People have always been involved in the manufacturing of
goods. From ancient antiquity we have artifacts showing how people produced
weapons and tools from obsidian, bronze, iron and finally steel. These all had
to be made by someone who knew what they were doing. The individual producing
the good from the raw material i.e: an obsidian rock or a chunk of ore. The individual
making something from this material had to know what to do to produce what they
want. This is the earliest form of manufacturing. Taking the raw materials and
making them into something useful and subsequently valuable.
Past:
Medieval suits of armor where some of the best examples of
ancient manufacturing. These iron suits
forged in charcoal furnaces provide the
best evidence of what kind of technology was present (Williams, 1978). This shows how important
manufacturing is to society. We will use the best and most advanced technology
we have to produce something of value.
Present:
This ideology
is present today, we use the most cutting edge technology to produce the most valuable
goods. In an interview with Arne Boberg, the founder of Boberg arms, he gave a
tour of his factory where is producing his first examples of his new sidearm
which is innovative in it’s unique design. He comments on how design and insight
are important but were never taught to him. “In college they never taught me
how to do design, that’s a talent. You have to know how to design.” This is one
area in which a manufacturing engineer must use effective communication. The
engineer must show people how they can create something useful from the raw
materials. IN ancient times this was accomplished through the completion of the
product. This would be like a buyer inspecting a horseshoe and seeing it was
good quality. Now the product must be fully conceptualized and computer
rendered before a prototype could be attempted. The engineer must communicate
to his audience through prototypes and digital renders what he wants his
audience to know.
Williams, A. R. "On the Manufacture of Armor in Fifteenth-Century Italy, Illustrated by Six Helmets in the Metropolitan Museum of Art."Metropolitan Museum Journal 13 (1978): 131-42. Google Scholar. Web. 3 Dec. 2014. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1512716>.
I liked the comparison of the ancient people being able to actually hold the product whereas in modern times the first prototypes are largely conceptual. I imagine that would require an increased need for ethos and a positive reputation for today's manufacturers because they can't show the buyer their product in the same way as the ancients.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting perspective that I had not given much thought to previously. I had the opportunity to visit with an engineering consultant which is partially my field (consulting) and partially your field (engineering/manufacturing); He mentioned the same thing. The ability to communicate simply and effectively is essential in order to find success in both sides of the business. Logos is another massive part of the equation. If one is unable to logically explain the theory or idea than it is apparent that he either doesn't understand or the idea is not fully developed which means that there is more research and design to be done.
ReplyDeleteI was taking a CAD class for mechanical engineering and a lot of emphasis was placed on making nice sketches of whatever new idea we had. My blog post also talks about the influence of new technology on innovation.
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