What does a manufacturing engineer do?

The manufacturing engineer is the role that turns a drawing or model into a route the shop can run. That usually covers the choice of machine and workholding, the setups and operation sequence, the blank, the subcontracted steps and the inspection points, recorded in a process plan or setup sheet. Programming, scheduling and machining belong to other roles, although in smaller machine shops one person often combines the role with estimating or programming. The Dutch werkvoorbereider has no exact English equivalent; process planner and production engineer are also used.

How does a manufacturing engineer work in practice?

The route largely decides what the estimate calculates: which machine and so which hourly rate, how many setups and so how much setup time, which steps are subcontracted. For the same part several routes are often defensible, each at a different cost. If the quote prices a different route from the one later run, the actuals compare two different things and a variance is hard to explain. On new or unusual parts, cost engineer and manufacturing engineer therefore often agree the route before the quote goes out; on repeat work the route is usually settled already.

What is a manufacturing engineer often confused with?

A manufacturing engineer is not a CNC programmer: the engineer chooses route, machine and setups, the programmer writes the NC program within those choices. Nor a planner: the planner allocates orders to machines over time, the manufacturing engineer decides how one part is made. Nor a cost engineer, although it is often the same person: the cost engineer calculates what the chosen route costs.

How does a manufacturing engineer work with Blake?

In Blake you enter the setups per route yourself and accept or undo them. Your machines are recorded with envelope, axes and an hourly rate per machine, and a first check per machine on envelope and axes shows which limit decides. That check is not a manufacturability verdict. More on the factory.