Reverse engineering may be required when a component or its spare parts are no longer available, or the component is failing or not functioning properly and the original manufacturer cannot provide the necessary engineering support to correct the problems. The goal in such cases is to generate the necessary technical information to support, replace, or improve the component.
Examples of LCE reverse engineered components include:
Examples of LCE reverse engineered components include:
- Fire-fighting sprinkler valves
- Air-conditioning and refrigeration system packed and packless valves (see below)
- Mechanical seals
- Air conditioning system dryer housing assembly
- High temperature bolt/washer assembly
- Bleed-air valve components
AC System Valve
The application was a 7/8 inch AC system valve on U.S. Navy ship for which there was no OEM spare part or maintenance support, no similar commercial valves available, and no drawings available. We reverse engineered the 21 individual parts not available off-the-shelf, including determination of dimensions, tolerances, material specifications, heat treatments and surface coatings, and prepared detailed drawings suitable for competitive bid and procurement.
One-Inch Long Aircraft Bolt
No documentation was available. We determined the bolt material to be A286 and the washer to be Inconel 718 through chemical analysis of drillings and matched to corresponding AMS specifications, the threads to be rolled vs. cut and the presence of an aluminum coating through metallurgical evaluation, and the thread shape to be UNJF (controlled root radius) through dimensional inspection, including multiple inspections to establish required tolerances. We prepared the below drawing suitable for competitive bid and procurement.
