Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > sci.physics > #529849

Re: A wrenching problem

Show all headers | View raw

On 11/1/2015 10:21 AM, benj wrote:
> On 11/01/2015 08:29 AM, dvus wrote:
>> On 10/31/2015 3:04 PM, Fabian Russell wrote:
>>> On Sat, 31 Oct 2015 13:35:39 -0400, benj wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Those particular ratcheting wrenches are stamped cheapo crap with very
>>>> large ends that won't fit tight spaces (the spaces around nuts and
>>>> bolts
>>>> are always tight due to Murphy's Law). There are better ones.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Better?  Well, let's just say that there are a variety of wrenches
>>> available to suit a variety of access situations.  The average mechanic,
>>> therefore, must invest a fortune in different tool sets to cover all,
>>> or most, possibilities -- if he can afford it.
>>>
>>> Furthermore, Murphy's law is not the culprit.  The reason for most
>>> difficult access situations is POOR DESIGN.  Most goods are not made
>>> to be repaired.  They are made to be discarded after a certain time
>>> period  and thus no thought whatsoever is usually given to providing
>>> a convenient access.
>>>
>>> I had to replace the oil pan on my vehicle.  The whole fscking engine
>>> had to be removed, at great expense, to obtain access to a $50 part.
>>> The same for spark plugs.  The same for fuel pumps.  Etc., etc.
>>> To change out a simple starter on my vehicle, I once had to piece
>>> together
>>> a chain of several socket extensions, including TWO universal joints,
>>> totaling about three feet in length so as to thread through a labyrinth
>>> of obstructions in order to reach the two bolts that held the goddamned
>>> thing.  When I walked into the auto parts emporium to get a replacement
>>> the clerk began to heartily laugh: "I'll bet you had a time gettin' this
>>> off!"
>>
>> I once worked on a Caddy that required lifting the engine several inches
>> off its mounts to change the damn spark plugs. If that isn't the
>> pinnacle of poor design I don't know what is.
>>
>>> Once, after measuring a low voltage output, I realized that I needed
>>> to replace the alternator on my auto.  A look around revealed the faulty
>>> original sitting beautifully in an unobstructed location.  I was
>>> overjoyed.
>>> After quickly removing two bolts I began to pull but the thing wouldn't
>>> budge. Looking more closely I discovered a third bolt completely buried
>>> in a deep ravine of steel forgings and casts.  It required many hours of
>>> frustration to finally free the part.
>>
>> Been there, many times.
>>
>>> A military fighter jet is designed for continuous maintenance and
>>> the design engineers give great attention to including convenient
>>> access as part of the overall design.  But the same is not true for
>>> the flood of other goods on the consumer and professional market.
>>>
>>> Good design costs $$$ and will not make it in the competitive world
>>> of trash goods that we know and enjoy.  As a consequence, the repairman
>>> always has the frustrating job of playing nimble contortionist
>>
>> Very true, but a car designed for easy repair would cost so much very
>> few would buy it. Who's at fault, the designers or the consumer?
>
> Everyone says this and I don't buy it! What an easy repair car would
> require is some THINKING on the part of the designers and producers.
> That is the problem.

All that thinking costs money. I'd love it if all mechanical devices 
were designed to be easy to repair but manufacturers just don't care to 
spend the money to make it so. There are certain repairs (on cars 
especially) that are nigh unto impossible with a standard set of tools, 
which just goes to show designers aren't interested in making things 
easier to repair.

> It's the SAME problem you see in computer programs. Programmers simply
> following the unthinking route of least resistance rather than first
> asking just HOW is someone going to actually USE this program. All
> manner of hilarity then ensues.

I suppose that depends on the type of program. I designed software to 
run elevators and I can assure you that how the equipment was going to 
be used was always taken into account given the liability that could 
arise from not doing so. I'm sure no lives were in jeopardy if a word 
processor were written sloppily so I suppose you're right in many instances.

-- 
dvus

Back to sci.physics | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

A wrenching problem Sam Wormley <swormley1@gmail.com> - 2015-10-30 21:43 -0500
  Re: A wrenching problem Fabian Russell <root@localhost.localdomain> - 2015-10-31 02:56 +0000
    Re: A wrenching problem xxein1@att.net - 2015-10-31 10:06 -0700
    Re: A wrenching problem benj <none@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 13:35 -0400
      Re: A wrenching problem Fabian Russell <root@localhost.localdomain> - 2015-10-31 18:06 +0000
        Re: A wrenching problem jimp@specsol.spam.sux.com - 2015-10-31 19:03 +0000
          Re: A wrenching problem Fabian Russell <root@localhost.localdomain> - 2015-10-31 19:33 +0000
            Re: A wrenching problem jimp@specsol.spam.sux.com - 2015-10-31 19:50 +0000
          Re: A wrenching problem benj <none@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 17:07 -0400
            Re: A wrenching problem Fabian Russell <root@localhost.localdomain> - 2015-10-31 22:22 +0000
              Re: A wrenching problem benj <none@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 23:12 -0400
                Re: A wrenching problem Fabian Russell <root@localhost.localdomain> - 2015-11-01 04:04 +0000
                Re: A wrenching problem "Ross A. Finlayson" <ross.finlayson@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 21:29 -0700
                Re: A wrenching problem Fabian Russell <root@localhost.localdomain> - 2015-11-01 06:28 +0000
                Re: A wrenching problem olli.dp3@gmail.com - 2015-10-31 23:09 -0700
                Re: A wrenching problem benj <none@gmail.com> - 2015-11-01 10:49 -0500
      Re: A wrenching problem Fabian Russell <root@localhost.localdomain> - 2015-10-31 18:26 +0000
        Re: A wrenching problem benj <none@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 16:56 -0400
          Re: A wrenching problem Fabian Russell <root@localhost.localdomain> - 2015-10-31 21:25 +0000
          Re: A wrenching problem Fabian Russell <root@localhost.localdomain> - 2015-10-31 21:33 +0000
            Re: A wrenching problem benj <none@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 22:56 -0400
      Re: A wrenching problem Fabian Russell <root@localhost.localdomain> - 2015-10-31 19:04 +0000
        Re: A wrenching problem benj <none@gmail.com> - 2015-10-31 17:25 -0400
        Re: A wrenching problem dvus <dven1@adelphia.net> - 2015-11-01 08:29 -0500
          Re: A wrenching problem benj <none@gmail.com> - 2015-11-01 10:21 -0500
            Re: A wrenching problem dvus <dven1@adelphia.net> - 2015-11-01 22:43 -0500
          Re: A wrenching problem R Kym Horsell <kym@kymhorsell.com> - 2015-11-01 18:48 +0000
      Re: A wrenching problem Fabian Russell <root@localhost.localdomain> - 2015-10-31 20:13 +0000

csiph-web