Reverse EngineeringProduct: Parker Ink Pen

Chiraditya Chatterjee

Contents:

• 1)Purpose of Reverse Engineering• 2)Product Description• 3)Product Description Matrix• 4)Visual Analysis• 5)Functional Analysis• 6)Functional Analysis Table• 7)Structural Analysis• 8)Structural Analysis (notebook)• 9)Structural Analysis (Detail

Sketch)

• 10)How does the pen work? ( Google search)

• 11)Affordable Innovations• 12)Nib of the pen• 13)Cartridge of the pen• 14)Capillary feed of the pen• 15)Ink used by the pen• 16)Cap of the pen• 17)Body barrel of the pen• 18)Grip of the pen• 19)Clip at the cap of the pen

The Purpose of Reverse Engineering

One must have the necessary skills to be analyze and disassemble a product to understand how a product functions as it does, to be able to innovate it to one’s advantage and to be able to save money. It is of vital importance not only in the world of technology, but also in the crazy world of economics, commerce and politics.I am now about to reverse engineer a parker ink pen.

Product Description

It is an old-school fountain pen, which basically writes in a water-based ink.It consists of a metal nib, a plastic nib-grip, a cartridge, a cartridge holder and a pen cap.It primarily is of royal blue color with black on the cap and the nib-grip. It also contains a white circular piece on the cap

Product Description : Matrix(visual analysis) Elements of Design

Point Line Color Value Shape Form Space Texture

Description of Use of Element of

Design N/A N/A

Royal Blue and Black distributed with a little

white on the cover

Darker hue all

throughout the object

Cylindrical shaped or the

most pat but has an irregularity at

the nib

3D figure Totally

negative space

Smooth but partly rough

Pri

nc

iple

s o

f D

es

ign

Balance N/A N/A

Asymmetrical has irregular distribution of blue, black and white

color

Asymmetrical

Symmetrical

It is bisymmetrical

from top to bottom

It is an even of negative

space

It is totally a smooth figure

except for the grip that is rough

Emphasis N/A N/A N/A N/A

It is unevenly distributed to make it look

professional on this case

N/A N/A

It has a total smooth surface

with symmetrically distributed rough texture in the grip

Contrast N/A N/A It has an uneven

distribution N/A

It has an all throughout

cylindrical shape with irregular

variations at two places

N/A N/A

There is a mixture of slight rough

texture with otherwise smooth

texture

Rhythm

N/A N/A It is random N/A N/A N/A N/A It is more or less random at best if

not that

Proportion N/A N/A There is more blue than

black and more black than white

N/A It is unique N/A N/A smooth and rough texture has 3:1 ratio at best

Unity N/A N/A Yes the color is

consistent for the most part

N/A It is cylindrical all

throughout N/A N/A

Yes the texture is almost smooth

besides the grip

Economy N/A N/A It requires the least

amount of color N/A Not big so cheap

The nib is of iridium and hence costly

N/A N/A

Visual Analysis

• The pen is slender and smooth. It is a mixture of royal blue and black with a white circle on the cap. There is no wear and tear throughout any part of the pen. It consists of seven parts; the nib, the grip, the body, the cap, the clip, the capillary tube and the cartridge. It is very efficient in terms of writing. It does not leak or smudge unlike other pens of its kind.

Functional Analysis

• Product Name: Parker Ink Pen I-11u• Company Name: Parker Pens Inc.• The purpose of this product is to serve as a vintage pen.

Tis pen s supposedly old fashioned. The Pen carries a cartridge of ink that flows into the nib due to the force of gravity and he application of capillary action. The ink reaches the nib and is let out through a gap having a shape that determines the width of the output.

Functional Analysis in a table

• Ink cartridge• Downward pointing• Ink flow• Pressure on paper

• Good writing on paper• Good Hand writing

Structural Analysis

• The pen is made of five parts; the nib, the grip, the cartridge, the base/body and a cap.

• The cartridge containing the ink is the input. The base/body holds the cartridge in place from the bottom. The cartridge is attaches to the grip by means of a counter-bore in which the cartridge is inserted. The ink flows from the cartridge to the nib due to gravitational help and capillary action. The grip helps the user to hold the pen properly while writing. The nib has a minute partition that lets the ink flow out to the paper as the output.

• When not in use, the cap prevents the water-based ink from drying up.

Structural Analysis in the notebook

Structural Analysis ( Detail Sketch )

How the pen works ( google search )

• Capillary action results from two processes working together. The first is adhesion, or the attachment of a liquid to a solid object, such as water to a glass tube, due to the attraction between the molecules of the liquid and the solid object it contacts. The second is surface tension, the cohesion of liquid molecules on its surface. Surface tension allows liquids to form round Another important phenomenon is viscosity, a fluid's resistance to flowing. One other factor comes into play: the speed at which the writer moves the pen . The pores [in the paper] draw in the fluid via capillary – surface tension – forces, while the viscosity resists this motion. The moving pen drags along the fluid, and again viscous forces resist this. Together they shape the blot, if one hesitates, and the line when one's thoughts flow from the mind to the machine that records them – the pen.

• Read more about parts at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_penRead more at: http://phys.org/news/2011-12-deconstruct-physics-fountain-pen.html#jCp

Affordable Innovations

• There are several things that one can think of when thinking of innovating a product, in my case:

• The grip can be made of rubber to increase it’s efficiency.

• The nib can be made of platinum-metals for better anti-corrosion results and smother writing.

• The cartridge can be broadened and the ink made of water-based dye excluding iron particles to avoid clogging and corrosion.

Nib of the Pen

• . Today, nibs are usually made of stainless steel or gold alloys, with the most popular gold content being 14 carat (58⅓%) and 18 carat (75%). Gold is considered the optimum metal for its flexibility and its resistance to corrosion, although gold's corrosion resistance is less of an issue than in the past because of better stainless steel alloys and less corrosive inks. Gold nibs are tipped with a hard, wear-resistant alloy that typically uses metals from the platinum group. The tipping material is often called "iridium", but there are few, if any, penmakers that still use tipping alloys containing the metal. Steel nibs may also have harder tips; those with un-tipped steel points will wear more rapidly due to abrasion by the paper.

Cartridge of the pen

• "European cartridges" or "standard cartridges" or "universal cartridges"), in short (38 mm in length, about 0.75 ml of capacity) or long (72 mm, 1.45 ml) sizes, or both. It is to some extent a standard, so the international cartridges of any manufacturer can be used in most fountain pens that accept international cartridges.

• Also, converters that are meant to replace international cartridges can be used in most fountain pens that accept international cartridges. Some very compact fountain pens (for example Waterman Ici et La and Monteverde Diva) accept only short international cartridges. Converters can not be used in them (except for so-called mini-converters by Monteverde). Some pens like modern Waterman pens have intentional fittings which prevent the usage of short cartridges. Such pens can only take a proprietary cartridge from the same maker, in this case the long Waterman cartridges.

Capillary feed of the Pen

• The Capillary feed of the fountain pen is supposed to let the water-based ink flow from the cartridge to the nib via capillary action. It ensures that the ink stay in the cartridge while it is closed. It is the most important part of a fountain pen. Some modern feeds, especially those in pens of higher quality, are made of hard rubber, while others are made of plastic. Many plastic feeds today are coated with a substance that gives them the desired slightly rough, porous surface. In most cases, the result is a good feed; but some designers, in an apparent attempt to make their feeds aesthetically pleasing, have sacrificed function; they have produced designs that are notoriously balky and unreliable due to inadequate airflow handling. In some cases, but not in all, these feeds can be modified to work reasonably well.

Ink used by the Pen

• Inks intended for use with fountain pens are water-based. These inks are commonly available in bottles. Plastic cartridges came into use in the 1960s, but bottled inks are still the mainstay for most fountain pen enthusiasts. Bottled inks usually cost less than an equivalent amount in cartridges and afford a wider variety of colors and properties. Some pigmented inks do exist for fountain pens, but these are uncommon. Normal India ink cannot be used in fountain pens because it containsshellac as a binder which would very quickly clog such pens.

• Inks ideally should be fairly free-flowing, free of sediment, and non-corrosive, though this generally excludes permanence and prevents large-scale commercial use of some colored dyes. Proper care and selection of ink will prevent most problems

Cap of the Pen

• The cap f the pen is supposed to be preventing air from getting into the fed and drying up the ink. It also makes sure that the nib is not subjected to wear and tear.

Body/Barrel of the Pen

• The function of the body/barrel is to provide the cartridge and the entire top part with a medium base. It also helps the user to get a better grip for enhancing his hand writing.

Grip of the Pen

• The function of the grip of the pen is to provide a better grip to the user for enhancing a better hand writing.

The Clip at the cap of the Pen

• The clip s supposed to act as a medium by which the pen can be attached to a flat surface to as portable as t is supposed to be.

Materials used to make the pen-(Physical Properties included)Part# Part Name Qty Dimension Function Material Density  

Texture and Finish

Interaction with Other Parts

General Notes(i.e.; wear, stress

indicators)

1 Pen Cap 1 L 2.4 inD 0.5 in

Closes the nib to prevent ink from drying and clotting

Poly-carbonate

1.2 g/cc   smooth Locks with the grip and the body

fresh

2 Clip 1 L 1.8 in It helps hold the pen in a pocket for transportation

Poly-carbonate

1.2 g/cc   smooth Fixed to the cap fresh

3 body 1 L 3 inD 0.4 in

It holds the pen and covers the cartridge provides a base for holding the pen while writing

Poly-carbonate

1.2 g/cc   smooth Locked internally to the grip and the cartridge

fresh

4 Nib 1 0.6 in It eases the capillary action and brings the ink onto the paper

Iron-iridium amalgam

10.49 g/cc

  smooth Fixed to the capillary tube

Corroded

5 Capillary tube

1 L 2.4 in It helps transport the ink from the cartridge to the nib via capillary action

Poly-carbonate

1.2 g/cc   Semi-smooth Inside the grip Clotted with dry ink

6 Cartridge 1 L 3 inD 0.3 in

It holds the water-based ink Poly-carbonate

1.2 g/cc   rough Inside the body new

7 Grip 1 L 1.4 InD 0.4 in

It helps hand-writing better Poly-carbonate

1.2 g/cc   rough Fixed to the body

fresh

                     

Pen Parts Inventor Assembly

•

Pen Parts Isometric Top-Left View Sketch

Pen Grip Inventor Sketch

Pen Grip Multiview Sketch

Pen Barrel Inventor Sketch

Pen Barrel Multiview Sketch

Capillary Tube Inventor Sketch

Capillary Tube Multiview Sketch

Cartridge Inventor Sketch

Cartridge Multiview Sketch

Pen Cap inventor Sketch

Pen Cap Multiview Sketch

Nib in Inventor

Nib Multiview Sketch

Assembled Pen Inventor Sketch

The Objective of Reverse Engineering• Reverse Engineering helps engineers understand a

product better. In order to be able to understand every single part of a product as far as its design, structure and function is concerned. A better understanding of it all helps us to innovate a product if necessary.