In this project we attempted to learn more about a given object through reverse engineering to learn more about it and to improve its design in some way. For this project I chose a simple mechanical pencil, I didn't truly know what the big problem was until the End of the pencil snapped, proving that it was not made for quality but quantity.
(Going from left to right) The end of the pencil pops off of the body so you can take out the lead or put more in. It is made of ABS plastic so it can easily slide off of the body of the pencil. The body of the pencil houses the button that dispenses the lead and the inner shaft of the pencil where the lead is help, it is made of translucent blue abs plastic with a smooth finish so it does not irritate the finger when used. The inside tip of the pen guides the lead out in a straight line. Its made of thick ABS plastic to keep the graphite from poking out. Finally, the outside tip of the pen is used for keeping the inside tip of the pen aligned with the inner shaft of the pen so the lead comes out in a straight line, its made of smooth ABS plastic so it can be easily held. Once the Button is pushed, it pushes the inside of the pencil which is sloped to be able to move down, which guides the graphite down and out of the tip of the pencil.
Now that we know the structural of the pen, how do we improve it?
Shortly after the picture I took, I attempted to reinsert the end of the pen back into the body but it snapped into pieces, I realized that the inside of the end of the pen was actually hollow to save resources upon creating the part. After some thinking, I decided that I would remake the end of teh pen, but fill it rather than keep it hollow so it has less of a chance to break. Technical drawing highlights the diameters of the piece.
Overall this project taught me reverse engineering and how it can be used to learn about the structural and functional purposes of a object and teaches us how we can improve them.
There were a few problems along the way such as deadlines, and me having to re-write this weebly. Other than that the project was not too bad, I used a combination of tolerances and my newly learned reverse engineering skills to create a new end to the pencil.
There were a few problems along the way such as deadlines, and me having to re-write this weebly. Other than that the project was not too bad, I used a combination of tolerances and my newly learned reverse engineering skills to create a new end to the pencil.