End user retro-engineering
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End user retro-engineering (EURE) is the redesign of a product, not for resale, but by a consumer (end user). Marketing deadlines, cost pressures, and short term profit paradigms in manufacturing can lead to shortened product service. Historically, much thought and craft was applied to products and they were intended to last indefinitely (with proper maintenance and repair). Modern products have "life expectancies" due to a rapid innovation rate, disposability, and a short-term profit goals. Even many "high quality" or expensive products have succumbed to these pressures, and cannot always be relied on to function or last as expected.
EURE is not repair (restoring to original or similar condition) or retrofitting (changing or adapting the purpose) or rigging (temporary fix) but improves the functionality, and/or durability, of the product over its original design. A concern of EURE is that the product could become unstable or have a dangerous result if done without sufficient reflection. EURE requires through study of the functionality, purpose and entire structural make-up. The EURE consumer must have sufficient knowledge of the science behind a particular solution, and thoughly test (at least at the level of the original manifacture), as well as, accept liability for the altered design, which would most likely void any manifacture responsibility. EURE helps the environment, saves money, and reduces the necessity of replacing products or parts repeatedly.
EURE is based on correcting these two common causes in product failure:
- Contamination -- The product is not self-cleaning or cannot prevent parts from becoming jammed, because of extensive product flaws, which are usually not EURE-able. Cleaning the parts often repairs the product. If the contamination has been there awhile it will damage parts by wear. A well designed product will clean itself or be permanently shielded from contamination. The cost and difficulty in devising this sort of design from the start is why the vast majority of products are deficient in this aspect.
- Most Stressed Part -- The main working part(s) are not relatively as durable as the rest of the parts. In this case replacing the part with something that is stronger or functions better is the EURE solution. Often, replacing one or two parts with the most stress will greatly increase the lifetime of the product or even eliminate its planned obsolescence; although this is unlikely in the case of disposable products due to their high ratio of low quality materials. It is best to concentrate EURE efforts on products which were intended to last a year or more. Likewise, products with high generational technology improvment rates may not be good Eure candidates, as they be come obsolete rapidly (eg. compact disk player)
