In our day-to-day lives, we may accept that machines break, parts wear out, and files get lost but for many companies, any one of these could be incredibly costly, particularly if the lost file is the design for a broken part. Thankfully there are ways to recreate broken or worn-out parts and tools quickly and efficiently.

Process of Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering is a critical process when it comes to getting a product reproduced quickly when the mold or detailed plans are not available. The process involves conducting a detailed examination of the item and deconstructing it, if possible, to reproduce it. Sometimes there is no physical component, but a paper or electronic design document is available, and information like this can also be used.

Benefits of Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering does far more than just provide a means of reproducing a product or part, it also:

• Allows designers to identify and address design flaws and vulnerabilities.
• Allows for the testing of different, more cost-effective materials.
• Creates an accurate design model for future reference.

Ideally, the new design will improve cost efficiency while working just as well or better than the original product.

Uses of Reverse Engineering

Broken molds and lost files are not the only reason companies utilize reverse engineering. Some companies will reverse engineer a competitor’s product to try to come up with their own version of the same thing. Others seek to improve their own products and use this method to do that. Still, others use it to reproduce parts for obsolete equipment that remains in use.

If there are sketches or enough pieces of an item to be examined and understood, odds are good the product can be reverse-engineered and recreated, often saving companies time and money by allowing them to get back to production quickly.