FEATURES OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN IN REVERSE ENGINEERING OF SWITCHING DEVICES

Industrial design is widely used to create industrial products intended mainly for direct human use. At the same time, depending on the class (type, group) of the product, different approaches to artistic design are possible. The purpose of the study is to identify and describe the most characteristic features of industrial design in reverse engineering of high-current switching devices. Materials and methods. When describing the aesthetic parameters of the shape, an elemental analysis of the samples was used. The artistic design of the front panel is generalized by the provisions of technical aesthetics and standards. When protecting exclusive rights, an analysis of requirements and recommendations for obtaining legal protection as an industrial design was used. Research results. The evaluation of the shape during the reverse engineering of switching devices was performed, which practically repeats the proto-type shape, which is a combination of classical bodies in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped and a cylinder. This form organically combines the utilitarian and aesthetic qualities of the device and is characterized by both internal and external beauty. For visual perception of the design of switching devices, photographs of the general appearance and front panel of modular contactors from different manufacturers (ABB, Schneider Electric, Siemens, VNIIR-Progress) are used as an example. All devices have a single shaping style characteristic of this type of device, and differ mainly in the corporate style of the artistic design of the front panel. The features of the aesthetic indicators of the front panel (a graphic image of the company’s logo or trademark, a combination of color solutions and the configuration of the placement of elements) are visually reflected on the 3D model of the device and are given in the verbal description of this model, which together reveal the essential features of the solution of the appearance protected as an industrial design. Conclusions. In reverse engineering, the shape of the switching devices is taken as the shape of a prototype presenting the type representative of the device of a leading electrical engineering company, and the main task of the design is reduced to the artistic design of the front panel. One of the forms of protection of the exclusive rights of the results of such creativity is to obtain legal protection as an industrial design, where the novelty and originality of essential features are determined by the corporate style of appearance.