Excel your spreadsheet.

The Excel spreadsheet contains all the formulas you’ll encounter during your work at Fabrique Invent. It’s the perfect introduction. It lays the foundation for much of your work at our agency. Many designs created at Fabrique Invent are tested using the Excel spreadsheet. In the initial stages, our designs are run through the spreadsheet several times. This way, we know early on in the process what something can handle and can set limits. Once something is in production, it must be reliable, so calculations must be performed beforehand. Hence Theo’s famous quote: “First, do the math.”

So, the new Fabriquers do their first calculations in their first week. By delving into the forces and constantly asking yourself: what’s going on here? What’s the interplay of forces? Thanks to this cocktail of delving into constructions, the formulas, and hints and tips from Niels and Mike, you’ll find answers to the questions you ask yourself. These answers shape your spreadsheet, tailored to your specific needs. That’s why everyone has their own spreadsheet; you learn and make it your own. This is very important in our office, especially in the beginning.

When your spreadsheet is almost finished, we conduct the “test your spreadsheet” exercise. Testing your spreadsheet is crucial; after all, you only know if it works and is correct after testing it. For the exercise, Niels selects an aluminum extrusion profile from the shed and asks you to guess the weight of the person standing on the profile based on its deflection. After taking the necessary measurements, you delve into your spreadsheet and find the answer. You’ll immediately see if your design works for you and if the formulas are entered correctly. You often adjust things immediately afterwards to increase ease of use for yourself.

The Excel spreadsheet provides designers with a tool to maximize their designs. That’s what Fabrique Invent strives for. It empowers everyone who works here to create reliable, innovative, and highly functional products for our customers.

Want to know more? Feel free to contact us.

This blog post was written by Willemijn van Paassen. Willemijn is a Junior Technical Draftsman at Fabrique, in addition to her Industrial Product Design studies.