Project Overview
This introductory engineering project assigned in the Fall of 2024 by Dr. Nicole Batrouny prompted each assigned team to take apart a moderately complex office themed object and generally learn how the inner workings of the object allow it to function. From what we learned from the take-apart, we next were to step into the shoes of the engineers who created this object and 1) determine the problem statement and mindset used when first engineering this object, and 2) how the mechanisms of this object respond to the problem statement.
My partner and I decided to deconstruct a broken Amazon Kindle donated by a family member. In 2020, it was dropped and the screen was shattered, causing it to no longer turn on.
Kindle Deconstruction
The take-apart phase of the project was more challenging that we originally expected. From the start, we found it was very difficult to access the internals of the Kindle. We started with using less destructive tools such, such as screw drivers used as levers, but quickly needed to switch to a more aggressive approach, utilizing box cutters and pliers. We tried to cause as little physical damage to the Kindle as possible (not breaking components, only unscrewing to remove them), but this quickly proved futile; we needed to break parts of the plastic frame to access different parts of the electronics. In the end, we were able to extract most of the internals of the Kindle and develop a basic understanding for what their functions are.
Engineering Problem Statement
From everything we found while taking apart this Kindle, this is a problem statement we felt could be similar to the ones the engineers used when first constructing this Kindle:
- Conventional books take up a lot of space due to the amount of information held within them, require light to read, and can be heavy. Our objective is to create a portable and compact electronic reading device that can replace a physical book. This device will be able to download copies of different reading materials from online databases and display them on a screen, eliminating the need for multiple different books and for an external source of light. Its production must be relatively inexpensive to compete with the physical book market while also having a long battery life to reduce time in between charging. It cannot be heavy to hold or carry around. The design will focus on durability rather than repairability: it will be constructed in a sturdy and compact way to prevent internal damage when dropped, but if damaged, the internal components are not easy to access/fix. In the case of damage to the device, the design should encourage the consumer to replace it rather than repair it, which will overall increase sales.
From our background knowledge of what the purpose of a Kindle is and from inspecting this one, we concluded it needed to be compact, light, and have a screen that emits enough light to read.
Conclusions
Compared to our classmates, our skill builder project was quite unique: no other group attempted to take apart something this complex. However, because of the complexity of this Kindle, we were required to have an even deeper understanding of the engineering design process than most other project teams. While their objects focused mostly on small mechanisms with a straight forward problem statements, ours required us to truly view the Kindle in the eyes of an experienced and practiced engineer; every little part of the machine has a specific purpose that relates back to solving the problem at hand. Some of them were less obvious, such as how the complexity of the inner plastic frame helps reach the financial goals of the project, but good engineers who follow the engineering design process always have reason behind what they do. Understanding this and being able to apply it to future projects is what will differentiate my engineering designs from the rest and help move them along the road to success.
The process of taking apart the Kindle and reverse engineering a problem statement also helped develop our fundamental engineering skills in countless other ways:
- How to adapt a technique in order to improve results
- Understanding the connections of simple electrical components
- How to come up with an engineering problem statement
- Concepts of reverse engineering/interpreting a design made from another professional
- Communication skills with a group when working on a project
- Time management between team members and resource availability
Overall, this skill builder project was extremely interesting and enjoyable to complete. Please reach out if you have any questions regarding this project.