MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

COURSE: REVERSE ENGINEERING

LECTURE 1:
Introduction of Reverse Engineering

Dr. Ir. Hanny J. Berchmans, M.T., M.Sc.

Saturday, 18 November 2017
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

OUTLINE

 WHAT IS REVERSE ENGINEERING (RE)?

 REVERSE ENGINEERING DEFINITION
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND LEARN REVERSE
ENGINEERING?
 HOW TO DO REVERSE ENGINEERING?
 EXAMPLES
 WHAT IS REVERSE
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM ENGINEERING (RE)?

 Engineering is the profession involved in designing, manufacturing, constructing, and

maintaining of products, systems, and structures. At a higher level, there are two types
of engineering: forward engineering and reverse engineering.

 Forward engineering is the traditional process of moving from high-level abstractions

and logical designs to the physical implementation of a system. In some situations,
there may be a physical part without any technical details, such as drawings, bills-of-
material, or without engineering data, such as thermal and electrical properties.

 The process of duplicating an existing component, subassembly, or product, without

the aid of drawings, documentation, or computer model is known as reverse
engineering.

 Reverse engineering can be viewed as the process of analyzing a system to:

1. Identify the system's components and their interrelationships;

2. Create representations of the system in another form or a higher level of
abstraction;
3. Create the physical representation of that system.
 WHAT IS REVERSE
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM ENGINEERING (RE)?

 Reverse engineering is very common in such diverse

fields as software engineering, entertainment, automotive,
consumer products, microchips, chemicals, electronics,
and mechanical designs. For example, when a new
machine comes to market, competing manufacturers may
buy one machine and disassemble it to learn how it was
built and how it works. A chemical company may use
reverse engineering to defeat a patent on a competitor's
manufacturing process. In civil engineering, bridge and
building designs are copied from past successes so there
will be less chance of catastrophic failure. In software
engineering, good source code is often a variation of
other good source code.
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

OUTLINE

 WHAT IS REVERSE ENGINEERING (RE)?

 REVERSE ENGINEERING DEFINITION
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND LEARN REVERSE
ENGINEERING?
 HOW TO DO REVERSE ENGINEERING?
 EXAMPLES
 REVERSE ENGINEERING
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM DEFINITION

 Reverse Engineering: A systematic methodology for analyzing the design of an

existing device or system, either as an approach to study the design or as a
prerequisite for re-design.
 Reverse Engineering: Study or analyze a device to understand its design,
construction, function, possibly to copy or improve it.
 Reverse Engineering: Is the process of discovering the technological principles of a
device, object, or system through analysis of its structure, function, and operation. If
often involves taking something (e.g., a mechanical device, electronic component,
software program, or biological, chemical, or organic matter) apart and analyzing its
working.
 Reverse Engineering: The process of duplicating an existing part, component or
product, without the aid of drawings, documentation, or computer model is known as
Reverse Engineering.
 Reverse Engineering: Systematic evaluation of a product with the purpose of
replication which include design of a new part, copy of an existing part, and recovery
of a damaged or broken part.
 Reverse Engineering: is a process of redesigning an existing product to improve
and broaden its functions, add quality and to increase its useful life. • The main aim
of reverse engineering is to reduce manufacturing costs of the new product, making
it competitive in market. • The duplication is done without the aid of drawings,
documentation or computer model.
 REVERSE ENGINEERING
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM DEFINITION

 Reverse Engineering: is also called back engineering, is the processes of

extracting knowledge or design information from a product and reproducing it or
reproducing anything based on the extracted information. The process often involves
disassembling something (a mechanical device, electronic component, computer
program, or biological, chemical, or organic matter) and analyzing its components
and workings in detail. (Wikipedia).

 Reverse Engineering: to disassemble and examine or analyze in detail (a product

or device) to discover the concepts involved in manufacture usually in order to
produce something similar. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

 Reverse Engineering: to study the parts of (something) to see how it was made
and how it works so that you can make something that is like it. (English Language
Learners)

 Reverse Engineering: the act of copying the product of another company by

looking carefully at how it is made. (the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary &
Thesaurus)
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

OUTLINE

 WHAT IS REVERSE ENGINEERING (RE)?

 REVERSE ENGINEERING DEFINITION
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND LEARN REVERSE
ENGINEERING?
 HOW TO DO REVERSE ENGINEERING?
 EXAMPLES
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND
LEARN REVERSE ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

 Reverse Engineering is where Engineers take apart an already-built device to

understand what it does and how it works.
 Sometimes people want to Reverse Engineer something built by another group of
people, so that they can imitate it.
 Sometimes you need to fix or improve something that was built by another company,
or other people, when those people aren't around to fix or improve it themselves.
 There are other motivations for reverse engineering. These include figuring out how
legacy devices work in order to modify them, fix them, or add something new to
them. For example, a company may have an important, but old piece of equipment
that is no longer supported by the company that manufactured it. (Maybe the source
company no longer even exists.) The engineers will have to reverse engineer the
equipment to understand how it is put together before they can make any fixes or
modifications. Reverse engineering means to take something apart - physically or
logically - to understand its parts and what they do, and how it functions.
 Importance:
 We cannot start from the very beginning to develop a new product every time.
 We need to optimize the resources available in our hands and reduce the
production time keeping in view the customers’ requirements.
 For such cases, RE is an efficient approach to significantly reduce the product
development cycle.
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND
LEARN REVERSE ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Reasons for Reverse Engineering

1. The original manufacturer of a product no longer produces a product.

Example: Spare parts of Old model of Volkswagen Beetle (VW Kodok).

2. The original manufacturer no longer exists, but a customer needs the product.
Example: FM Broadcast Receiver (Radio Tabung jadul).

3. There is inadequate documentation of the original design.

4. The original design documentation has been lost or never existed.

Example: Due to Fire Accidents
5. Some bad features of a product need to be designed out.
Example: excessive wear might indicate where a product should be improved.
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND
LEARN REVERSE ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Reasons for Reverse Engineering

5. Some bad features of a product need to be designed out.

Example: excessive wear might indicate where a product should be improved.

6. To update obsolete materials or antiquated manufacturing processes with

more current, less expensive technologies.
7. To strengthen the good features of a product based on long-term usage of the
product.
8. To analyze the good and bad features of competitors' product.
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND
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MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Reasons for Reverse Engineering

9. To explore new avenues to improve product performance and features.

Example: Impeller Pump Design. Suppose there is a impellor pump which had an
original pumping capacity of 20000 cubic feet of water per minute; now, after a year of
use, the pump manufacturing company finds that it is pumping 19000 cubic feet per
minute. They need to figure out what happened to that extra 1 thousand cubic feet in
performance. The pump manufacturers cans the year-old impeller into the CAD system.
Once those measurements are captured, engineers can compare the measurements
taken from the actual impeller against the original, as-designed part. This helps
determine exactly how and where the part has degraded. With that information in hand,
engineers can redesign the impeller to avoid future loss in pumping capability.
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND
LEARN REVERSE ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Reasons for Reverse Engineering

10. To gain competitive benchmarking methods to understand competitor's

products and develop better products.

11. The original CAD model is not sufficient to support modifications or current
manufacturing methods.

12. The original supplier is unable or unwilling to provide additional parts.

13. The original equipment manufacturers are either unwilling or unable to supply
replacement parts, or demand inflated costs for sole-source parts.

14. Interfacing. Reverse engineering can be used when a system is required to

interface to another system and how both systems would negotiate is to be
established. Such requirements typically exist for interoperability.

15. Military or commercial espionage. Learning about an enemy's or competitor's

latest research by stealing or capturing a prototype and dismantling it. It may result
in development of similar product, or better countermeasures for it.
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND
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MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Interoperability Gateway Solution for

In-room Automation and Control
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND
LEARN REVERSE ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Military Technology Reverse Engineering

USA B-29

SOVIET
TU-4
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MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Reasons for Reverse Engineering

17. Improve documentation shortcomings. Reverse engineering can be done when

documentation of a system for its design, production, operation or maintenance have
shortcomings and original designers are not available to improve it. Reverse
engineering of software can provide the most current documentation necessary for
understanding the most current state of a software system.

18. Obsolescence. Integrated circuits are often designed on proprietary systems, and
built on production lines which become obsolete in only a few years. When systems
using these parts can no longer be maintained (since the parts are no longer made),
the only way to incorporate the functionality into new technology is to reverse-
engineer the existing chip and then redesign it using newer tools, using the
understanding gained as a guide. Another obsolescence originated problem which
can be solved by reverse engineering is the need to support (maintenance and
supply for continuous operation) existing, legacy devices which are no longer
supported by their original equipment manufacturer (OEM). This problem is
particularly critical in military operations.
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND
LEARN REVERSE ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Reasons for Reverse Engineering

19. Software modernization - often knowledge is lost over time, which can prevent
updates and improvements. Reverse engineering is generally needed in order to
understand the 'as is' state of existing or legacy software in order to properly
estimate the effort required to migrate system knowledge into a 'to be' state. Much of
this may be driven by changing functional, compliance or security requirements.

20. Product security analysis. To examine how a product works, what are
specifications of its components, estimate costs and identify potential patent
infringement. Acquiring sensitive data by disassembling and analyzing the design of
a system component. Another intent may be to remove copy protection, or
circumvention of access restrictions.

21. Bug fixing. To fix (or sometimes to enhance) legacy software which is no longer
supported by its creators (e.g. abandon ware).

22. Creation of unlicensed/unapproved duplicates. Such duplicates are sometimes

called clones in the computing domain.
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND
LEARN REVERSE ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Reasons for Reverse Engineering

23. Academic/learning purposes. Reverse engineering for learning purposes may be

to understand the key issues of an unsuccessful design and subsequently improve
the design.

24. Competitive technical intelligence. Understand what one's competitor is actually

doing, versus what they say they are doing.

25. Saving money, when one finds out what a piece of electronics is capable of, it can
spare a user from purchase of a separate product.

26. Repurposing, when obsolete objects are reused in a different but useful manner.

27. Gain Alien High Technology for Military and Future Competition Purpose.
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND
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MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Alien Technology

TR-3B Aurora black triangle

might be the classified SR-71
successor?

Conspiracy on Alien Technology

Reverse Engineering in USA
soil?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

OUTLINE

 WHAT IS REVERSE ENGINEERING (RE)?

 REVERSE ENGINEERING DEFINITION
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND LEARN REVERSE
ENGINEERING?
 HOW TO DO REVERSE ENGINEERING?
 EXAMPLES
 HOW TO DO REVERSE
ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

 Reverse engineering enables the duplication of an existing part by capturing the

component's physical dimensions, features, and material properties. Before
attempting reverse engineering, a well-planned life-cycle analysis and cost/benefit
analysis should be conducted to justify the reverse engineering projects. Reverse
engineering is typically cost effective only if the items to be reverse engineered
reflect a high investment or will be reproduced in large quantities. Reverse
engineering of a part may be attempted even if it is not cost effective, if the part is
absolutely required and is mission-critical to a system.
 Reverse engineering of mechanical parts involves acquiring three-dimensional
position data in the point cloud using laser scanners or Computed Tomography (CT).
Representing geometry of the part in terms of surface points is the first step in
creating parametric surface patches. A good poly-mesh is created from the point
cloud using reverse engineering software. The cleaned-up poly-mesh, NURBS (Non-
uniform rational B-spline) curves, or NURBS surfaces are exported to CAD
packages for further refinement, analysis, and generation of cutter tool paths for
CAM. Finally, the CAM produces the physical part.

 It can be said that reverse engineering begins with the product and works through
the design process in the opposite direction to arrive at a product definition
statement (PDS). In doing so, it uncovers as much information as possible about the
design ideas that were used to produce a particular product.
 HOW TO DO REVERSE
ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Laser Scanner/Computed
Tomography
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ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Computer Aided Design (CAD)

Commercial: Alibre Design, Autodesk AutoCAD,

Autodesk Inventor, Bentley Systems MicroStation, Bricsys
BricsCAD, Dassault CATIA, Dassault SolidWorks, Kubotek
KeyCreator, Siemens NX, Siemens Solid Edge, PTC PTC
Creo (formerly known as Pro/ENGINEER), Trimble SketchUp,
AgiliCity Modelur, TurboCAD, IRONCAD, MEDUSA, ProgeCAD,
SpaceClaim, PunchCAD, Rhinoceros 3D, VariCAD, VectorWorks,
Cobalt, Gravotech Type3, RoutCad, SketchUp, Onshape
 HOW TO DO REVERSE
ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Computer Aid Manufacturing (CAM)

REPLICATOR+ :: 3D Drucker
3D Printer
 HOW TO DO REVERSE
ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Reverse Engineering Process

A. Prediction
• What is the purpose of this product?
• How does it work?
• What market was it designed to appeal to?
• List some of the design objectives for the product.
• List some of the constraints that may have influenced the design.
B. Observation
• How do you think it works?
• How does it meet design objectives (overall)?
• Why is it designed the way it is?
C. Disassemble
• How does it work?
• How is it made?
• How many parts?
• How many moving parts?
• Any surprises?
 HOW TO DO REVERSE
ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Reverse Engineering Process

D. Analyze
Carefully examine and analyze subsystems (i.e. structural, mechanical,
and electrical) and develop annotated sketches that include
measurements and notes on components, system design, safety, and
controls.

E. Test
• Carefully reassemble the product.
• Operate the device and record observations about its performance
in terms of functionality (operational and ergonomic) and projected
durability.

F. Documentation
• Inferred design goals
• Inferred constraints
 HOW TO DO REVERSE
ENGINEERING?
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Reverse Engineering Process

D. Documentation
• Design (functionality, form (geometry), and materials)
• Schematic diagrams
• Lists (materials, components, critical components, flaws, successes,
etc.)
• Identify any refinements that might enhance the product’s
usefulness.
• Upgrades and changes
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

OUTLINE

 WHAT IS REVERSE ENGINEERING (RE)?

 REVERSE ENGINEERING DEFINITION
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND LEARN REVERSE
ENGINEERING?
 HOW TO DO REVERSE ENGINEERING?
 EXAMPLES
 EXAMPLES
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM
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MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

OUTLINE

 WHAT IS REVERSE ENGINEERING (RE)?

 REVERSE ENGINEERING DEFINITION
 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND LEARN REVERSE
ENGINEERING?
 HOW TO DO REVERSE ENGINEERING?
 EXAMPLES,
 HOMEWORK
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

HOMEWORKS

1. Read the given article below.

2. Find 1 (one) similar article/journal paper related to implementation of
Reverse Engineering.
MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAM

Dr. Ir. Hanny J. Berchmans, M.T. M.Sc.

hannyjberchmans2017@gmail.com
087775006229