Reverse engineering is a technology opposite to forward engineering. According to incomplete market statistics, thirty percent of the work in real life is done by forward-thinking, while seventy percent of the work is done in a reverse way, thus we can easily find the importance of reverse engineering, especially in the field of industrial manufacturing, the value of reverse engineering is extraordinary.
The definition of reverse engineering
Reverse Engineering (Reverse Engineering, RE), also known as reverse engineering, is in the absence of the original product drawings, documents, measurement and engineering analysis of the physical product, data processing, reconstructing the geometric model, and generate CNC programs, by CNC machine tools to reproduce the process of reproduction of the product.
It is different from the traditional by the drawing manufacturing products of the forward-thinking mode, this new technology has been introduced, immediately by countries and academic circles attach great importance to.
With the continuous development of reverse engineering technology, reverse engineering has become the link of various advanced technologies in the process of new product development and is widely used in the modification and innovative design of household appliances, automobiles, motorcycles, aircraft, molds, and other products, becoming an important technical means to digest and absorb advanced technologies and achieve rapid development of new products. Especially with the development of modern computer technology and testing technology, the use of advanced manufacturing technology to achieve the reverse engineering of products in kind is not limited to the imitation of products but has been expanded to the medical world of human bones, joints and other replication, the art world, the archaeological world of artwork, archaeological relics, and the technology has been combined with computer-aided integration technology, virtual reality technology, neural networks, artificial intelligence, knowledge engineering The technology has been integrated with modern design, manufacturing, and control technology, forming today’s cutting-edge technology.
The role of reverse engineering
Design of new parts
In the industrial field, some complex products or parts are difficult to use a definite design concept to express, in order to obtain a more optimal design, the designer often through the creation of a physical model based on the function and analysis needs, to carry out the design of complex or important parts, and then use the reverse method to construct a three-dimensional model, on the basis of the model to make further modifications to achieve the product modification or profiling design.
Copy of existing parts
In the absence of two-dimensional design drawings or original design parameters, three-dimensional scanning can be converted into a digital model of the physical parts, so that the parts can be replicated through reverse engineering methods to reproduce the original product or part design intent, and can be reinvented product design.
Damaged or worn parts of the restoration
When the parts are damaged or worn, the digital model of the part can be reconstructed through the method of three-dimensional scanning, to restore or repair the surface of the damaged parts, and can quickly produce replacement parts for these parts, thereby improving the utilization rate of the equipment and extending its service life.
The design of the product was repeatedly modified, and the accuracy of the improvement
For example, in the shape of the car design, the designer based on the functional and aesthetic needs of the product conceptual design, and then use some soft materials (such as putty) to design the model into a physical model, in this process, because the initial model changes very much, there is no need to spend a lot of time to make the physical model of very high precision.
At this point, the role of 3D scanning is very obvious, and the reverse method can be used to make, modify and refine the model, and improve the accuracy of the model until it meets various requirements. There are two main application points of the 3D scanner in this process. Scanning the made whole vehicle oil clay model and generating a triangular mesh model as a reference for reverse design.
The reverse-designed digital model generally still needs several modifications or local adjustments, and the corresponding putty model also needs to be modified manually with a scraper, after the modification, the putty is scanned locally and compared with the digital model to detect the amount of change in the local modification and adjustment and to ensure the unity of both. This process of modification and scanning will be carried out many times until the design scheme meets the requirements.
Digital model detection
3D scanning measurement of the processed parts, by comparing this data with the original design = model on the computer data, you can detect manufacturing errors and improve detection accuracy.
Reproduction of products in special fields
Such as artwork, archaeological relics replication, the medical field of human bones, joints, etc., with personal characteristics of spacesuits, helmets, prosthetic limbs need the original three-dimensional data when manufacturing, these cases must be obtained from the physical model of the digital model of the product.
The application prospect of reverse engineering – is an important way to achieve the innovative design.
Under the pressure of economic globalization, countries and enterprises are facing increasingly fierce competition, 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 productivity 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 secrecy of technology, it is almost impossible to obtain technical information such as product drawings, technical documents, and processes unless they are purchased and transferred, while the actual product, as a commodity and final consumer product, is the most readily available type of research object. Under the condition that only the prototype or physical model of the product is available, the product can be copied based on the physical product in reverse, and at the same time, by reconstructing the model of the product parts, the prototype can be modified and redesigned based on the inquiry and understanding of the original design technology, so as to achieve the purpose of design innovation and product renewal.
For other parts with complex surface shapes, reverse engineering has become its main design method.
It has been proved that technology introduction is a strategic measure to absorb foreign advanced technology and promote national economic growth at a high rate. According to the relevant statistics, more than 70% of the technology of each country comes from foreign countries, and the normal way to master these technologies is through reverse engineering. In fact, any product is introduced, whether it is innovation, improvement, or imitation, it contains the inheritance, application, and reference of existing science and technology.