Don't Buy AI, Learn It: A Fabricator's Guide to Getting Started, Part 2

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

In Part 1, I covered common challenges encountered on a PCB shop floor, the missteps companies make when attempting to implement AI, and best practices to start that journey with a significantly higher likelihood of success. I identified six areas where AI’s strength in aggregating data can make the shop floor run more smoothly, create better process documentation across departments and between shifts, and even help capture tribal knowledge. I also provided four prompts for you to experiment with in those areas, following a CRIT (context, role, interview, task) structure.

Hopefully, you’re already more adept at using AI. Now, how do these new skills translate to your job and your organization?

What Does This Mean for the Whole Company?

If your people learn to use AI well, three things begin to happen: First, communication gets stronger, customer questions get answered more clearly, internal summaries improve, and handoffs tighten up. Second, knowledge starts to move. A veteran engineer's rough explanation can become a cleaner draft. A quality manager's investigation structure can become teachable. Third, you begin building a capability that is hard to copy.

The practical payoff is better communication, cleaner first drafts, and faster comparisons, which reduce friction around quoting, handoffs, supplier communication, and investigations, which is usually where the first return shows up.

What Should I Do Now?

If you are wondering where to start, keep it simple. Pick one real task (not a demo) that already happens in your role every week. This could include document cleanup, comparison work, draft writing, handoffs, and investigation structure.

Then run this short checklist:

• Choose a low-risk task with visible value
• Give the AI enough context to understand your situation
• Tell it what role to play
• Ask it to interview you before answering
• Ask for a specific output
• Review the result carefully
• Edit it like a professional
• Save the prompt if it was useful

To continue reading this article, which appeared in the June 2026 issue of I-Connect007 Magazine, click here.