Crossthoughts

Here comes the part two of the post on Reverse Engineering. Will companies that offer reverse engineering solutions stand by their clients in an all-weather relationship when a lawsuit is framed for illegal – copying? What then is the merit of reverse engineering? Drug companies make generic versions of internationally patented drugs by alternate process. This has become an issue in international forums and the image of Indian research has definitely taken a beating. Cheap Chinese copies of famous brands in the realm of mobile phones, cars etc., have definitely damaged the reputation of the Chinese. Well in the days of yore in engineering for automobiles, one used to say that when GM makes a new car the next day Ford or Chevrolet would come up with a similar one. Well is this Reverse Engineering? Why have their names suffered? Are they practicing safe reverse engineering which others don’t? Drugs Automobiles, machinery, electronic goods, - name it they all fall under Engine...

Can Apple, Samsung, Sony reverse engineer each other’s products and give them a slight shape difference and enter the market? Is it ethical? The easy availability of computer-aided design packages, reverse engineering methodology has become an easy tool to create a 3D model of an existing part. This is helped by CAD, 3 axes CMM with cloud point data and formation of 3D models automatically. Scanners and 3D printers give you the illusion that reverse engineering is easy as a fairy tale. The hard work done by the original inventor tends to get belittled and it seems that reverse engineering is Unethical.   In order to reproduce a part in the entirety one often needs to go deep and get to the bottom of the issue – be it ethical, or functional. Well both have answers and seldom do we find an article that elucidates on both these issues comprehensively. Technical: in order to make a part or specify a part in mechanical Engineering we need to specify the following: Here I h...