The effects of restrictions on shipping in the Red Sea and Panama Canal are being felt around the world. Global trade is under immense strain amid rising freight costs.
The more you work with cars (or me specifically: motorcycles), the more you understand they are quite simple. The extra stuff added on top is usually just touted as an “incredible advancement”, but really amounts to decades of strong marketing. In many ways, simple ingenious solutions these days are axed and replaced with even simpler mechanics and engineered electronics, just because the manufacturer can get away with it and hide it, for some extra money.
That does look like an interesting read, but reading the abstract, he goes a bit fanatical, in that he tries to smelt the metal himself. The metal industry (and plastic) is alive and well in Europe, you can buy prepared metal, wires, microchips, buttons and other needed materials easily, down to plastic beads you can put in a mold (or more likely, just 3d print these days), given these, I don’t see having a problem building a functional, albeit less aesthetically refined toaster in 2 days.
you can buy prepared metal, wires, microchips, buttons and other needed materials easily, down to plastic beads you can put in a mold (or more likely, just 3d print these days),
Do you think those appear out of thin air? Because that was my whole damn point. Those prepared items come from other parts of the world. You can’t manufacture all of them in Europe and if you tried, it would take a hell of a lot more than five years and drive prices up ridiculously.
I’m not sure why you think I’m talking about final assembly when I’ve made it clear multiple times that I’m talking about all the steps before final assembly, many of which require global shipping.
Just because the cheapest come from somewhere beyond the sea, doesn’t mean there aren’t local equivalents. I just bought missing motorcycle parts that are manufactured in Poland, and I do prefer German, Polish manufacture, because it’s inherently more reliable and doesn’t have the added guess-work for Chinese manufacturing. And yes, Europe does manufacture microchips, buttons, wires, and other components that (among many things) make new nuclear plants work.
I can agree that some materials are only available in specific regions, and so global-ish shipping would never die (and doesn’t need to), but over-reliance is a long time debt that should go away.
People also do this all the time for one-off, functional prototype/exhibition items. Of course it’s expensive to manufacture one due to the handmade nature and research time, but once you make one, you can refine the process, and/or build the mass-manufacture molds.
The more you work with cars (or me specifically: motorcycles), the more you understand they are quite simple. The extra stuff added on top is usually just touted as an “incredible advancement”, but really amounts to decades of strong marketing. In many ways, simple ingenious solutions these days are axed and replaced with even simpler mechanics and engineered electronics, just because the manufacturer can get away with it and hide it, for some extra money.
You’re really missing my point here.
I am not missing it, I am saying, from my perspective, this idea of it being so complex it can only be manufactured somewhere in China, is wrong.
Hell, my engineer friends, given material, and their tools, could do it in 2 days by reading blueprints and latheing from scratch.
That was not my claim. So yes you are.
So what couldn’t I manufacture in a fully equipped metal shop? Given materials.
So many things you could not imagine.
This isn’t conceptual. A book was written by a man who tried to make a toaster from the very base components. It was in no way easy.
https://www.amazon.com/Toaster-Project-Attempt-Electric-Appliance/dp/B00ANYWFP6
Also, I am not going to talk to you in two different comment chains, so pick one.
That does look like an interesting read, but reading the abstract, he goes a bit fanatical, in that he tries to smelt the metal himself. The metal industry (and plastic) is alive and well in Europe, you can buy prepared metal, wires, microchips, buttons and other needed materials easily, down to plastic beads you can put in a mold (or more likely, just 3d print these days), given these, I don’t see having a problem building a functional, albeit less aesthetically refined toaster in 2 days.
Do you think those appear out of thin air? Because that was my whole damn point. Those prepared items come from other parts of the world. You can’t manufacture all of them in Europe and if you tried, it would take a hell of a lot more than five years and drive prices up ridiculously.
I’m not sure why you think I’m talking about final assembly when I’ve made it clear multiple times that I’m talking about all the steps before final assembly, many of which require global shipping.
Just because the cheapest come from somewhere beyond the sea, doesn’t mean there aren’t local equivalents. I just bought missing motorcycle parts that are manufactured in Poland, and I do prefer German, Polish manufacture, because it’s inherently more reliable and doesn’t have the added guess-work for Chinese manufacturing. And yes, Europe does manufacture microchips, buttons, wires, and other components that (among many things) make new nuclear plants work.
I can agree that some materials are only available in specific regions, and so global-ish shipping would never die (and doesn’t need to), but over-reliance is a long time debt that should go away.
People also do this all the time for one-off, functional prototype/exhibition items. Of course it’s expensive to manufacture one due to the handmade nature and research time, but once you make one, you can refine the process, and/or build the mass-manufacture molds.