Quote:
Originally Posted by Wing
I'm not arguing that fabricating parts is fun, but if you solely want to fabricate and not design, that is not engineering.
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Many people have already said that there is no right or wrong answer to this question and I agree. But I might add that things are not always what they seem. I do not believe there is really much pure engineering or pure fabrication out there. Engineering is an applied science so it must and does take into account all aspects of finished product including fabrication. And performing the simplest fabrication process can sometimes shed light into good design practices.
Any good mechanical design has to take into consideration how the parts will be fabricated. The choice of materials, aluminum vs. steel, sheet metal vs strut, drilled and assembled plates vs machined bar stock, bolting vs welding, etc. Even if you never leave the CAD station and outsource all of your fabrication to a machine shop, some amount of your design does need to rely on a significant knowledge of your fabrication process. How you come by that knowledge can vary, but it must be there to become a really good designer.
The same is true in the other direction. Experience in fabrication cannot help but give you a boost toward becoming a better designer. I believe you can become a great designer without ever drilling one hole in a piece of aluminum. But that does not mean that time in a machine shop at some point does not help you more quickly and efficiently learn some important lessons.
Most machinists have had no formal design training, but most have a acquired a significant degree of design knowledge almost through osmosis. This is not the best way to learn some things and can lead to some significant holes in your knowledge if it is not supplemented by detailed study in the basics of statics, dynamics, properties of materials, and all the rest. But do not underestimate the vale in knowledge obtained in this manner.
Perhaps in these days of CNC, EDM, LASER and water jet cutting, etc. there seems to be less connection between fabrication and design. But occasionally there is just no substitute for having a intuitive knowledge of what is easy and difficult to machine, the order of how things actually need to be machined, and even what the machinists themselves might be able to teach you.