To Change Or Not To Change

You've probably come across phrases like "we've always done things this way" or "if it ain't broke, dont fix it".

You've probably also come across people making changes to reflect their personality and then whoever replaces them makes a whole load more changes to put their stamp on things. Quite often these changes are not left in place for long enough to be properly accessed and so their true merit is never understood.

Often in a commercial environment there isn't the time or budget for making change or experimentation, hence the "we've always done things this way" attitude tends to win through.

Personally I agree with not fixing things that are not broken and over the years I have adopted a merits based approach to my decision making. As an engineer I am fascinated by how the early iron works like SS Great Britten and Ironbridge carried over traditional woodworking joints and techniques.

How many people are familiar with the techniques shown in this video?

I 1st watched this episode as an experienced engineer having not long started my own business manufacturing machined components. I was in my early 20's and knew that most of what I was doing could be traced back as least as far as WW2, but this show shocked me as to how far back my skills could trace their roots.

All that's really changed in this time is that the quality of the cutting materials has increased allowing higher feeds,speeds and stock removal rates. Many of the traditional manual process's are now automated by computer control, but in terms of the principles of operation, they haven't really changed.

Most of what we take for granted today has reached this point by a process of evolution, tweak by tweak. However one change sometimes opens up the opportunity to make many more changes. For example CNC machines have the capacity to cut in multiple axis simultaneously. In terms of component design, this opened up many new windows for designers and triggered a revolution in product design from the 1970's onwards.

Many mass produced components can now be designed to maximize the strength to weight ratio's , where in the past they were limited to the straight machining capacity of the capstan lathe. Many molded components can now be taken to market more cost effectively due to improvements in multi axis milling, they can do in hours what a skilled mold-maker would have taken months to achieve working by hand.

Is their a downside?

Many would say no, but having been privileged to have caught the tail end of the traditional toolmaking before the truly skilled people retired, I would disagree. Most of the old guys I worked with knew the game was over and no longer felt the need to guard their hard earned trade secrets. I was lucky enough to have a huge amount of skills and knowledge handed down to me. Given the long lead times and the huge amount of work that went into their craft, this really taught me the benefit of thinking things through before making any decisions.

In modern day manufacturing the trend is to run operations leaner than ever. This puts a greater premium on simulating the likely outcome before committing any resources. Experience can be a mixed blessing as it brings knowledge on the one hand but can also result in fixed thinking and a reluctance to venture beyond the box.

Ideally it could be said that the best of both would be great, but how many forward thinking millennial engineers are they with traditional knowledge and skills?