Omni-Fabrication Technology

With the technological advances of mass effect fields and microcomputers, manufacturing methods have achieved a significant leap, bypassing many of the traditional limitations and steps required to mass produce simple and complex items spanning from small household items and commercial vehicles.

Omni-Fabrication Technology is perhaps the largest leap within the fabrication industry, taking the 3-D printing of the early 21st century and replacing it with a faster and more efficient system that, in some instances, can even be used via omni-tools for repair.

## Description

### Fabrication on the Large Scale

Like 3-D printers, fabricators use a variety of solid and semi-liquid material components, heated to appropriate temperatures to become malleable and workable. Most commonly used is Omni-gel, a universal building block for metals, ceramics and polymers, which is reheated into the semi-molten state for the production process. For more complex mechanical items, multiple more ingredients are required. Commonly required is copper, nickel, cadmium, iron alloys, carbon fibers, and aluminium, while significantly more complex projects require elements as such as palladium, iridium, platinum, gold and element zero. These are all separated and contained in heated reservoirs, and to reheat large batches of these components during periods of unproductivity is considered to be highly expensive.

Each item requires a vectored template, listing the shapes, building order and finer details. Each crafted component is layered in a sealed vacuum, then suspended in a dedicated mass effect field, negating the need for physical support props. These and new aspects can be manipulated on an X, Y and Z plane freely, allowing for almost unlimited assembly. When a component is finalized, it is quenched with supercooled noble gases and added to the larger project. When finalized, the object is removed out of the sealed vacuum, passing through an additional mass effect barrier that seals the vacuum, and conveyored to wherever the item will be stored.

### Fabrication in Omni-tools

The process is far more limited and scaled down for the mini-fabricators found in Omni-tools and highly specialized weapons. Omni-tool mini-fabricators typically only work with Omni-gel and military grade silicon polymers, designed for hasty field repairs for up to less than half a liter of dispersal. Typical functions for repair include flexi-glass, combat hardsuits, weapons, and most small-scale machinery, using salvaged components or internal resources accordingly. Additionally, most if not all constructs need to be manifested externally, surrounded by mass effect fields to protect the user from the sheer heat or business end of the manufactured weapon. Weaponized fabrication can extend to relatively simple but bulky ballistic blades and flash forged silicon carbide Omni-blades, each requiring a high amount of semi-molten energy and material, all the way up to guided explosives and drones. While the physical constructs can be recycled back into their constituent components, the energy loss from fabrication and reclamation means that such constructs should be used sparingly like other more overtly power draining technical abilities.

## Different Needs for Different Species

### Humanity

The modern industry of humanity has advanced accordingly. While fabricators were initially crude, each superseded model has eventually put the Systems Alliance as a rising star in manufacturing. The only dominance so far is the use of fabricators for the entertainment industry, where the human market dominates pop culture collectibles such as figures and trading cards for almost every culture.

### Asari

Asari fabrication reflects the artisanal and biotic nature of its people. While mundane items are mostly imported, asari are the only purveyors of biotic manufacturing, using a small group of asari to mould and shape art, building features and furniture with minimal assistance from technology. These fetch a considerable price on the intergalactic market, with famous matriarchs using their refined biotic control to produce priceless collections over the centuries. A soft quota has been placed by several Asari guilds, as to focus on quality over quantity.

### Turian

Turian fabrication tends to feature the most ingenious use of metals and architecture, an aspect of their metallic cities and homesteads. Civil engineering and military fortifications are the forte of turians, and their fabrication methods are intermingled with ancient and modern blacksmithing techniques.

### Salarians

The salarians keep much of their fabrication on their colonies as not to reveal their secrets. For the most part, their focus is on sustainable material usage, especially that which has minimal impact on the natural environment. Salarians import much of the scarcer materials required for their production needs, and all materials are used as efficiently as possible.

### Krogan

The krogan tend to rely less on microscopic fabrication methods, and tend to use more traditional construction methods, or stick closer to simple, robust designs. Complicated projects are usually limited to weapons, armor, ammunition and vehicles, with small objects chiefly using Omni-tool mini-fabricators over industrial versions. The CDEM also severely limits their access to resources needed for large-scale manufacturing projects.

### Hanar

The hanar’s aquatic existence has pushed their focus to durability to harsh conditions. Whether it be the saline sea spray of their ocean world, or the high pressure environments of their life domes, Hanar fabrication features a focus on more expensive materials to compensate for more exotic planets.

### Quarian

Quarian fabrication is relatively simple and low scale, but of note is the quarian emphasis on recycling and salvage. Their fabricators often feature high energy efficiency, using flash forging of each ingredient when necessary. Often, one ship in a dozen will be responsible for fabrication, and these ships are worked almost constantly to supply the larger fleet.

### Batarian

Batarian manufacturing is highly variable, ranging from the high quality for their industry and Hegemony to the garage operations of slaves, slavers and pirates. Government production often serves the hegemony and any profits it can garner, while civilian usage reflects the planetary needs for survival.