On Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:46:39 -0400, the renowned "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:45:50 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm, "Ed
Huntress" quickly quoth:


"Spehro Pefhany" wrote in message
...

So, what did the cartoon show?

A lathe operator turning a piece of stock around 12" diameter down to
maybe
3" diameter, over an 8" length. Then he held the part up with pride. g

That's an expensive practice, wot? It's amazing that the USSR was
unionized, though. That sounds like union practices.

That's "planned economy" practices. They never got it right. Some planning,
eh? g


It might be justified in some cases -- for example to create a
thermowell (a long closed-end tube with a wide flange at the opposite
end) without welds for some critical application.

Recently I was shown a ~40lb aerospace part that started off weighting
more than 20 times as much. Believe it or not, it made sense to do it
that way, given the constraints.

Remember the laughter when vacuum tubes were discovered in analyzing a
stolen Soviet fighter jet-- then they figured out why (survival of
communications electronics from the EMP of nuclear explosion). As
we've found out from using their ICBMs to launch satellites (pinpoint
accuracy), their aerospace technology was very, very good for the
time, but their commercial stuff was generally lousy-- degrading
perfectly good raw materials into garbage that nobody who had a choice
wanted.

US export regulations are forcing a sharper dividing line these days
for dual-use technology, with the potential of pushing things in the
direction the Soviets went. Given the choice between a cheaper,
proven, 'good enough' US product than can only be used in a few places
worldwide and a more expensive, rather better European product that
can be sent anywhere on the globe (where it really needs to go)..
dealing with the F**nch starts to look like a somewhat less
unattractive proposition. 8-(


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
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