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ric leczel's avatar

why is this so interesting?

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Bill Heath's avatar

Because since about 1960 we have been sending manufacturing jobs to other countries, with short slow-downs during Reagan and Trump. People don't know what manufacturing is. We have lost a lot of the high-skilled labor that made it worthwhile to pay a technician $200K/year with no college degree.

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HardeeHo's avatar

Hard to stay out of the weeds in arriving at this topic. Some are interested in how we can bring automation and robotics to bear in horribly dirty and hazardous stuff like refining rare earths. Not my area but I see a huge challenge to industry to solve those sorts of issues. It was fascinating to that Musk decided to cast auto body major parts. Forget all those welds. To do that required a huge upfront investment. See https://www.designnews.com/automotive-engineering/teslas-switch-giga-press-die-castings-model-3-eliminates-370-parts and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQfKZ5lo9dc.

For a nation that can afford considerable sums on video games that simply entertain, one wonders about where the next Musk's come from. I am barely aware of manufacturing engineering because I only did the prototype stuff through qualification testing. The steps to take a hand assembled piece of gear and create a production line was not in my work. I did see that often parts had to be redesigned in order to be able to rate produce, even in small lots.

I was stunned to learn that Apple under pressure agreed to assemble some stuff in Texas but had to import precision fasteners from China! No shops in Texas could produce those small screws, etc that Apple required. Maybe it was cost, but such gaps ought to be of concern to policy people.

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Bill Heath's avatar

Did you go to breadboard or brassboard?

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HardeeHo's avatar

Brassboard. But mostly hand soldered. Some stuff invoking chip-on-board assemblies was done on a limited line. Brassboards were subjected to full mil-qual testing even to cell explosion testing before we were allowed to use on aircraft. But we built and sold but four units. If they were to be rate manufactured, a redesign to simplify layouts would be likely and complete surface mount redone. Our shop would have farmed that out to a contract house. A re-qual would also be required.

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Apr 13, 2022Edited
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HardeeHo's avatar

Sorry you feel that way. He has made some important advancements that cannot be denied. This character assignation is of little import. He's not a personal friend but apparently a personal enemy to a few. Not sure why.

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Apr 13, 2022Edited
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Sharine Borslien's avatar

I can't even.🐀🛰🤣

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HardeeHo's avatar

I know. We get all kinds sometimes.

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Sharine Borslien's avatar

Actually, I am in alignment with Slandermen's perspectives on charlatans like Musk and others who peddle lies for profit and perpetuate the cycle of P→R→S.

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Apr 13, 2022Edited
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Bill Heath's avatar

Such as the Boring Company. Such as pivoting quickly from individual parts to casting. Such as being willing to pursue multiple projects simultaneously in search of the few that will benefit him and others.

Please specify the BS he peddles.

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Apr 13, 2022Edited
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Bill Heath's avatar

Sorry you feel that way.

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HardeeHo's avatar

Every industrialist uses and exploits resources. He might try to get at Lithium, the Chinese are likely there first. The Chinese have managed to pretty well corner cobalt using methods Americans are not allowed to do. And lithium is not particularly rare. He seemed determined to reduce the need for those metals in his battery research. He won't be the inventor but his people may become that.

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HardeeHo's avatar

Not sure you quite appreciate Space-X. Aside from building a rocket engine in record time, he has managed to outdo a moribund NASA. Now you might be inclined to believe as you wish as whether that was significant and his investment in building the company and getting outside funding was not significant, but I suspect you have never been involved with anything like it.

Musk isn't perfect and has leveraged whatever he could out of the taxpayer but has caused nearly every auto company to re-look at their business. And he certainly has taken advantage over a stock market gone nuts. I could only wish we had a few more like him.

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Apr 14, 2022
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Bill Heath's avatar

Second warning. Your opinion is not empirical data.

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Kathleen McCook's avatar

tool cart genius. Sofa same.

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