Reverse engineering - the only chance for modders?

[Stefan1024]

I'm working on a highly customized case and cooling solution for a new build. Therefor I need a lot of mechanical specification of the electronic parts. For all the standardised stuff like the drill drawing of the MoBo it's easy, but try to find information about the exact position of the CPU. Let alone the VRM section of a GPU (mechanical not electrical information).

 

At the moment I use my caliper rule to reverse engineere the whole GPU. It works but it's time consuming. Sadly EVGA refuses to provide a single bit off information. Company secret.....

 

How do you get your information?

[W-L]

I'm working on a highly customized case and cooling solution for a new build. Therefor I need a lot of mechanical specification of the electronic parts. For all the standardised stuff like the drill drawing of the MoBo it's easy, but try to find information about the exact position of the CPU. Let alone the VRM section of a GPU.

 

At the moment I use my caliper rule to reverse engineere the whole GPU. It works but it's time consuming. Sadly EVGA refuses to provide a single bit off information. Company secret.....

 

How do you get your information?

 

I wouldn't expect most manufacturers to give out detail drawings on waterblock or electrical diagram on their stuff since they want to make it as hard as possible for the majority to create or manufacture something like that themselves. Most times estimation is good but for specific things like contacting components on a PCB that's going to take a few goes with some prototypes, I wouldn't know of any other way of really obtaining such information if they aren't willing to opening help or provide it.

[AnonymousGuy]

If you take high resolution well lit pictures of a PCB then you can import it into Solidworks and define a known pixel / distance conversion.  I was able to design a Titan X backplate this way with accuracy that was high enough to where I could probably have had it machined and it would have fit no problems.  Need to be careful though about lens distortion.  For a PCB pic with my cell phone I had to take 3 pictures and stitch them together to make sure I was only using the center portion of the image.

 

3D though there's really no substitute for a depth micrometer. 

 

The ultimate solution is spending a thousand bucks and having your part 3D scanned.

[Stefan1024]

If you take high resolution well lit pictures of a PCB then you can import it into Solidworks and define a known pixel / distance conversion.  I was able to design a Titan X backplate this way with accuracy that was high enough to where I could probably have had it machined and it would have fit no problems.  Need to be careful though about lens distortion.  For a PCB pic with my cell phone I had to take 3 pictures and stitch them together to make sure I was only using the center portion of the image.

 

3D though there's really no substitute for a depth micrometer. 

 

The ultimate solution is spending a thousand bucks and having your part 3D scanned.

To import a picture is a very good way to check the model. But I won't rely on a drawing only generated by the photo.

Anyway it helpt me to find en error. Thanks!