**2. Literature review**

188 Reverse Engineering – Recent Advances and Applications

Silva (2001) considers that for small and medium companies to be regarded as pioneers in product development, it is not a critical success factor. So, additional scrutiny is applied to the study of manufacture and assembly, the structured assessments of conditions and the productive resources, internally and externally available, as a means of reducing costs and

As a consequence, the redesign of products, supported by a Reverse Engineering (RE) approach, and integrated Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) is a way these companies manage to launch new products with minimal investment and risk. A survey in the main scientific databases (Emerald, Science Direct and SciELO) revealed that this issue has generated 178 publications in journals during the period from 1980 to 2009, as shown in

Figure 2 shows the distribution of these publications within this period, as they are contained in the article title, for the keywords: product redesign; Reverse Engineering; Design for Manufacturing and Assembly; design for manufacturing; design for assembly,

Of note in the analysis is that none of these publications dealt with the integration of RE with DFMA regarding the redesign of products, only with rapid prototyping; thus, this chapter aims to contribute to the knowledge base by filling the gap identified in the

Therefore, the main objective of this study is to analyze the application of a model for the integrated use of the design for manufacturing and the rapid prototyping in a reverse

optimizing deadlines for product launching.

Fig. 1. Publications by keywords in major databases

engineering approach in the process of products redesign.

Figure 1.

and DFMA.

literature.

#### **2.1 Product development process**

According to Toledo *et al*. (2008), the product development process (PDP) is considered, increasingly, a critical process to the competitiveness of companies, with a view to a general need for frequent renewal of product lines, costs and development schedules, a more responsive product development to market needs and to companies participating in supplying chain of components and systems, training strategies to participate in joint development (co-design) with customers.

Integrating Reverse Engineering and Design for Manufacturing

within these companies.

2009).

the products.

**2.2 Reverse Engineering (RE)** 

(Hobday, Rush and Bessant, 2004).

and Assembly in Products Redesigns: Results of Two Action Research Studies in Brazil 191

Pahl *et al*. (2005) emphasizes the importance that the development team be composed not only of people directly responsible for the design, but also of others in sectors involved with product development (such as sales, production, marketing, purchasing, engineering), so that the process aspect can be dealt with in order to break out departmental paradigms.

Since, in general, the condition of small and medium enterprise (SME) is not necessarily aggressive (Silva, 2001), due to the need for large investments in research and developing technology, often this understanding and a review of the strategies are the key to reducing costs and is possibly the only way of developing new products in a structured manner and with the greatest chance of success; thus, the Reverse Engineering (RE) approach to the process of product development becomes a plausible method toward achieving innovation

Reverse Engineering is a very important tool and this technique has been widely recognized as an important step toward developing improved products as well as reducing time and

In contrast to the traditional sequence of product development, RE starts typically with the measurement of a reference product, deducing a solid model in order to take advantage of existing technology. The model is later used for manufacturing or rapid prototyping (Bagci,

According to Kim and Nelson (2005), countries with recent industrialization have used, mainly in the 1960´s and 1970´s, reverse engineering. Zhu, Liang and Xu (2005) argue that the Chinese process of technology acquisition follows the following line: lines of purchasing and manufacturing techniques from developed countries, modifications and identification of parts and components to achieve product development through RE and, finally, optimize

The innovative process in South Korea is through RE, awaiting for the developed countries to generate new technologies and marked, and then indeed develop their own products

The RE is useful to guide in understanding the system of interest and allows comparison to be made with similar design models, to see what can actually be used from the technology (Kang, Park and Wu, 2007). Ingle (1994) defines the RE as a process of gathering information in a reference product through its disassembly, in order to determine how it was developed, from its separate components till the final product. His approach clearly supports the application of RE in order to produce as similar as possible to the original, with a level of

The main application of RE is the redesign and improvement of existing parts, wherever improvements are desired, such as reducing costs or even adding new features to the product. In addition, an RE project allows, through the construction of replacements parts,

Although widely cited in the literature, Ingle´s model (1994) doesn´t include the design integration for manufacturing and assembly with rapid prototyping in a reverse engineering approach to the product redesign. This is a scientific contribution that this work seeks to offer.

investment that can guarantee the generation of profits to the enterprise.

off-line or inaccessible, keep up obsolete equipment in operation (Mury, 2000).

costs in order to achieve profitable production of the new product.

To Rozenfeld *et al*. (2006), develop products consists of a set of activities through which we seek as of market needs and technological possibilities and constraints, and considering the competitive strategies and the company´s products, to reach the design specifications of a product and its production process for the manufacture is able to produce it.

Innovation is the key to societal development, rejuvenation and business growth; critical for the long-term survival of a company if it is to operate in the business world. It is also recognized that innovation is more than the invention of new products, but a complete multidimensional concept, which must be viewed from different perspectives in their specific context (Hüsing and Kohn, 2009).

Many products are made of a variety of components which, taken separately, have no influence on the final consumer; for example, in the automotive industry, some components, such as the engine, brake and suspension systems, are used to produce various car systems, provided the relevant interfaces are standardized. That is why different companies (which may or may not be competitors) often agree to cooperate in developing components (Bourreau and Dogan, 2009).

On product development models, Ogliari (1999) mentions that various available types can be found in the following literature: Back (1983), Rosenthal (1992), Vincent (1989), Wheelwright and Clark (1992), Cooper and Edgett (1999), Pahl *et al*. (2005); Rozenfeld *et al*. (2006) and Backet *et al*. (2008), where the primary difference between them are denominations of their phases, but with their sequences and concepts remaining almost constant.

Pahl *et al*. (2005) mentions a product development model (see Figure 3) which highlights the important aspects for the implementation of concurrent engineering; basically considering the anticipation and intersection of the beginning phases to reduce the necessary time for the development of a new product as well as tracking costs. Figure 3 highlighted the use of DFMA.

Source: adapted from Pahl *et al*. (2005)

Fig. 3. Reference model for PDP

While creating a product from the perspective of concurrent engineering, the activities of each department of the company are, largely, synchronized. The product is also permanently monitored until the end of its life cycle.

Pahl *et al*. (2005) emphasizes the importance that the development team be composed not only of people directly responsible for the design, but also of others in sectors involved with product development (such as sales, production, marketing, purchasing, engineering), so that the process aspect can be dealt with in order to break out departmental paradigms.

Since, in general, the condition of small and medium enterprise (SME) is not necessarily aggressive (Silva, 2001), due to the need for large investments in research and developing technology, often this understanding and a review of the strategies are the key to reducing costs and is possibly the only way of developing new products in a structured manner and with the greatest chance of success; thus, the Reverse Engineering (RE) approach to the process of product development becomes a plausible method toward achieving innovation within these companies.
