SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
MNFG604
A Reverse Engineering Project
Surname (Family Name): Srivastav
Other Names: Ritik Raj
Student ID Number: 201533831
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I confirm that I have:
• Read and understood the University’s Academic Integrity Policy. (Students should familiarise
themselves with Appendix L of the University’s Code of Practice on Assessment which also
provides the definitions of academic malpractice and the policies and procedures that apply
to the investigation of alleged incidents.);
• Acted honestly, ethically and professionally in conduct leading to this assessment;
• Not copied material from another source, nor committed plagiarism, nor fabricated data
when completing this work;
• Not colluded with any other student in the preparation and production of this work.
Students found to have committed academic malpractice are liable to receive a mark of zero for
the assessment or the module concerned. Unfair and dishonest academic practice will attract
more severe penalties, including possible suspension or termination of studies.
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Summary
The purpose of this study was to select an existing product and replicate the product into a
CAD model. The study was conducted on CREO Parametric version 5.0 software and the
product designated for the model was a 150mm Clip-on Fan-created by RAM fan company. A
bottom-up approach was utilised during the construction of the model where each part was
created before the final assembly. All the associated measurements for individual parts were
taken by the hand and hence there are certain human errors are involved in the study.
Furthermore, due to the limitation of the study, some assumptions were made during the
generation of the model for some parts. The measurements were taken in the SI unit (meters),
which was later converted to millimetres in the technical drawings.
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Table of Content
I. Introduction ................................................................................. 4
II. Reverse Engineering .................................................................... 7
III. Bill of Materials ....................................................................... 29
IV. 2D Techncial Drawings ............................................................ 30
V. References ................................................................................. 53
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Introduction
Computer-Aided Design, also known as CAD, is a software utilised by industries, more
particularly by the manufacturing and engineering industry to produce and design products,
systems, and sub-components, prior to the creation of the product at a full scale. The purpose
of employing CAD software is to conduct model testing in a virtual world and to ensure no
failure or issues would be faced during the actual production and manufacturing process. This
not only tends to save resources in terms of cost and time but also delivers a better
understanding of the product.
This project aimed to replicate a commercially available product and hence to satisfy this
requirement, the product utilised for the CAD model was a 15 W, 150mm Clip-on Fan-created
by RAM fan company, which is available on Amazon and can be obtained from the citation
[1]. Multiple CAD software is widely available in the engineering and manufacturing industry,
for instance, SOLIDWORKS, Autodesk Inventor, AVEVA Marine, AutoCAD, CATIA, and
many more, however for this project Creo Parametric, version 5.0 was utilised for the
generation of 3D drawing features and model.
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Figure 1.1 represents the product employed to create the model and figure 1.2 demonstrates the
model that was created in this project [1]. The additional specifications of the fan are
represented in figure 1.2 [1]. Additional details about the model have been discussed further in
detail in the reserve engineering section of the report.
Figure 1.1. Fan product [1] Figure 1.2 Fan model
Figure 1.3. Fan specification
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A fan usually consists of multiple parts for instance the guards that protect the delicate
components of a fan. Components such as a motor, switches, regulator are the main elements
that provide rotational energy to the fan blade and enable it to circulate air from one position
to another. Other elements such as a bottom section or a stand would enable the user to position
the fan as required during its operation and finally, as it requires an electrical input, wires and
plugs are essential to connect the fan to an electrical power source.
In history, the majority of fans were made out of brass, steel, and aluminium, but since the turn
of the century, the majority of the domestic fans and their components are made out of plastic
material [2]. Considering that, the majority of the components that were created during this
project were made out of plastic, for instance, the back guard and the back-guard cover, switch,
blade, plug, stand, clip section, and the top head of the adjuster screw. For the screws and front
guard, standard steel aluminium was used. However, due to the limited access to the inner
component of the fan, it was assumed that only a motor was required to run the product.
Furthermore, the actual motor of the fan was not accessible and hence a different fan motor
that had the same specifications was utilised to generate the CAD model for the above-
mentioned product [3]. The fan consists of a total of 16 parts, although it is understandable that
multiple small parts were not taken into consideration due to the limited access to the internal
parts of the fan.
All the individual parts were assembled utilising a single assembly as a consequence of the
product being relatively easy to assemble as mentioned by the seller [1]. The report is further
divided into three parts to demonstrate a better understanding of the procedures taken to
complete the model.
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Reverse Engineering
This section will focus on the steps taken by the author to create the 3-d model and it has been
divided into further subsection to represent a better understanding
❖ Fan Blades
Figure 2.1 and figure 2.2 represents the blade that was created for the fan. The author has
utilised a citation to generate the fan model.
Figure 2.1. Front Fan Blade Figure 2.2. Back Fan Blade
To generate the blades, the process was divided into multiple steps.
• Firstly, the hub of the blades was generated by simply using the line and arc function
to create the initial drawing of the hub, which can be noted in figure 2.3. Consequent to
the drawing, a revolve function was employed to create the whole section of the hub.
To gain a further similarity between the model and the product, a round function was
used at the front edges of the hub to create a round curvature. Although the revolve
option generated a solid and not a shell model, therefore to make the hub a shell, an
extrude was created on the backside of the hub to remove the material.
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Figure 2.3. Hub drawing
• Secondly, for manufacturing purposes, it is essential to create parts for the blades that
will enable the user to attach the blade to a motor, hence, on the surface generated from
the prior extrusion, a circular extrusion and a rectangular extrusion was created. The
rectangular extraction was then further processed to a pattern function at 90 degrees to
create a total of 4 rectangular extrusions. To conclude the hub section, the circular and
rectangular extrusion was then employed with a thicken function for manufacturing
purposes. Figure 2.4 shows the model after the above-mentioned function was applied
to give a better understanding to the reader.
Figure 2.4. Part to attach motor
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• Thirdly, in order to make the blade, a spline curve functions to outline the blade and
followed by a shell extrusion. The purpose for taking these steps has been mentioned
in the later steps of the process. Figure 2.5 and figure 2.6 represents the above-taken
steps.
Figure 2.5. Blade drawing
Figure 2.6. Blade extrusion
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• Now, as the shape of the blade was been established, another extrusion was created on
the hub by drawing a curve with the aid of a spline curve, and the purpose for this
drawing was to represent the thin sheet of material on which the shape of the blade
would be printed upon and it also aided to apply a pitch angle to the blade as the pitch
angle is an essential factor for any operating blade. The drawing and extrusion of the
sheet can be seen in figure 2.7 and figure 2.8. The curved sheet of material was then
offset by a certain number and the purpose for doing so was to provide a certain
thickness to the final blade.
Figure 2.7. Thin sheet drawing
Figure 2.8. Sheet Extrusion
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• The final steps of creating the blade were to now simply merging the front side of the
slide with one sheet and the backside of the sheet with another sheet by using a total of
two merge function, which was a similar approach used by the Khaja when he was
doing a similar study [4]. The final model subsequent to the applied function can be
seen in figure 2.9.
Figure 2.9. Blade
• Finally, a solidify function was used for the merged blades, followed by a pattern
function to create the three blades at an angle of 120 degrees with respect to the hub
axis. However, for some reason, the final blade was not able to undergo the pattern,
therefore the author had to pattern the shell extrusion and the curved line sheet
separately and then used the previously mentioned function to create the final blade
model.
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❖ Fan Switch
Figure 3.1 and figure 3.2 represents the switch that was used to control the motor and adjust
the speed of the fan ultimately. A simple function of extrusion to a circular drawing aided to
create the majority of the model. Although the first extrusion of the circle was carried out as a
shell whereas the second one was created as a solid, with the same circular diameter, but with
different extrusion lengths. Subsequent to the creation of the solid extrusion, a third drawing
was made on its surface to generate the first section of the switch. This was followed by a round
function at the edges of the drawing. Finally, to complete the model, on the backside of the
solid extrusion, a circular shell extrusion was created with a smaller diameter, along with a
thicken function and this was done to enable the switch to be attached to the motor to control
the speed.
Figure 3.1. Fan switch front Figure 3.2. Fan switch back
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❖ Fan Front guard
The front guard for the fan to protect the fan blades can be seen in figure 4.1 and figure 4.2. In
order to create the respective model for this part, the author has followed the steps demonstrated
in the literature [4].
Figure 4.1. Fan Front guard Figure 4.2. Fan front guard (backside)
Firstly, the centre part of the guard was created by a simple extrude function of a specific
diameter and extrusion length, followed by a round function to apply a curve to the edges on
the front side. Next, another extrudes to remove the material was created on the backside of the
centre part to create a hollow nature, and hence a smaller diameter and extrusion length value
was assigned to it.
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Secondly, to create the rails for the front guard, the process was divided into 3 section
• The drawing for the rail was created by using the line function, although, before the
drawing, a plane that was perpendicular to the centre part was selected to be sketched
upon, and to aid with the drawing, multiple references and centrelines were used. Figure
4.3. represents the drawing of the rail guard.
Figure 4.3. Drawing of the guard’s rail
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• Once the drawing was created, a datum plane and point were created as seen in figure
4.4. The purpose for doing this is to create the cross-section of the circular rail which
was made by a simple circular drawing as seen in figure 4.5. The drawing was then
subjected to a revolving function with respect to the centre part of the guard, to create
a circular shape around the centre part of the guard and can also be seen in figure 4.6.
Figure 4.4. Datum Plane and point
Figure 4.5. Circular Shape
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Figure 4.6. Revolve Function
• Finally, the initial line drawing was extruded linearly and a pattern function was applied
for 360 degrees with respect to the centre part axis.
❖ Screws (Back cover)
Figure 5.1 represents the screw utilised to attach the back cover for the fan. It was simply
created by 2 extrude functions of 2 circular shape with different diameter and extrusion length
respectively, followed by a round function was used to apply a round to the screw head.
Figure 5.1. Screw
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❖ Screw (for fan stand and clip-on)
The screw to attach the stand and the lower section of the fan i.e. the clip-on section is
represented by figure 6.1. A similar method which was noted in the creation of the screw for
the back cover was used to create this screw as well, although the value of the diameter,
extrusion length, and the round radius was different as seen in the figure.
Figure 6.1. Screw
❖ Connecting rod for the clip-on and rod end
The connecting rod for the two clip-on parts is represented by figure 6.1 and figure 6.2. A
similar approach was used to create this model, which was also noted in the creation of the
screws, although with different values.
Figure 6.1. Connecting Rod Figure 6.2. Connecting Rod end part
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❖ Fan Plug
The plug of the fan can be noted in figure 7.1. The earthing pin, neutral pin, line pin, and the
body of the plug was made by extrusion of a rectangular shape, made by using line function.
Although, the body of the plug was deployed round function at its side edges as seen in the
figure. At the bottom of the body, by a using a rectangular extrusion was used to remove the
material. This was done to replicate the product to the best of the ability.
Figure 7.1. Plug Figure 7.2. Plug
To create the section which can be noted in between the removed material, a datum plane was
established at the mid-section of the removed material, and then as seen in figure 7.3, the
drawing was created. Finally, the extrusion of the drawing was created, and just to complete
the plug model, a rectangular extrusion was created to represent a wire.
Figure 7.3. Drawing
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❖ Fan motor
The motor was the most essential part of the fan and this model can be seen in figure 8.1 and
figure 8.2. This model was made by a combination of extruding feature and round feature. By
using these 2 features, the majority of the model was created. The lower section of the motor
represents the capacitor and this was created by first removing the material by a rectangular
extrusion followed by deploying 2 datum planes at the sides of the removed part which was
created by the prior extrusion. This aided the author to create the parts by further mirroring and
extrusion features.
Figure 8.1. Motor Figure 8.2. Motor
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❖ Fan Clip-on (Top)
The lower section of the fan was composed of a clip-on part which enables the user to attach
the fan on top of a surface. The clip-on section is made up of 3 individual parts which are
manufactured individually. The top part of the clip-on section can be seen in figure 9.1 and
figure 9.2. As it can be noted that the body contains a curvature in its boundary, multip le
functions were employed to achieve the final model. The production of this part has been
divided into minor steps to demonstrate a better understanding.
Figure 9.1. Clip Top Part
Figure 9.2. Clip Top Part
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• Firstly, a rectangular solid extrusion followed by a round function was assigned to
create the front section of the model
• Secondly, now it was essential to create the other section of the clip, and to do so, 3
datum planes were created with respect to the initially created rectangular extrusion
and the plane parallel to the extrusion. These enabled the author to create 3 different
drawings on these datum plane respectively, which were, 2 half rectangles for different
specifications and a semi-oval. The drawings were created while having references
from their respective datum plane, the parallel plane to the rectangular extrusion, and
the other created drawings.
• Once these drawings were created, the references were applied at the edges of these
drawings and a spline curve function was used to create lines to join these individual
drawings together.
• This was done to use the boundary blend function to create a boundary between the 3
drawings and the spline curves. These steps were also used by one of the pieces of
literature which were found by the author, where similar datum planes, drawings, and
spline curves were created to create a boundary for a curved surface [5].
• The fourth drawing of a semi-oval was created on the parallel plane which was placed
in front of the final datum plane, and this was followed by utilising a boundary blend
function once again between the two semi-oval drawings, aiding the author to complete
the main body of the clip.
• After creating the main body of the clip, as the body is still a thin boundary blend and
doesn’t consist of a solid body, a fill function was deployed at the edges present at the
bottom of the clip. Before this fill function, a drawing of lines with respect to the
bottom part of the clip was also created.
• Finally, to complete the body for the reasons mentioned in the above point, a merge
function and followed by a shell function was applied between boundaries.
Furthermore, to avoid any errors in the later stages, a solidify function was employed
to the boundary
• A hole created on the top surface of the clip by using the hole function, followed by
employing another datum plane to create a circular shell extrusion, along with a tamper
of 45 degrees.
• Now, to create the side part of the clip, a similar approach was used when developing
the fan blade, where a thin spline curve extrusion was created, followed by an offset
function to a specific value to add a thickness and then a merge function. Although,
here, in this case, a datum was created parallel to the side of the clip to create the
drawing of the slide part and then extruded followed by following the above-
mentioned steps.
• A mirror function was used to create the same part on the other side. This was followed
by a circular extrusion generation to create a hole in the drawing.
• To create the part which can be seen in the bottom part of the clip, the same methods
were used, where the author created a datum to draw the part, followed by extrusion
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and a circular extrusion to create the hole and finally a mirror function. Although here
to add a thickness to the part, a thicken function was used.
• To create the pattern the which is noted in figure 9.1, the drawing was created on a
plane parallel to the above section of the clip, followed by a project function to project
the pattern drawing on the body. Now, to create an extrusion of the pattern, a variable
pulled direction draft was used on each of the lines in the pattern and the function was
applied to each section of the pattern individually with respect to the vertical direction
[6]. This allowed the user to create an extrusion of the pattern. Next, a thicken function
and a boundary function were employed in each section to complete the pattern
extrusion.
• The H shape extrusion was created while using the same method.
Finally, to create the rubber section of the clip, 3 circular extrusions as a shell, followed by a
thicken function as used to create a part on which rubber would be installed was created. A
solid rectangular extrusion was created above the circular extrusion, followed by a datum plane
which was parallel to the side section of the clip was generated to create the drawing of the
multiple small semi-circles to be extruded to remove the material from the rubber part,
representing a rough surface for the rubber.
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❖ Fan Clip-on (Bottom)
To simplify the production process, the clip-on top section was saved as a copy, and to create
the bottom section of the clip part, most of the features were kept constant. Although, as seen
in the image, the hole and the circular extrusion with tampering option was deleted and the
distance between the side edge of the body and the part which contains the holes as seen in the
figure was increased. This was done by placing the thin material extrusion which was created
while utilising a spline curve was drawn within the edge and not on the edge as seen during the
construction of the top section of the clip. Figure 10.1 and figure 10.2 shows the part.
Figure 10.1. Clip-on bottom
Figure 10.2. Clip-on bottom
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❖ Fan Adjuster Screw
The screw which enables the user to attach the stand with the upper section of the fan can be
seen in figure 11.1 and figure 11.2. The outer body of the adjuster was created by using the
boundary blend feature between the semi-circle and the half-section shape, followed by a
mirror feature to create the other half of the model. The drawing itself was created by using
patterns and spline curve feature. The front part of the model was by a simple circular extrusion
with a round feature and a fillet feature to blend in the boundary blend with circular extrusion.
Finally, by applying the thicken and merging feature. The model was completed by creating
two extrusions with 2 different circular diameter and extrusion length, to create a part which
represents a screw.
Figure 11.1. Fan Adjuster screw Figure 11.2. Fan Adjuster screw
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❖ Fan Back guard
The fan guard to protect the backside of the fan blade can be seen in figure 12.1 and figure 12.2. The
rails of the guard were created by using likewise steps used in the front guard of the fa, although here
rather than creating a single circular revolve, a total of 4 circular shapes were made [4].
The outer body or the backside of the guard was created in two-part, i.e.
• The 2 drawings were created which had the same specifications, but with different extrusion
function and length. The front part was employed a solid extrusion with a lower extrusion
length, whereas the back part was extruded as a shell with a longer extrusion length. This back
part was again applied a thicken function whereas, the front part applied a round function at the
edges. A hole was created in between solid extrusion by a circular extrusion, followed by a
round function. This hole was created to connect the motor with the fan blades. The two circular
extrusions which were used for the screws to be placed in were made by extrusion of a circular
drawing as a shell and a thicken function was applied.
• As for the parts which can be seen on the top and bottom part of the other shell body. The upper
part was created by extruding and thickening the part, however, for the bottom part, 2 datum
planes were created with the respect to the right plane in this case. The side part of the bottom
section was then created by drawing and extruding the drawing, followed by a mirror function
for the right plane. Then on the bottom of the plane which is between the extruded sections,
space was available in between, a rectangular extrusion was again created as a shell, followed
by a hole function.
Figure 12.1 Fan Back Guard Figure 12.2. Fan Back guard
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❖ Fan Back guard cover
The part to cover the back guard can be noted in figure 13.1 and figure 13.2. To create this model,
to simplify the process, the back guard was saved as a copy, and all the features except for the
outer body, central hole, and the 2 circular shell extrusion were deleted. The extrusion length and
the round specifications were changed. The 2 circular shell extrusion was simply converted into a
remove material feature and the direction was changed in the other direction. The purpose for
creating this hole was for the screw to attach the back guard and the back-guard cover. As for the
pattern which can be seen in the figure, a simple drawing on the front surface of the body,
followed by extrusion to remove the material, and a further pattern feature was used to complete
the majority of the model. To complete the model, another datum plane was created with respect
to the side of the model, and a drawing was created with the aid of spinal curves and by using the
extrude function, the material was removed.
Figure 13.1 back Guard Cover Figure 13.2 back Guard Cover
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❖ Fan Stand
The part responsible to connect the lower section of the model with the lower section was a fan stand
which can be seen in figure 14.1 and figure 14.2. As there is a curvature in the boundary, the same steps
were used as seen in the creation of the body of the clip where 3 datum planes were created, parallel to
each other at a certain distance, followed by the creation of 3 separate drawings of 1 half rectangle and
two semi-circle and then using spline curves to join these drawings were made on the plane which is
perpendicular to the 3 datum planes, and finally, a boundary blend option was used between the
drawings and spline line. The semi-circle part which is noted at the upper section of the blend is simply
made by an extrusion function which was made on the plane which is perpendicular to the 3 datum
planes created before and then applying a hole function to create a hole was used to complete most of
the part. By using the mirror function, the other half of the stand was made. At the bottom part, a solid
extrusion of a circular shape and a hole function was used. At the front side of the stand, creating a
semi-circle and extruding the semi-circle shape allowed to remove the material from the stand. Finally,
as seen in the figure, at the side of the stand, a circle can be noted on the body and this was done by
creating a circle drawing on a datum plane which is parallel to the side surface and then was projected
on the surface by using the project option.
Figure 14.1 Fan Stand Figure 14.2 Fan Stand
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❖ Final Assembly
The final assembly of the model can be seen in figure 15.1 and figure 15.2. To create this assembly, a
combination of coincide feature and pin connection feature was applied. The pin connection was applied
to the blades, switch, and the bottom clip, to represent the moving parts of the model, although one can
argue that the top section of the fan which includes the blades and guards should move to adjust the fan
head. However, the movement can only occur when the adjuster has been adjusted, hence only a
coincide feature was used.
Figure 15.1 Fan Assembly Figure 15.1 Fan Assembly
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Bill of Materials
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2D Technical drawings
❖ Fan Clip on (Bottom Section)
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❖ Fan Clip-on (Top Section)
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❖ Fan Back guard
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❖ Fan Back Guard Cover
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❖ Fan Adjuster
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❖ Fan Motor
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❖ Fan Stand
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❖ Fan Front Guard
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❖ Screws (To Attach stand and clip)
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❖ Fan Switch
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❖ Fan Plug
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❖ Rod (To connect the clip) and the end part
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❖ Fan Blades
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❖ Screw (For Back Cover)
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References
[1] [Link]. 2021. [online] Available at: <[Link]
6-inch-15w-Clip/dp/B00E1GTRKS> [Accessed 18 January 2021].
[2] Sanghani, C., 2016. Modification of Oscillating Mechanism of Table Fan for Throwing
Air 360º. Journal of Mechatronics and Automation, Volume 3, (Issue 1).
[3] [Link]
/[Link]?pid=5273550
[4] Khaja, M., 2020. How to Create Table Fan in CREO 6.0 PART-6. [video] Available at:
<[Link] [Accessed 21 November 2020].
[5] 2021. Creo Parametric - Boundary Blends and Curves in 1 and 2 Directions | Surfacing.
[video] Available at: <[Link]
[Accessed 23 December 2020].
[6] [Link]
surface-edge-with-Creo-Parametric/m-p/440451
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