyping.
The Basic Process.
Current Techniques and Materials.
Stereolithography.
Selective Laser Sintering.
Fused Deposition Modeling.
Three-dimensional Printing.
Laminated Object Manufacturing.
Multijet Modeling.
Laser-engineered Net Shaping.
Applications.
Rapid Prototyping.
Rapid Tooling.
Rapid Manufacturing.
Future.
Relationship Between Reverse Engineering and Rapid Prototyping.
Introduction.
Modeling Cloud Data in Reverse Engineering.
Data Processing for Rapid Prototyping.
Integration of RE and RP for Layer-based Model Generation.
The Adaptive Slicing Approach for Cloud Data Modeling.
Planar Polygon Curve Construction for a Layer.
Correlation Coefficient.
Initial Point Determination.
Constructing the First Line Segment (S1).
Constructing the Remaining Line Segments (Si).
Determination of Adaptive Layer Thickness.
Some Application Examples.
Conclusions.
Acknowledgments.
Reverse Engineering in the Automotive Industry.
Introduction.
Reverse Engineering– Workflow for Automotive Body Design.
Inside GM’s Virtual NASCAR Engine Block.
Ferrari Speed Not Confined to Race Track.
Reverse Engineering for Better Quality.
A Look Ahead–Convergence of Digital and Physical Worlds.
Acknowledgments.
Reverse Engineering in the Aerospace Industry.
Introduction.
RE in Aerospace–A Work in Progress.
Reducing Costs of Hard Tooling.
Digitizing a NASA Space Vehicle.
Inspection in Half the Time.
Making the Next Great Leap.
Acknowledgments.
Reverse Engineering in the Medical Device Industry.
Introduction.
Orthodontics Without Wires and Brackets.
Improving the Scanning Process.
The Six-stage Process.
Achievement.
Digital Dentistry Becomes Reality.
Hearing Instruments Meet the Digital Age.
Reverse Engineering–A Better Knee Replacement.
The Quest for a Total Artificial Heart.
Moving Toward Mass Customization.
Acknowledgments.
Legal Aspects of Reverse Engineering.
Introduction.
Copyright Law.
Reverse Engineering.
Recent Case Law.
Sega Enterprises Ltd. v. Accolade, Inc.
Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of America, Inc.
The Fair Use Statutory Defense.
History and Changing the Law.
What Do We Know About Proper Reverse Engineering.
Conclusion.
Barriers to Adopting Reverse Engineering.
Background.
The Research Model.
Research Methodology.
Factor Analysis Approach.
Factor Determination Phase.
Data Collection.
Findings.
Conclusions and Recommendations for Further Research.
References.
Index.