WHEN MY BATHROOM DOOR STOPPED LOCKING PROPERLY, I NOTICED THAT THE INCLUDED LATCH WAS POORLY DESIGNED AND NOT MANUFACTURED PRECISELY, CAUSING IT TO FREQUENTLY FAIL. INSTEAD OF PURCHASING A NEW LOCK, I DECIDED TO RE-ENGINEER THE LATCH.
​
THIS PROJECT MIGHT SEEM SIMPLE, BUT WAS ACTUALLY QUITE CHALLENGING BECAUSE IT REQUIRED ME TO DESIGN A COMPONENT THAT FITS INTO AN EXISTING STRUCTURE, AND BECAUSE I HAD TO MAKE CONSTANT DETERMINATIONS ABOUT WHICH FEATURES WERE CRITICAL, UNNECESSARY, OR DETRIMENTAL. I'VE REVERSE ENGINEERED OR REBUILT COPIES OF MANY BROKEN COMPONENTS BEFORE, BUT TOOK THIS PROJECT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THE BROKEN LATCHING SYSTEM INSTEAD OF SIMPLY COPYING IT. I ALSO HAD TO CAREFULLY DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURABILITY ON THE MANUAL MILL WITH WHICH I MACHINED THE PART. MY DESIGN VARIED SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THE ORIGINAL IN ALMOST EVERY DIMENSION, BUT AFTER MANY ITERATIONS, FUNCTIONED FAR BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL AND IS WORKING PERFECTLY TO THIS DAY.
​