The Project
For this project, we were tasked with reverse engineering a household item. After everyone in my group brought in an object, we decided to focus on the mini dynamo flashlight, as it was neither too simple to be boring nor too complex for us to research.
Engineering
Reverse engineering is a strategy used to find answers to questions about an existing product that are used in the design of another product. It is often carried out in a six-step process. First, the engineer identifies their purpose by determining what they want to focus on. Next, they develop a hypothesis about how the mechanism they are going to research works. They then disassemble the mechanism, taking note of the connections between parts and making sketches to describe the object. The next step is to analyze the elements of the mechanism. Engineers will often focus on four parts of the mechanism:
1. Function - What does each piece do, and how do the pieces work together?
2. Structure - How is everything connected, and how does the mechanism resist loads?
3. Materials - What are the pieces made out of, and what are the properties of those materials?
4. Manufacturing - How were the pieces made, and how were they assembled into the final product?
The engineer then prepares a report on what they have discovered about the mechanism in question. Finally, they redesign the mechanism to optimize it for a different purpose (or improve it for the same purpose).
1. Function - What does each piece do, and how do the pieces work together?
2. Structure - How is everything connected, and how does the mechanism resist loads?
3. Materials - What are the pieces made out of, and what are the properties of those materials?
4. Manufacturing - How were the pieces made, and how were they assembled into the final product?
The engineer then prepares a report on what they have discovered about the mechanism in question. Finally, they redesign the mechanism to optimize it for a different purpose (or improve it for the same purpose).
Reflection
Overall, this project went well. I learned that a seemingly complex problem can actually be relatively simple. For example, when we first opened up the casing, there appeared to be a mess of gears, wires, and electronics with no rhyme or reason to them. However, once we started looking at the flashlight part by part, I realized that it used a simple mechanism to power a fairly simple circuit. I also worked on building my team working skills during the project. I learned how to split the leadership role of the group, as Matt and I worked together as leaders, instead of just one of us.
One of our biggest mistakes was time management. My group spent too much time focusing on our research. In addition to this, we spent a lot of time working on the concurrent resume assignment, which took away form the time we should have spent finalizing the report and presentation. Another thing that could have been improved was the sharing of information within our team. While everyone became an expert on what they researched, we did not make sure that everyone knew everything . This ultimately led to an asymmetric presentation, in which Matt and I spoke significantly more than Brittany and Sadie.
One of our biggest mistakes was time management. My group spent too much time focusing on our research. In addition to this, we spent a lot of time working on the concurrent resume assignment, which took away form the time we should have spent finalizing the report and presentation. Another thing that could have been improved was the sharing of information within our team. While everyone became an expert on what they researched, we did not make sure that everyone knew everything . This ultimately led to an asymmetric presentation, in which Matt and I spoke significantly more than Brittany and Sadie.