Establishing the General Characteristics of the Workpiece

This step is preliminary to extract more detailed information from the part print. Essentially, the process engineer seeks to determine six things at this stage.

1. The general description of the part.

2. The general configuration of the part.

3. The material from which the part is made.

4. How the part originated?

5. Recorded changes in design.

6. Resistance to damage in process.

•  General Description of the Part

The part description is acquired from the title block on the print. Because space is usually limited, the description occasionally is abbreviated or contracted to a point where interpretation is difficult. The designer should be consulted when it is felt that further clarification is needed. Other information important to the general description is the part number and the numbers of the sub assembly or assembly of which it is a part.