BASIC CONCEPTS IN

REVERSE ENGINEERING
Dr Ahmed Bahgat
 The Problem

Reverse engineering is essentially the development of the technical data necessary for the support of an
existing production item developed in retrospect as applied to hardware systems. Technical data is critical
to the smooth and continuous operation of any production or manufacturing facility.

Why would technical data development, via reverse engineering, be conducted after products have
been produced by existing production lines?

In many cases sufficient or current technical data is missing, inaccurate, or outdated. Often unavailable
technical data needed to maintain and repair equipment was never furnished or purchased. This lack of
adequate design information is a global problem that plagues companies of all sizes in all countries. It is
neither nation-specific nor product-specific. The aim of reverse engineering is to increase productivity
through improved documentation.
Example. Forty years ago, a production plant purchased Widget 100 as original equipment from Acme Suppliers
and installed it with a lifetime service contract. The original manufacturer of this equipment was Alpha Company,
who selected Acme Suppliers to distribute its wares. Alpha Company has been out of business for the last 20 years.
During the first 10 years of this period the Bob Corporation, which bought out Alpha Company, repaired and
maintained former Alpha Company equipment. In the turbulent 1980s the Bob Corporation was part of not one, but
two, leveraged buyouts, and the present owner of the original equipment design, Capital Crooks Inc. (CC Inc.), saw
this lifetime service agreement as a losing proposition.

You, the production plant manager, still operate the Widget 100 machinery fairly effectively; however, now you
have neither the technical data to repair it yourself, the trained technicians who could jury-rig a solution, nor the
capital to purchase the new Zinger 1000 that CC Inc. is trying to force you to purchase to replace that old Widget
100. Both the lack of maintenance data and the pending obsolescence of the existing equipment illustrate the
potential advantage of reverse engineering as a welcome economic and manufacturing proposition in such a
situation.
Example. The Wondrous Doodad Corporation (WDC) has appointed you to lead a team of multidisciplinary engineers
to revitalize a doodad manufacturing plant as a joint business venture with a leading, newly privatized, Eastern Bloc
doodad manufacturer. Upon initial inspection in the home office, it was quite obvious that this doodad could use some
quality improvements. You have 15 years of development experience in doodad manufacture, and actually hold an early
doodad patent. You lead a crack team of industrial experts in advanced doodad production. WDC has invested heavily
in the "mother of doodad" manufacturing capability for 15 Eastern Bloc countries, and their top management wants you
to help them revitalize not only their doodad manufacturing capabilities but also the entire doodad market in these 15
countries so that the Eastern Bloc version of doodads may become the de facto standard throughout Europe. This is a
golden opportunity and all is gleaming, awaiting your magic touch until you learn the depths of corruption propagated
by the previous regime and the total lack of technical information to either manufacture or repair the existing
equipment bought from the Chinese 25 years ago. Your technical staff cannot read Mandarin Chinese repair manuals.
The one old man who kept all the technical secrets for this equipment died last spring. The ISO 9000 registrar is due to
visit in 2 months. What's one to do?
Example. Here is another scenario that bears mention. In this case the original "modern" equipment
downtime is excessive in the eyes of the current users or owners. The existing repair contract works, but the
cost to maintain the system is skyrocketing, and you are now constantly being overcharged for seemingly all
too often "faulty" equipment. You suspect that substandard parts are being substituted during the service calls
but the repair person on site probably knows nothing about the quality of replacement parts. Maintenance costs
are being monitored by headquarters. Profits are down for the sixth quarter, and the pricey models coming from
this once touted and honored production facility are now causing heads to roll. You must cut requirement
downtime to keep your product viable and profitable, or it's your turn on the unemployment line.
WHAT IS REVERSE ENGINEERING?

 Reverse engineering is a four-stage process in the development of technical data to support

the efficient use of capital resources and to increase productivity. The stages, all of which are
conducted after a rigorous prescreening of potential candidates, consist of data evaluation,
data generation, design verification, and design implementation. This process is typically
applied for the improvement of production lines or manufacturing capabilities. Ideally,
groupings of parts by system or subsystem produce the best pool of candidates for reverse
engineering.

Accurate data development for long-term maintenance and support of a technical capability is the
cornerstone of reverse engineering. This process provides a level of technical support. Since reverse
engineering requires the investment of capital, reverse engineering projects are carefully prescreened to
ensure a high probability of success. Those projects which do not meet prescreening criteria are typically
not considered, because success in reverse engineering is generally measured by return on investment.
Success in reverse engineering is also measured by overall effectiveness to both long- and short-term
objectives, not merely a singular bottom line.
TRADITIONAL VERSUS REVERSE
ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS
 The Reverse Engineering Process
The reverse engineering process identifies and strengthens the weak links in any system.
The identification of potential candidates involves
• technical research
• critical analysis.
The study of repair data history and technical drawings must be as thorough as possible to avoid poor
candidate choices and wasted resources, both human and monetary. Improvements to an entire system are
reached incrementally starting with the poorest performers moving upward to any potential special projects.
Success for an entire reverse engineering program is achieved one project at a time through clear thinking,
good judgment, and hard work.
One major project failure can negate the effects of 10 successful efforts.
New documentation support for equipment and improved system maintenance are important by-products of
the reverse engineering process.
These are not explicit benefits but become a subset of the technical data package development.
Technical Data Development
Accurate technical data development is the essence of reverse engineering with accurate data development as
the cornerstone.
This data can be in the form of
• engineering drawings
• equipment specifications
• performance characteristics
• special tooling,
• or any other information critical to the ongoing performance of the manufacturing capability.
Background information can be found in
• technical manuals
• repair data records,
• performance criteria,
• and other vital information which can augment the engineering drawings
Since the four reverse engineering stages are interdependent, the accuracy and completeness of data at all
stages is crucial, as decisions based on incomplete or inaccurate data at any one stage can be disastrous at any
of the subsequent stages.
Definitions

Reverse engineering begins with components which have been prescreened against specific criteria.
Components are singular parts, such as a bushing or circuit card, or the smallest complete units of systems, such
as valve assemblies or electronic modules. Prescreening takes place prior to the four-stage process on a
"candidate" or potential reverse engineering project. After receiving a positive prescreen and stage 1 report, a
candidate becomes a reverse engineering project. The induction of many projects becomes a reverse engineering
Program. Figure 1.2 illustrates this linear progression.

The three project types are

• Product verification
• Data enhancement
• Data development
Product verification is the simplest form of reverse
engineering; data development is the most engineering-
intensive. Sample parts are procured or borrowed from the
supply system. Once the samples arrive, the four-stage
process begins:

• Stage 1: evaluation and verification

• Stage 2: technical data generation
• Stage 3: design verification
• Stage 4: project implementation
 The Benefits of Reverse Engineering
First is the increased ability to maintain a manufacturing
capability at its peak performance rate. This is due to the
improved documentation, developed in stage 2 of the reverse
engineering process, for logistically unsupported equipment
and systems.

Once a system is maintainable, the manufacturability of the

end product, which is the output of the improved system, can
be enhanced and improved on through future value
engineering efforts.

Overall, these two factors of maintainability and improved

manufacturability tend to drive the potential to realize actual
life-cycle savings through the use of the improved product
documentation.
Extending Reverse Engineering to Value Engineering
Value engineering is an enhancement of the basic reverse engineering process. Both processes are identical to a
point, except that the goal of value engineering is to build the elusive better product.

The value engineered product has the original functionality but is either smaller, faster, cheaper, easier to use,
more effective in operations, or on some level a better component than the original.
The new part has added value.

Reverse engineering and value engineering are very similar in nature and in application to systems; their main
distinction lies in the end product.

• The goal of reverse engineering is to create a duplicate component, as an exact one-for-one match

• In value engineering the goal is to improve the end product while duplicating the functionality.
Figure 1.6 shows an example of a value engineering project.
The ultraviolet test unit as supplied by the original
manufacturer was used to test sensors in a gas turbine. This
original unit was explosion proof and had a magnetic trigger
assembly. It had a recharging unit and weighed about 10 lb.
After discussions with the users it was determined that this
piece of equipment was used only while the gas turbine was
shut down to determine whether sensors were operational.
The recharging unit was heavy, costly, and required constant
maintenance as it had to be returned frequently to the
manufacturer for overhaul.
The unit was replaced with a lighter-weight handheld
flashlight assembly that required AA batteries and less
frequent maintenance. The overall unit weight decreased
also. In the replacement unit, the original lightbulb was
changed from a fluorescent bulb to a readily available
ultraviolet bulb and a 1-in section of the protective cover
was cut out, permitting the ultraviolet light source to emit
light waves strong enough to trigger the sensors for testing.
The original unit cost was $558, not including the charger, while the value engineered unit cost
$30, with the ultraviolet lightbulb and all design changes (including batteries). This produced a
95 percent unit-cost savings. The project was estimated at $5000 and actually cost $6880. Still a
lifecycle savings of $765,600 was achieved and the return on investment was 110.3:1.