Quote Originally Posted by gn7 View Post
You guys are wasting your time. snoc's knowledge of props couldn't fill a bottle cap. He has ZERO clue
Speaking of having zero clue, please step away from the bottle Bob(oh yeah, you say you don't drunk post, please get an education then). What does knowledge of props have to do with a discussion of reverse engineering a product? Just like when people were splashing hulls, eventually the courts ruled you can't do that. Copying someone else's work is not legal, ethical, nor right.

How many times have you cried like a baby that lost your binky over Chinese reverse engineered parts. Its the same thing. The only difference I see here is that people like the person that is making the copies of props and they want copies for themselves of good props that work. So apparently that makes reverse engineering a part OK.

And no it isn't like someone manufacturing crankshafts of their own design and then selling them. Unless GM has a patent on the crankshaft, which would mean someone owes them a royalty, designing a similar part that fits in their block isn't the same as copying their part. Sonny doesn't copy the GM crank exactly and then CNC it. They design their own based on the dimensions they have to work with, and you can bet they have their own engineers. Now the Chinese will reverse engineer a Sonny crank and then pump them out on a CNC, but just like the props, that's ok, right? What would happen if the Chinese took a copy of a Grose prop and started making copies available for $1800. Or if they had you send them the cad file made by a shop here in the states or your Grose prop and they pumped you out exact copies for $600 each? GN7 already said SS props are expected to wear out, so if they don't last quite as long but you could get 4 props for less than the cost of one and get more total time out of the 4, why not? That is what we're discussing.

It's not about the manufacturing process or the quality of the product being produced, it's about copying someone else's work without their express permission. And we're not talking about making a similar part, we're talking about making an exact copy of someone else's work.
Ask any engineer who's had his design hijacked by someone and see how they feel about the subject.