Overview

The Fabrication & Assembly Report is a standalone, formal documentation of the machine design project that presents the method of fabrication within budget in a timely manner, and the process of assembly to present the (almost) final prototype.

  • A template is provided here, which should cover the sections explained the guidelines.
    • Refer to your Feishu shared folder to edit the password-protected version, accessible only by all members of your team.
  • The link to submission is here.

The Fabrication Engineer and the Assembly Engineer will work together to ensure the submission of the Fabrication & Assembly Report on behalf of the task force, but all members of the task force shall be involved or consulted while preparing the report.

  • The Fabrication Engineer is mainly in charge of the machining method and part selection within budget limit and time frame.
  • The Assembly Engineer is mainly in charge of the assembly of the machine with detailed instructions of the assembly process and changes made during the assembly.

It should be noted that many uncertainties are involved during the fabrication considering the engineering limitations. So it is critical for the Fabrication Engineer needs to think ahead of the design while the team is preparing the Design Need Report and Engineering Feasibility Report. When moving to the stage of fabrications, the cost starts to rise significantly besides manpower and an informed lead time consideration is of critical importance for the team to complete the task in time, making it even more difficult to suggest last-minute changes to the design when reality kicks in. Therefore, it is critical for the fabrication engineer to keep updating the fabrication and assembly report throughout the design process by listening to the feedback from the task force and the team, making informed decisions on the necessary changes to the engineering design, and making sure that the design is being machined, purchased, and delivered in time to the team. 

In many industries, the Assembly Engineer is usually the highest paid engineer on the engineering floor, mainly due to the fact that his/her skill will directly impact the performance of the machine being made. The Assembly Engineer shall be involved since the very beginning of the design process to think ahead of the potential issues that may be involved if a specific design is chosen for production. Even if the parts are made to the specifications, there will still be the issue of tolerance and fit. The assembly engineer needs to deal with the situation that the deadline is approaching and there may not be possible to make a new part or even a new design. During alpha prototyping, most parts may also need a final touch of adjustments or treatment before being assembled, which is common among machined parts and 3D printed ones. These are the situations where assembly engineers play a key role in realizing the design, making sure that a working machine can be delivered to the team based on the design.

Guidelines

A template is provided in your task force’s shared Feishu folder as a Feishu Doc, which can be simultaneously edited by all members on the browser as a collaborative effort. Don’t worry about making changes to the document, as you can access historical versions of the final while preparing it.

  • General:
    • Report Name: Fabrication & Assembly Report by [Red/Green/Blue/Yellow] [Apple/Banana/Cherry] on [Machine Type]
    • Task Force Members: @ all members of the task force
    • Submitted by: @ Fabrication Engineer / @ Assembly Engineer
    • Reviewed by: @ Design Engineer @ Test Engineer
    • Date & Version: YY-MM-DD-V1.0
    • [Proper use of document style is highly recommended to stay the file organized.]
    • [Use the build-in Print function of Feishu Doc to save it as PDFs before making the submission.]
  • Report Overview
    • Briefly summarize the key outcomes of this report [what you have achieved in this report?]
    • Including the fabrication method, budget situation, and assembly result of this task, regarding which Design Proposal.
  • Fabrication & Cost [mainly by the Fabrication Engineer]
    • Briefly explain your understanding of the role of fabrication in this task force in general.
    • Describe in detail the specific fabrication method you’ve chosen and the reason behind, considering the design drawing, budget, and lead time.
    • Describe any challenges you’ve encountered during the process and how you resolve them.
    • Summarize your budget situation after the fabrication so far, within your task force. [consultation with the Financial Officer is necessary]
  • Assembly & Outcome [mainly be the Assembly Engineer]
    • Briefly explain your understanding of the role of assembly in the task force in general.
    • Describe in detail the specific process of assembly, given the parts fabricated or purchased, including an engineering drawing in exploded view.
    • Describe in detail the specific changes you’ve made to the parts or even the design to make sure the machine is assembled properly as designed.
    • Describe any challenges you’ve encountered during the process and how you resolve them.