[EricH]

Originally Posted by yash101

Think like an engineer! Think about how you can modify what you HAVE to get what you WANT!

Incorrect. Engineers do not think about how to modify what they have to get what they want, nor do they particularly think about how to get what they want.

An engineer will determine what is NEEDED first; any extra features are a nice-to-have bonus (what they want). The engineer will then look at COTS items to see if there is one that will fit the bill. He or she will get as close as possible using that before doing any modification. OR the engineer will determine that no COTS item will get "close enough" and create a custom design, incorporating COTS items like bolts and nuts where possible. Only if the engineer cannot get all the way with COTS or custom builds will he or she modify what's on hand to get the result.

Doing it any other way than evaluating all options is not going to be productive in the long run.