CAD Reverse Engineering

In my SolidWorks CAD course, we were tasked with reverse engineering an item with 3+ parts and moving components to apply the program skills we were developing. I chose to model my first LEGO set, Kai's Blade Cycle from the popular theme Ninjago, because of its significance to my engineering story. I was 5 years old when my mom gifted me this set and little did we both know it would spark a passion in me that decades later would culminate in a 150+ LEGO set collection. As a child, my dream was to become a LEGO designer and this eventually evolved into the desire to be an engineer. This set opened my eyes to the world of creation and I could not be more thankful today.

I spent over 120 hours on this project, meticulously measuring and reverse engineering 69 unique pieces, creating a 161-component assembly, and additionally practicing decal application, drawings, and animation! This project was very rewarding for me because it represents a full-circle moment from my past to my present self and showcases the CAD skills I have gained. I am now proficient in SolidWorks and modeling visualization, also supported by my CSWA certification. I really enjoyed the hours I spent modeling this LEGO and it prepped me for future CAD work well!

Actual vs CAD Model

8-second animation modeling all moving features (handle, wheels, top button, upper and lower wings) created using SolidWorks Motion Study. Notice how pushing down the upper button opens the wings. Likewise, closing the wings pushes the button back up.

Stickers added as decals for realism.

More Images, Drawings, Presentation, and Build Instructions

Fully dimensioned drawings of the 3 most unique parts.

Top-view assembly, exploded view, and BOM. I plan to use subassemblies in the future.

Slide show used at the final class presentation.

It was really cool to see just how detailed LEGO pieces can be! I had never realized it before but there is a lot more that goes into the parts so they all work together. I followed the build instructions when creating and assembling each piece (which I did simultaneously throughout the project). The full piece list can be found at the end of the instructions.