On Mon, 22 Sep 2014 09:52:19 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

"robobass" wrote in message
...

The question still stands. When do companies design stuff to be
overly

complex. What's the real end goal?

It's often not intentional, just a mindset. I used to design motorized
displays for a toy company. The bases would show the kinetic aspects
of the toys. I would get a proposed design from their engineers, and
come in the next day with revisions that would sometimes halve the
cost with no loss of performance or reliability. I had no real motive
to save them money, I just like simplicity and abhor waste. Most of my
suggestions would be shot down just because they were perceived as
cutting corners.

===================

I was asked to simplify the circuit for a custom IC, and did it so
well the engineer was embarrassed and upset he hadn't thought of my
solution, which he couldn't understand at first so I had to build it
for proof. I reduced the complexity of two of their other persistent
problems by half by substituting simple but subtle mechanics for
complex electronics and probably earned more resentment than gratitude
for it, though they did move me from lab tech to design engineer.

Kudos.


The electronic and mechanical engineers at that and several other
places I've worked knew little of each others' discipline and didn't
cooperate very well when it meant subordinating themselves to each
other instead of being in charge. I'm fairly competent at both so
often they dumped the problem on me, and I had to be very diplomatic
to stay on everyones' good side, or at least not be the person they
hated most.

That's cool. I envy your vast knowledge/experience base. (I only made
it to half vast.) Had I wanted to go to college, I likely would have
taken both electrical and mechanical engineering courses. My parents
offered to pay the price. But I was too fed up with people, being a
hermit by nature. I chose auto mechanic tech school over college, as
machines don't talk back.

--
The more you know, the less you need.
-- Aboriginal Saying