For this project, each group chose a relatively simple object to break apart and learn as much as they could about it. We were supposed to utilize the techniques we learned about reverse engineering for this project. My group chose a simple LED flashlight as our object. We were required to make an in-depth report, as well as a presentation about our findings for our object. Within these two aspects, we needed to include a hypothesis, purpose, structural analysis, functional analysis, and manufacturing analysis.
Here is the video that is in our presentation:
Concepts: Reverse Engineering - a process used to answer questions about an existing product that can be used in the design of another; we practices this process with our flashlight in order to learn to look at it in more depth and learn as much as we could about it Engineer - someone who invents, analyzes, designs, builds, and tests machines, systems, structures, and materials to fulfill specific needs; we used practices of engineers and learned more about what this profession entails Exploded View - a diagram that shows the relationship and assembly of different parts of a bigger system; we used the exploded view to hypothesize how the different parts of the flashlight would work together to make it function Research - work completed for the purpose of answering a specific question; we did extensive research on our object in order to relay what we discovered to the class Data Analysis - the process used to evaluate data; we had to condense the data and information we collected on the flashlight into a comprehensible report and presentation Materials - substances that can be used to make up other things; we were required to figure out what materials were used to create each individual part of our flashlight Motion - movement; we were required to determine how the energy moved through our product and how energy moved through the flashlight to make it function Energy - the ability to do work; we needed to figure out how our flashlight gained energy (four AAA batteries) Information - what is conveyed by a specific arrangement of things; we had to determine what information our flashlight relayed (light) and organize the information we learned about it into a report and presentation System - the assembly of different parts to perform a specific function; each object that we chose was a system and we had to explain how the system worked as a whole and how its parts worked individually Conceptual Sketch - a sketch that aims to show the functional connections (elements and relationships) between various parts; we had to create a conceptual sketch for our object to show our understanding of its function Ethics - moral principals that govern a person's actions; we talked about ethics early in the class and how ethics play a large role in this profession Professional Ethics - the goal of ensuring that a profession serves the legitimate goal of all its constituencies; we learned a lot about professional ethics and what responsibility engineers have in the community
Reflection: I enjoyed this project. I wouldn't usually think about how something as simple as a flashlight would work, and it was interesting to find out how each individual part of it worked, individually and separately. My group and I weren't as productive as we could have been in the beginning of the project, which meant we had to do some extra work in the days closer to the deadline. I will work on my time management for the next project, and I will stay focused in the beginning so I have more time at the end to fix smaller errors. I will also make sure to talk to my team more. I wasn't sure how to explain everything on a couple slides, like the battery one, but if I had talked to my teammates and asked questions we could have ensured that everyone knew everything about our object. I learned that it is really helpful to have everyone in the group equally dedicated to the project. In the past, I have often been the one doing a lot of the work for a project, because no one in my group cares about doing well. With this group, I didn't have to do more work than anyone because we all did our fair share. Taking time to learn as much as you can about something is really interesting to me. Even with the flashlight, an everyday item, I learned a lot of new things about batteries and resistors. I enjoyed what I learned and going through the process of reverse engineering to find it was fun.