Mass unemployment.

[petemcewan]

You're moving the goalposts here, the Baxter robot was given as an example to replace cheap and unskilled labour (in response to Alchresearch's post), not skilled manufacturing staff.

 

Goalposts again, I made it clear I wasn't talking about most applications. As I said, there are some structures you simply can't manufacture with any other method (ie, a hollow curved tube with triangular trussed core) in any cost effective way, unless they are 3D printed.

 

 

I have CNC lathes, VMC's and EDM's among other machines, I fully agree with you about conventional methods being superior for mass production in general. The point we were discussing was how 3D printing can make complex load bearing structures, in many cases better than any other method (especially in smaller scale objects).

 

Of course they have.

 

---------- Post added 09-02-2016 at 15:52 ----------

 

 

This is a self levelling cycle.

 

Good one-it made me laugh. The level is probably held in place by an "Invisible Hand" . One must ensure that the bubble has been accurately calibrated against a "standard" bubble. (LOL).

 

---------- Post added 09-02-2016 at 23:57 ----------

 

Good one-it made me laugh. The level is probably held in place by an "Invisible Hand" . One must ensure that the bubble has been accurately calibrated against a "standard" bubble. (LOL).

 

Rootboster,

 

Interesting note about CNC Machine Tools.

When I was an apprentice at English Steel in Openshaw ,Manchester. I worked on Hydrotel Vertical Milling Machines. As part of my apprenticeship I made the gauges for Keller Milling Machines. The Kellers milled the dies for the Drop Forging Hammers. Pretty clever machines designed by clever people- and operated by very skilled individuals.A period now long gone.

Edited February 10, 2016 by petemcewan

[RootsBooster]

Cheap unskilled labour does more complicated tasks that it seems.

Human body provides multiple sensory inputs that robots don't have.

Humans are flexible. Self learning. Able to make decisions. Even if that decision is - does that lettuce look good enough or should I sweep floor now. If it's that simple and cheap why wasn't it implemented at that scale. Because it is not. All tasks that could have been easily automated were.

World is quite random and robots are too stupid.

There are plenty of jobs that a robot can (and do) carry out on a daily basis, saving the company plenty of money. As these robots become cheaper and more user friendly (which is the reason I gave the Baxter as an example), more and more places are using them. Nobody, to my knowledge, has been talking about robots that can make decisions or judgements.

 

 

Yeah, do they have any application? Do we need them for anything?

Or are they just demonstration of technology that we could use if we knew what for?

Yes, they have applications, and we have needs for them that we didn't realise we had until the technology became more popular.

 

It's being put to good use in the medical industry among others. It's useful for rapid production of one-offs where there simply isn't time to wait for the usual lead times of orders, manufacturing and delivery (in this example, they printed the forming tools to make emergency spares for a Harrier). It's useful for remote locations where it may be otherwise impractical or impossible to install a full factory equipment set up.

Public and commercial transport is taking an interest in plastic 3D printing to easily replace trims, handles, seat parts, etc. which are damaged on a daily basis.

It has revolutionised research, design and development. Want to make an aerodynamic body for your new vehicle? Print it and stick it in the wind tunnel. The contours are all wrong? Print the next one off and try again!

 

Most of all (in my experience) it's allowing for stronger, lighter small structures and frames.

Airbus know this and are using it wherever they can to save on weight (and therefore fuel).

 

 

As far as I know 3d printing of airplane parts is being developed.

But has no application in real life.

Not a single load bearing 3d printed part made a single commercial flight.

And wont for a while.

You don't half wriggle, your original claim was that 3D printing is no good for complex shapes or load bearing parts, I've refuted this over several pages and shown clearly that this is exactly what 3D printing is good at.

You keep coming back with a new angle each time, ignoring posts that prove you wrong.

Nobody has claimed that 3D printed parts have gone into commercial use on planes yet (although it's planned for this year, GE have had the go ahead for some of their parts). The fact that they haven't yet proves nothing except that the aerospace industry is fully aware of safety risks involved in using new technologies and won't implement it until all testing is complete.

[nightrider]

You're only talking about factory jobs, There are plenty of other sectors- retail, services, entertainment, construction, tourism, transport, etc.

 

A lot of this will soon be automated though.

 

Driverless cars are not far away so we won't need taxi drivers or bus drivers in say 10-15 years.

 

A lot of service work like accountancy and conveyancing is mostly possible to automate, and i have read is starting to be done.

 

So I don't think its just factory jobs.

[alchresearch]

Driverless cars are not far away so we won't need taxi drivers or bus drivers in say 10-15 years.

 

Some of the buses in my area are ancient, usually picked up from the bigger companies as they get rid, I can't see the bus companies investing in driver-less buses unless it boosts their profits. How would a driverless bus deal with vandalism, safety of passengers, and collecting fares?

[petemcewan]

Rootboster,

 

 

I thought you would like the following,

 

"The skills that are required to operate conventional machines are really not needed on an NC machine and the experienced conventional machinists are too old and set in their ways with respect to speeds and feeds to be able to exploit all advantages available on NC machines. The young take to it like "a duck to water" and I believe this is because of their limited experience on conventional machines and also they do as they are told".

 

A CEO at an international conference."Electronic Illusions. Ian Reineck . A Penguin Original .p 189. ISBN 0 14 00 7103 2.

The young will inherit the earth.

[foxy lady]

Rootboster,

 

 

I thought you would like the following,

 

"The skills that are required to operate conventional machines are really not needed on an NC machine and the experienced conventional machinists are too old and set in their ways with respect to speeds and feeds to be able to exploit all advantages available on NC machines. The young take to it like "a duck to water" and I believe this is because of their limited experience on conventional machines and also they do as they are told".

 

A CEO at an international conference."Electronic Illusions. Ian Reineck . A Penguin Original .p 189. ISBN 0 14 00 7103 2.

The young will inherit the earth.

 

[RootsBooster]

Rootboster,

 

 

I thought you would like the following,

 

"The skills that are required to operate conventional machines are really not needed on an NC machine and the experienced conventional machinists are too old and set in their ways with respect to speeds and feeds to be able to exploit all advantages available on NC machines. The young take to it like "a duck to water" and I believe this is because of their limited experience on conventional machines and also they do as they are told".

 

A CEO at an international conference."Electronic Illusions. Ian Reineck . A Penguin Original .p 189. ISBN 0 14 00 7103 2.

The young will inherit the earth.

 

I would agree with most of that apart from the bit about the skills not being needed. The same laws of physics apply to all machines, whether they be manual, semi-CNC or full CNC, the vast majority of skills needed for older machinery is also required for newer machinery (along with many newer skills).

I've had people work for me who were stuck in their ways and just wouldn't (or couldn't) accept the concept of high speed machining, in the end I had to let them go.

[petemcewan]

I would agree with most of that apart from the bit about the skills not being needed. The same laws of physics apply to all machines, whether they be manual, semi-CNC or full CNC, the vast majority of skills needed for older machinery is also required for newer machinery (along with many newer skills).

I've had people work for me who were stuck in their ways and just wouldn't (or couldn't) accept the concept of high speed machining, in the end I had to let them go.

 

I agree with you.It's a pity that all that skill goes to waste . To watch a Keller die sinking is something to behold, I was 17 yrs old when -as part of my apprenticeship- I was a marker out and gauge fitter in the die shop at English Steel. I still have my Newnes Engineer's Reference Book (1946 Ed)-choc-a-block with tables for speeds and feed rates for millers and centre lathes . Anyway, this is a bit off topic so I'll leave it there.

NB, I was given the 1946 Ed when I was 16yrs old . I wasn't 16yrs old in 1946-just for clarity.

 

---------- Post added 11-02-2016 at 00:50 ----------

 

 

Ms FL,

 

Fab video -thanks. I get your point.

Edited February 11, 2016 by petemcewan