fabricatable

Fabricatable is an adjective describing something that can be fabricated, meaning it can be produced or manufactured from raw materials using established processes. In engineering, the term is often used to indicate that a design is compatible with one or more fabrication methods, such as machining, casting, forming, welding, sheet metal work, forging, or additive manufacturing. The suitability depends on factors including material availability, tooling, tolerances, surface finish, and cost, as well as lead time and production scale. The word derives from fabricate and the suffix -able, and is commonly found in manufacturing, construction, and product design contexts.

Design for fabrication (or design for manufacturability) seeks to make parts fabricatable by choosing features and processes that minimize complexity, risk, and cost. A part is considered fabricatable if it can be produced reliably within required tolerances using the intended process.

Examples: A polycarbonate enclosure that can be 3D printed is fabricatable by additive manufacturing; a sheet metal bracket with a tight bend radius might be fabricatable only with custom tooling. Conversely, features such as undercuts, unsupported overhangs, or wall thickness variations may render a design non-fabricatable for a given process unless redesigned. Designers assess fabricatability during early stages to avoid late changes and expensive tooling.

Related concepts include fabrication, design for manufacturability (DFM), design for assembly (DFA), and various fabrication processes such as CNC machining, injection molding, casting, and additive manufacturing.