• A Design Review work order may be used for any project being made in the DLC Labs Shop. The purpose of a work order design review is to give our maker's viewpoint of manufacturing and the ultimate success of a project.
  • Our advice and opinions are blunt. Our review is geared to create quick and efficient solutions.
  • Design review consists of "Drawing Inspection" and "Twenty Questions".
  • The answers you give to the questions below help us to understand what you are attempting to accomplish. You will find it helpful to gather as many answers as you can. However, don't let this slow you down. Give us as many answers as you can in 15 minutes or so. If you can answer concisely, it usually means the problem is well understood.  Again, don't let this section slow you down... we can always talk about anything we don't understand.
  • Create the work order using the link above to get started.
  • Don't wait...It is best to start while you are still excited.
 
 

Drawing Inspection

Put in a work order for Design Review and attach your drawings to the work order. We prefer Solidworks drawings but will always accept Inventor, NX, and Autocad. Make an attempt at dimesioning your part.

Please include all files associated with the project into the work order.

  • Solidworks        .sldprt   .slddrw  .sldasm (all files)
  • NX                     .prt
  • Inventor             .ipt .iam .idw  (all files) 

Questions

Functional

  • What is it? Create a short title of what you are making in 5-9 words.
  • What is this thing supposed to do? How well? What is the speed / resolution / repeatability / accuracy? How long? operational cycles, number of years? What are the nearest products presently in existence? How do they compare? How big or small can/should it be? Allowable weight/inertia? Are esthetics important? (consider all five senses!) What is history of the technology?

Environmental

  • Who will use it? install it? service it? Skill level? Operator interfaces needed? Where will the units be used? What conditions must it withstand during shipment? Operation? Temperature, humidity, pressure/vacuum, vibration/shock, chemical, biological, particulate.... How loud/quiet? Any EMI/RFI/magnetics considerations? Any special materials requirements? What energy and supplies are available for input, desired/tolerable for output?

Administrative

  • Who are you? (name, phone, e-mail.....) Who is your Advisor?
  • What skills do you command/need for this project? Why is the item needed? What level of confidentiality is appropriate? How many will be needed - considering quantity/price function? How much are you willing to pay - for concept, prototype, production items using outside manufacturing? When is it needed - each step; earliest, latest? Who else might need same device - colleagues, competitors? Which attribute is best to optimize, and which attributes are simply bounds?