Interesting article about Chinese ball bearing production

[cnctoolcat]

"Shifting"? 1982...Honda Accord....Marysville, Ohio. World had already been shifting for a decade in certain markets but if anyone in auto manufacturing was in denial the Accord should have been a real kick in the nutz.

How about 1973? Yamazaki Mazak in Florence, Kentucky. just across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio, headquarters of Cincinnati Milacron --- the largest CNC machine tool builder in the world at the time.

The rest is history...or so they say.

The history of Honda and Mazak are similar in that both were always somewhat rebel companies in Japan, not necessarily bound by the traditional Japanese alliance of companies know as a "keiretsu". Both companies were harshly criticized at the time by Japanese industry and society alike. Their actions of building plants in America in the 1970's was simply unfathomable in Japan at the time.

Honda's first production facility in Marysville was built in 1979, for motorcycle production.

Mazak and Honda have always been forward-thinking companies (rare in conservative Japan), and knew what the future held for globalization, and building products in the market where they are sold.

ToolCat

 

[Terry Keeley]

Wonder if the writer of the Globe article ever saw these?

 

[EmGo]

Wonder if the writer of the Globe article ever saw these?

Special run for the first Honda cars (I think they were a S600 ?) Special duty, very hard to get now.

Chain drive.

You could put one into a Dodge van, just drive it in

 

[Terry Keeley]

Special run for the first Honda cars (I think they were a S600 ?) Special duty, very hard to get now.

Chain drive.

You could put one into a Dodge van, just drive it in

I don't think this guy would fit!

 

[neilho]

.... You bring ZERO to the table and i want to see you off this site permanently.

How many posts vs 8K? Kudos for aspiring to bat above your average, but it ain't happened yet.

Trying for world domination, are ya?

 

[rmckane2]

..+mmm mmm mmm+.mmm.o mmm. .. .mmmnvm mmmn m.9mf8.vpsh9u.b NJ ju.t5 tri 988mw

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[TeachMePlease]

..+mmm mmm mmm+.mmm.o mmm. .. .mmmnvm mmmn m.9mf8.vpsh9u.b NJ ju.t5 tri 988mw

Sent from my LM-V450 using Tapatalk

Sounds like someone's having a better Saturday than I am...

 

[rmckane2]

Teach me please! There can be worse things than mowing, your field listening to Spotify, and be blissfully butt texting on a Saturday afternoon. Hope yours is pleasant also. Russ

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[EmGo]

Sounds like someone's having a better Saturday than I am...

 

[Oldwrench]

For the very most items, yes, past tense.
But!
There are still a few left here in this state that is surviving off of the orders that require the supply and sorting of balls in 1 millionth increments.
IOW, Your matched set of 4 Ultra Precision bearing may have 97% of it's balls come from China, but it is that remaining 3% that makes it "Ultra Precision".

Yupp, reliable flashing, grinding and lapping of carefully selected source material, which is then accurately sorted in 1 mil increments.
From an outsider looking at the process, it is insanely crude, dirty, unsophisticated and grungy.
But, it also completely misses the incredible details behind the scenes, which were acquired over many, many decades in this state.

Well, I certainly appreciate the difference that hand selection makes. However, the vast bulk of bearing applications involves large-scale production, and that no longer employs anybody in those 120-year-old buildings. At least not making bearings. Maybe they retrained and are dealing blackjack at Foxwoods?

 

[Oldwrench]

...China is now in decade three of their rise (which began around 2000), and their are no signs (in America at least) of prominent Chinese brand names for manufactured products...China is still essentially just a big subcontractor...and that’s probably all they will ever be to the rest of the world.

Not a bad strategy, making stuff private-label—or simply with no trademark or origin ID at all. When the Japanese were stamping shoe-polish containers, etc, from salvaged beer cans after WW2 it was referred to as "putting their pride in their pocket." Whatever pays the bills. You can be well-regarded and still starve.

 

[standardparts]

Not a bad strategy, making stuff private-label—or simply with no trademark or origin ID at all. When the Japanese were stamping shoe-polish containers, etc, from salvaged beer cans after WW2 it was referred to as "putting their pride in their pocket." Whatever pays the bills. You can be well-regarded and still starve.

"no trademark or origin ID" Oh yeah that little detail "traceability".

Of course you can always trust a second party/importer to resist the temptation to label the product as something it is not.

Bearings, nuts, bolts, fasteners...save some bucks and then "something" happens. Ka-Ching..gets real expensive.........

 

[Oldwrench]

Oh boy we got the night shift EG

That meme comes to mind of the fat naked guy typing in the dark—you've probably seen it. The obvious inference is that he's in a chat room with pubescent girls, but it's just as easy to imagine he's typing his bile at machinists/businessmen/imperialist running dogs and their lackeys while working toward ten thousand posts. Sorry, comrade Goldstein, but given your anonymity we have nothing else to go on—and that picture just seems to fit your image so perfectly. You're That Guy.

 

[Oldwrench]

"no trademark or origin ID" Oh yeah that little detail "traceability".

The auto industry years ago engineered an exemption for bearings, presumably not wanting to reveal where they came from. It could've been fear of being associated in the commercial marketplace with the Chicoms (think Nike/slave labor, etc) but more likely they wanted to conceal their sources of good products at insanely cheap prices. I can identify with that.

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

This was in my YT feed last night, take note of where the Harbor Freight (Doyle) cutters ranked in testing, including to destruction.
US vs German Pliers (WIRE CUTTERS)? Knipex vs Snap On, Irwin, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Craftsman, Wiha - YouTube

 

[Milland]

This was in my YT feed last night, take note of where the Harbor Freight (Doyle) cutters ranked in testing, including to destruction.
US vs German Pliers (WIRE CUTTERS)? Knipex vs Snap On, Irwin, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Craftsman, Wiha - YouTube

I watched that yesterday also, he does a pretty good job of usefully testing the tools he reviews. I also noted the Doyle's performance, but would expect more variability of the actual tool in hand than from a company like Channellock.

Maybe that's just prejudice showing through, as an American Capitalist Running Pig Dog.

Woof!

 

[EmGo]

an American Capitalist Running Pig Dog.

I think it's actually cow year ?