Is there an American style of engineering/manufacturing?

[neilho]

I used to hang out with a bunch of engineers of various stripes who worked for beltway contractors taking NASA shuttle work.

I commented that US gear was sort of fancy end easy to break vs Soviet Aerospace which had a more simple robust approach.

Not well received I can tell you.
This was before the two space shuttle loses..

My nephew's partner was one of those engineers, working on the main liquid oxygen tank. Their motto at the time was "Failure is not an option." I pointed out, jokingly, that it was pretty much a certainty, also not well received.

 

[pavt]

I am interested in how German, Japanese, Chinese, and American products seems to have a different feel and focus. I am curious what you think.
I would say...
Old school American is always over built.
German seems to be precise and complicated.
Japanese seems to be just right and well balanced.
Chinese maybe "quantity has a quality all its own" or error towards the cheaper.

I tend to prefer American and Japanese

I think old-school American was the best. New school American doesn't exist. IMHO the US doesn't have a distinctive style any more, maybe because they don't have very much manufacturing any more. Wall St took over the country.
My preferences are old-school American first, with German and Swiss tied for 2nd place.
My tooling reflects this and its a combination that works well, both in my day job and my home shop. But do NOT let anyone borrow them....

 

[EmGo]

Robodrill is a wonder of machine design for minimalistic ideas. Turret design is superb driven by the main spindle - no additional motor or switches etc. Was the original machine design sold to Fanuc - wasn't it a USA machine by memory?

I think Burgmaster ...

Washington Decoded: When Burgmaster Lost Its Edge

The Rise of Burgmaster Corp. Was a Typically American Saga -- and Unfortunately, So Was Its Fall - Los Angeles Times

both worth reading ....

 

[EmGo]

It underscores my loathing of bad management, and makes me further despise vulture capitalist companies!

Ja, but apparently there's nothing we can do about it. They crash the entire world through blatant dishonesty and walk away with government money so they won't have to miss a bonus ... and no heads rolled, no names taken, apparently no one cared. What can you say ? Finance is today's aristocracy, nothing touches them.

Ref the Robodrill - no, I was thinking Pratt and Whitney.

I think you're right, P&W sold their Burgmaster-copy to Japan and that became the Robodrill. But it was a copy of the Burgmaster, so still relevant.

Iirc the Burgmaster version was called "Econocenter" and never got too popular. Saw a pretty one on craigslist a while ago for $5,000. But as noted, quality and reputation of Burgmaster was in the toilet by then, so ... to every thing, turn turn turn ...

 

[pavt]

I had it drummed into me design must be a compromise - performance V cost V weight V serviceability etc.
Seems cost is THE driving factor nowadays.

Very good thread.

You too? yeah I know about design compromises. Cost is the driving factor nowadays because our entire economy (and country) is owned and operated by people who know the cost of everything, and the value of nothing. FWIW they also own and operate our politicians like the little whores that they are.

 

[EmGo]

FWIW they also own and operate our politicians like the little whores that they are.

Hey ! it's not nice to insult whores like that !

 

[Peter from Holland]

Most american machinery(and cars) was considered crappy over here
Partly because of being imperial mostly Partly because of the crap imported by the Marshall plan "help" we got

Peter

 

[pavt]

Most american machinery(and cars) was considered crappy over here
Partly because of being imperial mostly Partly because of the crap imported by the Marshall plan "help" we got

Peter

You know, it's funny because many Americans felt (and still feel) that same way about Asian and European imports to the US.
The most recent example that I can think of is a certain Italian diesel engine being sold through Mopar auto dealerships. It's costing them a lot of money as they seize up solid before any lifespan.

 

[Peter from Holland]

You know, it's funny because many Americans felt (and still feel) that same way about Asian and European imports to the US.
The most recent example that I can think of is a certain Italian diesel engine being sold through Mopar auto dealerships. It's costing them a lot of money as they seize up solid before any lifespan.

Many Italian cars are concidered crappy in Europe too

 

[Scottl]

Part of the reason old school USA stuff was overbuilt was a lack of precision in calculation. We were still using slide rules when I started engineering school although calculators were just starting to be available. I paid $150 for a Texas Instruments SR10 in a university bookstore.

We were taught to include extra safety margins due to not only calculation uncertainty but also the possibility that some batches of material might be on the low side of specs.

 

[Scottl]

Many Italian cars are concidered crappy in Europe too

FIAT - "Fix It Again Tony". I knew a guy in high school who had a 124 Spider and the plastic inside door handles broke so often he always carried spares in the glove box.