Reverse Engineering

Notes

How to reverse engineer anything.

Using Baidu (China's Google) and knowing some chinese gets you to design schematics online, from China with love.

Reverse Engineering Lab

• Reverse Engineering Lab Construction Set

Essentially Though:

External Structure / Large Component Measurements

• • 3D Scanner (Large Handheld Type) (Also Photogrammetry )
    • And/or Calipers + Tape Measure + Level / Protractor / Rotation Dial / Angle Dial
  • CAD

Internal Structures / Small Components Measurements

• Typical Tools for Disassembly (Stuff For Fasteners, Stuff For Removing "Permanent" / Tamper Evident Seals (Re: iFixit 's toolkits)
• Overhead Camera / Tripod , or even a separate person acting as the Videographer to capture what all went into taking it apart (To make re-assembly etc easier)
  • Taking photos before each step can work to an extent, but can leave gaps in the knowledge
• Labeled Parts Bins/Containers
• Calipers and/or scAnt / Smartphone Photo Studio for #3DBenchy and tiny stuff / similar Small Part Turntable Style 3D Scanners

Material Analysis

• In Order of Increasing Cost/Complexity:
• A Well Trained Person + Simple Tools Like a XACTO Knife etc
  • RE: BOLTRs by AVE
• Optical Microscope (Etchants/Laser Engravers can be used to Delid IC Packages if they are unlabeled to learn more
• Universal Testing Machine
• Plastic Scanner
• OpenRaman
• XRF Gun
• Industrial CT Scanner
• Electron Microscope / Atomic Force Microscope

Links

• Seminal work from Bunnie Huang on reverse engineering of hardware - [1]

• Bunnie's video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msrTR3hNDQM#t=161

• Software reverse engineering - [2]