Engineering Education Through Reverse Engineering

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract USE OF REVERSE ENGINEERING AS A TEACHING TOOLS IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION ABSTRACT: Our University has been working in a new teaching-learning model for several years.. .. The fundamentals of the Engineering Education are the active learning technique and Reverse Engineering based on the assembly and construction of an experimental aircraft RV-10. Reverse Engineering (RE) teaching technique is an invaluable teaching tool used by the Mechanical Engineering Faculty to learn from the original structure and design, which is equivalent to going backwards through the development of the product. The main issues handled by the RE teaching technique reviewed here are: knowledge generated by the practical assembly of an experimental airplane; generation of reliable, complete and fully detailed models describing the airplane behaviour as well as its parts and subsystems; development of specifications for techniques, methods and procedures for manufacturing aircraft components KEYWORDS: Reverse Engineering, Active Learning, Mechanical Engineering Education 1. INTRODUCTION. As part of its 2015’s mission aiming at developing values, attitudes and abilities in its students, the ITESM1 has carried out a complete re-design of its educational system, dramatically challenging the traditional environment based on giving lectures. In this new model, the main role of the learning process is assumed by the student rather than the teacher. Collaborative learning is combined with individual work, so that the exploration of the student complements, but does not replaces, lectures. In addition, established teaching techniques -whose efficiency has been already demonstrated- are applied and incorporated into the didactic processes. On the other hand, the underlying educational model makes extensive use of information technology that offers, enriches and enhances the learning process. In short, the student occupies a main role, revolving around his/her self-learning, and following fundamental principles such as constructivism and experimentation [1, 2]. The active-learning (AL) technique is specifically emphasized in this model [2], following these basic principles: • Students must discover new phenomena and concepts by themselves, and they must be able to relate these concepts with previous knowledge. • Motivation is the key driving force. • Team work is strongly promoted. • More established techniques such as Problem Based Learning (PBL) and Project Oriented Learning (POL) are incorporated into this model [3, 4]. The learning process is inductive instead of deductive, so the students can develop skills and abilities that demand an active participation. Creativity and innovation are formally promoted by different activities. 1 “Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey”.