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As we all strive to create new engineers, it is important that we try to expose them to both the design and fabrication aspect of creating these machines. Every engineer must design within the limits of the fabrication resources that they will have, and the best way to understand those limits is to experience the fabrication process for yourself. An engineer must design the nitty-gritty details of what is possible and economical to make, which is hard to do if you have never seen or done it for yourself. I find that my (limited) knowledge of fabrication options effects nearly every detail of every design decision that I make. Most designs that I consider to be "bad" or not workable are such because they are unnecessarily difficult or impossible to make.

When I was a brand new graduate engineer in my first job in industry, my company put us through a months-long apprentice program in the machine shop/toolroom where we worked along side toolmakers and learned basic machining and shop techniques. They knew we couldn't possibly send valid design work to the shop if we did not understand the details of what it took to make the stuff we designed. I realized then that it was something that was missing from my college curriculum. One of the biggest frustrations for those that have to work with new engineers is the new engineer's lack of understanding of what can and can't be made, or made economically. It is something that simply takes years of experience to develop.

Most FIRST mentors have the experience of having bright, enthusiastic students come to us very excited about their design idea, only to find out from us that it cannot be made. Learning to adjust your design hopes to the reality of what can be fabricated is one of the most difficult and important skills an engineer can learn. There is no better way to begin learning that lesson than to experience making parts for yourself.

Whatever your team's fabrication resources are, your students will need to learn to design within those resources. If your team is lucky enough to have fabrication sponsors that can do higher-level fab work for your team, take students on a field trip to the sponsor so they can see the work being done. Even if they cannot do the work themselves, seeing what it takes to create the parts they dream up will give them valuable insight.

Naivete about what can and can't be made is one of the most common obstacles for a new engineer. We are giving our FIRST students an enormous head start in understanding that lesson. It is one of the many things that will set them apart from their peers.