Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering allows shorter product development times by enabling the duplication of an existing part or assembly, by capturing the component's physical dimensions, features, and material properties.. In the intensely competitive global market, manufacturers are constantly seeking new ways to shorten lead-times to market a new product. Rapid product development (RPD) refers to recently developed technologies and techniques that assist manufacturers and designers in meeting the demands of reduced product development time.

Following are reasons for reverse engineering a part or product:

1. The original manufacturer of a product no longer produces a product.
2. There is inadequate documentation of the original design.
3. The original manufacturer no longer exists, but a customer needs the product.
4. The original design documentation has been lost or never existed.
5. Some bad features of a product need to be designed out. For example, excessive wear might indicate where a product should be improved.
6. To strengthen the good features of a product based on long-term usage of the product.
7. To analyze the good and bad features of competitors' product.
   
8. To explore new avenues to improve product performance and features.
9. To gain competitive benchmarking methods to understand competitor's products and develop better products.
10. The original CAD model is not sufficient to support modifications or current manufacturing methods.
11. The original supplier is unable or unwilling to provide additional parts.
12. The original equipment manufacturers are either unwilling or unable to supply replacement parts, or demand inflated costs for sole-source parts.
    
13. To update obsolete materials or antiquated manufacturing processes with more current, less-expensive technologies.