Reverse Engineering Project:

Tape Measure

EK 210
Zhongkun Xue
Overview

The tape measure is a very common tool in our daily life. The tape measure is usually used in

carpentry, framing, roofing, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing. It can help us measure very

long objects.

Bill of Materials

The first step is making a bill of materials which is Table 1. The tape measure can be divided

to six part (Harris 2021). Each part has its own function.
Table 1: Bill of Materials for tape measure.

Bill of Materials

Tape Measure

Part# Part Qua Function Manufacturing Process Dimensions

Name ntity

Blad 1 Measurement Stretch the steel bar through 16 ft. L x 0.62

e the wheel in. W

Spri 1 The power of

ng blade recovery

Case 1 Hold, protect

1 Plasti 1 Protect internal Melting at high temperature. 2.75in x

c shell structure Mold shaping 1.10in x

2.75in

2 Screw 3 Hold the structure

Thumb 1 Block the blade Melting at high temperature.

lock Mold shaping

Hoo 1 Stuck one side of Machine cutting

k blade

Belt hold, easy to carry Melting at high temperature.

loop Mold shaping

Functional analysis

The second step is to create a functional analysis of the product. For tape measure “glass box”,

we only have energy input and information input, and there is no material input. For the output,

we only have one information output. The Figure 1 shows the clearly step of tape measure

“glass box”.

Figure 1: Diagram showing the function analysis of tape measure.

Drawings of the product

For the third step, I made a hand sketch (Figure 2) of half tape measure because it can show

the working principle more clearly. In order to show the working principle of the spring more

clearly, I delete some part of the wheel in front view.

Figure 2: The figure shows three-view drawing of half a tape measure.

Product Evaluation

The design of this product is obviously for ease of use. For this product, I like that it uses

springs to store energy. Of course, the designer can also use an electric motor or hydraulic

pump. I think the reason this product use spring to store the energy and recycle the blade is that

the spring is more energy-efficient than the motor. Also, the tension of the spring is smaller

than that of the hydraulic pump, which is more convenient for people to use.

For thumb lock, I also found two other design methods, which are four finger lock, and palm

lock. I guess the reason why they choose a thumb lock is that this lock is easy to design and

cheap. Since this product is around 10 dollars, they will not pay more attention to design a new

lock type.
References

Harris, A. (2021, May 19). Parts of a Tape Measure (Explained with Pictures). Healthy

Handyman. https://healthyhandyman.com/parts-of-a-tape-measure/.