The Process of Making a Part

Parts are the bread and butter of fab, mostly because it is our job to make them, but it is also important to understand the life of a part and all of the steps that it has to go through from beginning to end

Before it gets to Fab

What many people do not realize is before parts are made there is a lot of work put into it. After the CAD process (which you can learn about in the CAD Wiki) drawings must be made. Working drawings are drafted by a CAD member and then CAD approved, but must also be Fab member approved. We have found that having Fab members check drawings before they are sent out has cut down on the amount of drawing errors, drawings that have to be remade, and general fabrication frustration. We make sure that all nessicary demensions and views are on the drawings so we can sucessfully make parts in an efficent manner. After Fab approves drawings, they go through Doc control and the entire Doc control process. Fabrication works very closely with Doc control to keep everything in order. After the drawings go through DOC controll, they get to Fab.

The Set Up

To make a part, a lot of set up is involved. First, Fab members have to read the drawing, looking for material type, length and quantity. Selecting the correct material is important to making the part correctly, and can cut down on manufacturing time, depending on the part being made. After you determine the stock you need, Fab members go to the stock room to first look through scrap/excess material from other parts, and then the stock rack to find stock. We try to use cut stock as much as possible to eliminate waste. Next, the stock will be cut to the size indicated on the drawing. Depending on the use of the part, we can either cut it on the saw to the exact length, or if the specific part needs to be very exact, we cut slightly larger, and then use a mill or lathe to get the part withing .005in. After parts are cut, it is the job of the fabricator to select the correct machine to use. Specifics will be under machine safety.

Making It A Reality

After machines are set up the fabricator will drill holes and make cuts according to the part drawing. This will be repeated depending on the quantity required. After all parts are finished being fabricated, they will be deburred. Beburring is one of the most important parts of fab, because we have to make sure that no one will get cut on our parts. After parts are fully completed, they have to be check by a student and mentor to be within tolerance, if parts are out of tolerance they are checked with the designer, to see if it is still usable, and if not, it is remade. After completion, the Fabricator signs off on the drawing, returns it to doc control, and then put on the finished part section of the part cart for assembly to grab, and then assemble.