The World Before CAD 1: Ford's Willow Run plant builds the B-24 bomber

[Ace-Garageguy]

As America continues to outsource its manufacturing, as management folks claim it just can't be done here profitably, and as people become more and more convinced that it's impossible to make anything that doesn't rely on computers for its design and operation, it's interesting to take a look at what America was capable of in 1942. 

It was this capability that was responsible, in large part, for winning World War 2, and saving much of the rest of the world's bacon.

I really wonder if there's the will and the aptitude to do the same thing today, should it be necessary.

 

 

[Snake45]

Another fascinating WWII production story is that of the M1 Carbine. Over six million of these were made by something like a dozen different manufacturers, only ONE of which had any previous firearms manufacturing experience (Winchester). The makers included IBM, Quality Hardware, Rock-Ola (the jukebox people), and the Inland and Saginaw Steering Gear divisions of General Motors. In most cases all parts were completely interchangeable among the various makers, and often were due to various shortages at different times. The biggest producer was actually Inland Division of GM.

General Motors also produced the Grumman-designed TBF torpedo bomber and F4F Wildcat fighter (TBM and FM-1 and FM-2, respectively, when built by GM).

[Dave Van]

I think there are still PEOPLE that can build things......I see plenty of them on a much smaller scale in the people in the 1/1 car hobby and folks that supply them. There are still a lot of guys that can MAKE fantastic items. They are as a group getting older but there are a number of younger guys picking up their skills.  

Is the corp structure there today.....that's another story. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

I think there are still PEOPLE that can build things......I see plenty of them on a much smaller scale in the people in the 1/1 car hobby and folks that supply them. There are still a lot of guys that can MAKE fantastic items. They are as a group getting older but there are a number of younger guys picking up their skills.  

Is the corp structure there today.....that's another story. 

You're right. There are certainly individuals who can and do make things that work extremely well on a regular basis, and some of them frequent this very forum. The problem, as you allude, is that management, the "corporate structure", has been so successfully convinced as a whole that design has to be by overlarge-equal-opportunity (but not necessarily the most highly talented, skilled or motivated) committee and computer, and that manufacturing is best done overseas where we don't have to deal with the smelly bits, or pay living wages to workers with good manual skillsets. As a result, the future of America (and the developed Western world) as a global economic powerhouse looks pretty bleak.

When engineering giants like GM don't seem to be able to get something as simple as an ignition switch right (and pretend it's OK until they're sued silly) and VW feels it's necessary to simply lie about meeting emissions targets rather than actually doing so, you really have to wonder just what is going on.

EDIT: Nov 17, 2014... " This week, Delphi handed over thousands of documents relating to the ignition switch"

THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTS? FOR A FRIGGING IGNITION SWITCH?? So, how many billions of documents would it take to get a B-24 in the air today???

The actions of GM's lead engineer on the switch (and just how many engineers does it TAKE to design one frigging switch????) have been called "emblematic of a GM riddled with unchecked engineering processes and tangled bureaucracies that undermined vehicle safety (and) resulted in overly complex databases..."

And it's not just GM. It's everywhere.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Dave Van]

100% agree.....

[Harry Joy]

I'm sure the aircraft designers of World War II would have loved to have had CAD.

While thinking on that point, it occurred to me that the armorers of the Napoleonic Wars would have loved mechanical pencils and slide rules.

[redneckrigger]

Sure, CAD would have made the WWII designer's life easier, as long as it didn't bring with it the bureaucracy of the lousy management we have today overseeing those that USE CAD. Seems that those same WWII designers did pretty well with their sliderules............only took 102 days from order placement to first finished unit for the P51 Mustang. I'd LOVE to see today's corporations come out with a flying prototype 102 days after order. They would still be arguing over who gets the bigger office. 102 MONTHS maybe...........................

[Ace-Garageguy]

...only took 102 days from order placement to first finished unit for the P51 Mustang. I'd LOVE to see today's corporations come out with a flying prototype 102 days after order...

Hell...it'd take them that long to do the environmental impact studies on the kind of paper-clips they used on the project, and that long again to assemble a team that was ethnically diversified and gender-balanced.

[bismarck]

Hell...it'd take them that long to do the environmental impact studies on the kind of paper-clips they used on the project, and that long again to assemble a team that was ethnically diversified and gender-balanced.

Ain't that the truth!!!!  Ridiculous but completely true. We need to be careful about how things impact the environment , yes, but some of the NONSENSE they come up with is completely idiotic, and almost too cumbersome to effectively implement with by DESIGN. By the time all these different agencies are satisfied, the cost over runs on the impact studies have made the entire project too costly.

Edited January 27, 2016 by bismarck

[SfanGoch]

Those cost overruns are known as baksheesh in other locales and are how public servants who get paid $179K/yr end up with net worths in the seven to eight digit range after a couple of terms in office.