Reverse

Engineering

Reverse Engineering a Mobile Phone

Basic Information
Name Motorola PEBL V6
Weight 110g
Sim Mini-SIM
Dimensions 86.5x49x20 mm
Display size 1.8 inches
Display Type TFT, 256K colours
Resolution 176 x 220 pixels
Camera 640 x 480 pixels
Bluetooth v1.2
Battery Li-lon 820 mAh battery

This was my first attempt at

reverse engineering. I decided
to use a mobile phone as I felt
confident in knowing some of
the parts already. Although I
did no calculations for this
exercise I was able to see how
the phone worked and the
specification of all of the parts.
seeing how the product was
assembled was very interesting
as I used this phone when I
was a lot younger and had no
idea how many parts went into
the making of the product.

Reverse Engineering of
a Hair Dryer
For my reverse engineering exercise I
decided to take apart a hair dryer.
Although the hair dryer does not relate to
my project it enabled me to learn how the
product works and how it is assembled.

Model
2000W Superdrug Pink Hair Dryer
Model no. MD3817/281869
Description
Pink hair dryer with 2 speed
settings, 3 heat settings, cool shot
button and 2 heads
Technical Specification
Power consumption 2000W
Voltage 220-240V
Frequency 50Hz

These are some images

from the process of me
taking apart the hair dryer.
The tools I used was the
safety screwdriver and a
saw.
It initially took a long time to
get past the protective
plastic ABS casing of the
hair dryer, and once inside
the parts were difficult to
tear apart from each other.

Calculations
These are some calculations I have carried out through the reverse engineering exercise. I have
calculated the power consumption, energy, current drawn, resistance and horse power.

General assembly/disassembly considerations

1. How many parts does the product have? Often products have individual part numbers
actually shaped into an internal surface.
There are 24 main parts of the product I have identified, these include;
Metal screen
Head
Brush head
Lightweight plastic cover
Screws
Plastic housing for heating element
Nichrome wire
Mica insulating board
Brass rivets
Switch 1
Switch 2
Switch 3
Switch 4
Cord
Hanging element
Plug
13A fuse
Plug cover
Electrical motor
Fan blade
Lightweight plastic handle
Component bracekets
Fine mesh cover
------2. How many of the parts are standard? How many are "designed"?
The only parts of the product I would consider designed parts are the plastic covers, these have
been designed to be aesethically pleasing to the consumer and the colour pink has been chosen
to target the female market.
-----3. How many different materials are actually used?
Throughout the whole design several materials are used, these include; ABS, brass, mica
insulating board, copper wiring, switching mechanisms, metals and soft plastics for around the
cord.
---------4. What is the assembly process?
Within the handle of the dryer there are brackets for component to slot into, this saves a lot of
time during assembly, as the only fastenings used are the screws used to connect the two plastic
covers together. This choice of assembly makes the cost of the product cheaper. There are few
parts that have to be put together and they are all fairly easy to grasp so are quickly fitted
together if done by hand.

Plastic specific considerations

5. To what extent is the product able to be disassembled at end of life?
The ABS used within the product could be recycled at the end of the products life, which is a
large part of the product.
-----6. How was the part made? Is there any evidence on the part to give you a hint? This could
be a parting line (showing where the mould cavities meet), or an ejector pin mark.
This part would have been injection molded, a process that involves injecting hot, molten
plastic into a stainless steel die. After the mold is filled with hot plastic, cold water is circulated
around the die to cool the plastic and make it harden. When the die is opened, the plastic
parts are removed. One side of the plastic shell has a series of holes molded into it while the
matching half has a series of short pins. These help align the two halves during manufacture
and keep them firmly attached. The shell is molded with multiple compartments to hold the
various electrical components. Evidence is seen, as the main parts are two ABS covers, which
have been created using a mould, other evidence is the marks from ejector pins.
------7. What material is it? Often it's labelled.
The plastic material is ABS, which is labelled on the parts
----8. Has the product been glued, ultrasonically welded, rivetted, screwed, snap fit, other?
The product has been screwed together using safety screws which are removed using a
specialist screw driver to prevent just anyone from takin apart the dryer and posssibly getting
hurt.
---9. What features are included internally and why? Consider tabs, ribs to stiffen, bosses to
screw into, slots to guide, other mounting features, strain relief etc.
Internarlly there are brackets for components to slot into, to reduce the need for fastenings.
There is also plastic housing for parts, which get hot such as the motor and heating element.
Slots are used to join parts together to give a good fit.
----10. What are the material wall thicknesses? These vary from main walls to ribs, bosses, and
other features. There are recommended wall thickness for different plastics. It's always good
to check that the material you're looking at fits with these guidelines!
The wall thickness is 2mm for the product casing in ABS, which meets the guideline of 1mm.
---11. What are the thick to thin wall transitions like? Are they suitable? Are there voids or sink
marks present on the part?
The thick to thin wall transitions are fairly obvious, there are no sink marks but it can be seen
that these differences were part of the original mould. They are suitable as they help the main
casing parts fit together when assembled.

Machining specific considerations

12. What are the surface finishes like on the surfaces of the part? These should give you a
hint about the quality of the mould, or the requirements of the part itself. They can also help to
show or hide any manufacturing problems (e.g. masking sink marks).
The surface finish of the product is very good, the ABS appears glossy giving a sense of
cleanliness to the user and shows no scratches or faults indicating the mould must have been
made to a high standard.
----13. If it's a moulded part, is it a straight pull mould (ie where the mould can be pulled straight
from one side to leave the part - with no undercuts), or would inserts be required to allow for
undercuts to be produced? Often there is evidence in the sign of parting lines to indicate
various inserts for the mould.
Inserts would have been used to create the mould due to its fairly complex shape and the
brackets within the mould; these can be seen with parting lines.
----14. What processes were required to make the part? Drilling, milling, turning?
Injection moulding
---15. Were any tertiary processes required to finish the part to give a particular surface finish or
detail?
The part would probably have been sanded down and polished to give the high quality finish.
----16. How was the object held while it was made?
The dryer components can are put in place on an assembly line using a combination of
automated equipment and manual labor. Electrical components are fitted into the bottom half
of the plastic shell. Once this step has been completed, the top half of the shell is locked into
place. These pins and holes are lined up when the shell hands are assembled. Screws and
other fasteners are used to anchor the plastic parts together and hold them in place. After
assembly warning labels showing that the hair dryer should be kept away from water must be
attached. These labels are attached to the cord as required by the Consumer Products Safety
Commission guidelines.

Details of components
1. Metal Screen
Situated at the end of the barrel, prevents people from putting their fingers or other objects into the
heating element.
----2. Head
Part used to direct air at hair.
---3. Brush Head
Part used to simultanously brush hair while drying it.
----4. Light weight plastic cover
Gun shaped plastic shell. This shell is divided into two sections to allow for easy assembly (the other is
the handle). Both created using injection moulding. The long barrel holds the heating element.
----5. Screws
Used to fasten the two plastic parts. Chrome plated to prevent from rusting from moisture.
---6. Plastic housing
Protects heating element.
----7. Heating element
The part of an electric heating appliance (hair dryer) in which the electrical energy is transformed into
heat.
-----8. Nichrome wire
An alloy of nickel and chromium. Unlike other electrical wires made of copper, nichrome will not rust at
high temperatures. This wire looks like a coiled spring and may be up to 12 in (30 cm) long. At the end
of the wire there is a connection to the circuit that controls the power supply. Depending on how this
circuit is wired, current can be fed to part of, or all of, the heating coil. It is wrapped around an
insulating board so that the entire heating element is only a few inches long.
----9. Mica insulating board
A mineral that can stand high levels of heat. Two flat pieces of mica several inches long are connected
to form what looks like a three-dimensional "x." Slots cut into board for nichrome wire to wrap around.
Stops heating element from burning plastic or user.
----10. Brass Rivets
Distribute the power to different parts of the hair dryer.
----11. Switch 1 (Cool)
Blasts cool air from hair dryer.
----12. Switch 2 (Protect)
Uses heat that will not damage hair.

13. Switch 3 (Temperature)

Adjusts temperature of air.
---14. Switch 4 (Speed)
Adjusts speed of air.
---15. Cord
Contains all electrical wires within, protects them.
----16. Hanging component
Gives user option to hang hair dryer whilst not in use.
-----17. Plug
Connects hair dryer to power.
---18. 13A fuse
a safety device consisting of a strip of wire that melts and breaks an electric circuit if the current
exceeds a safe level.
---19. Plug cover
Protects plug.
----20. Electrical motor
Electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.
-----21. Fan Blade
Blows hot hair out of hair dryer body.
---22. Light weight plastic handle
See (4.). The handle contains all of the switch apparatus and the controls to operate the dryer. It
is moulded with multiple compartment to hold the various electrical components. Just above are
the electric motor and fan. Has a circular bracket to wrap cord round, preventing user from being
able to pull out electrical components.
------23. Component brackets
Holds components in place, created during injection moulding, save time during assmebly.
---24. Fine mesh cover
Prevents objects from accidentally getting caught in the fan blades.
----28. Warning label
Warns the user of the safety risks when using the hair dryer and what not to do.

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Other
26. Bimetallic strip
Made from a sheet composed of two metals. These metals expand at different rates when they are
heated. As the temperature inside the drier increases, the strip will bend one way or another as the
metal strips expand at different rates. When a certain temperature is reached the strip bends to
appoint where it trips a safety switch that cuts off the power to the drier.
----28. Thermal fuse
Built into the electrical circuitry. This fuse has a small metal strip that melts if the temperature of the
circuit exceeds a certain amount. This breaks the circuit and instantly cuts power to the drier.
----28. Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GCFI)
that is built into dryers to prevent electrocution, The GCFI senses how much current is flowing
through the circuit and can shut it off if it detects a leak or a short-circuit.
-----29. Diode
Converts AC to DC, when the voltage drops the fan begins to spin.

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