Title: Digital Data – A Time Capsule for Engineering
Authors: Patrick Violante, Scott Storms, E. Michael Golda, Kate Morrand
Abstract: Mechanical and electrical machinery equipment obsolescence and maritime archaeology have similar challenges. The challenges arise from each no longer having access to the original equipment manufacturer, production drawings, technical manuals, or a service organization that can provide support or maintenance of these components without great cost and effort. An efficient method is needed to reverse engineer these obsolete/recovered parts. This paper details an approach that will allow the support of obsolete equipment and maritime archaeology by leveraging the latest advancements in laser metrology to reverse engineer these components.
The paper will discuss the methods of applying laser metrology to document the changes during the conservation treatment of the Howell Torpedo artifact. The paper will elaborate and discuss the lessons learned at each step of the process, including techniques, hardware and software selection and how they will be applied to support reverse engineering of obsolete equipment.