Assignment 2 - Reverse-Engineering: Functional Analysis, Design

for Manufacture, and Environmental Impacts

In this assignment, you are asked to undertake the reverse-engineering of a consumer durable

(or similar product) in order to consider its overall design and that of its individual components.

Central to the activities you undertake will be the analysis of its design for manufacture, the

construction of a function hierarchy (Functional Analysis), and lifecycle analysis.

There is a selection of very cheap toasters, irons, and hand-mixers available, and the

disassembly is done in groups of four or so, (in order to economize on the number of products

destroyed!). However, if you are able to find some other defunct product to use in this exercise,

you are welcome to use that, (subject to checking suitability with me). Additionally, if you provide

your own product, you can select your own disassembly group size and members.

Health and safety are paramount in doing this exercise. It is important that the product you use

for this disassembly is disposed of after this exercise. If the product you plan to disassemble

uses mains electricity, it is a condition of using it for this exercise that before commencement

you cut to electrical lead as close to the product as possible to prevent subsequent use.

In conducting the reverse-engineering exercise, you should review the operation and

performance of the product and consider how each of the components contributes functionally

to the operation of the product. Use this to construct a functional hierarchy./nYou should then select two components from the product and produce a brief report on each

discussing the design choices they embody. You should also use the software, Open CL, (to

which you will be introduced), to estimate the environmental impacts of your two components.

Ensure that the components you choose represent different manufacturing processes, and thus

different DFM and potentially different environmental impact issues. (For example, do not select

two injection molded components; for maximum marks you need to show an understanding of a

wide range of DfM considerations, and even if different components, two components of similar

manufacture will tend to embody the same points.) If you are sharing a product, ensure that you

chose different components to discuss than those of your colleagues.

Probable reasons for the choice of material and choice of manufacturing process should be

briefly explained, but far and away more important is that you should highlight features of the

component which have been designed to aid manufacture or assembly, (or perhaps

compromises in this regard to satisfy other product characteristics).

Nota Bene: The DfM/LCA submission should solely focus on those aspects of the components.

You should not include a discussion of how you disassembled the product; it is not of interest

here. Moreover, whilst you are expected to identify the manufacturing processes used, and the

reasons for their selection, you may assume that the reader is familiar with the processes.

Generic explanations of the processes are NOT required, and will not gain any marks.