Before I get into today’s topic, it has occurred to me that as more and more people are contacted via these letters, the newer recipients do not have the earlier letters with which to refer. As these letters sort of build one upon the other, and as topics sometimes cover more than one letter, this can leave a person sort of hanging there… wondering what is (or has been) going on.
So, to remedy that shortcoming, I have decided to number these letters. Today’s letter is Number 6. The “#6” is located at the very bottom of the page. I will be adding the appropriate “letter number” to the earlier letters. So, if you are missing any of the earlier 5 letters, just let me know and I will send them off to you right away. [They are all listed in chronological order, newest on top, on the right.]
Well, Spring has finally “sprung” and all I can say is, “It’s about time!” It is very interesting though, that now that the nice weather has arrived, I tend to forget how cold it has been. Ahhh, Florida. But, enough prattling.
If you are skilled as a design engineer, it should not be too difficult to design something. (Duh?) Okay, let me explain. I have seen some very clever and interesting designs that really do work. However, they are so intricate and complicated that they would make Rube Goldberg break out with an ear to ear grin. So many parts to build ($); so many part to inventory ($$); so many parts to assemble ($$$) – but darn it, it does the job. And someone is going to pay for all of it. But, this leaves the door open for someone else, who is a bit more clever, to arrive at the same destination but at lower cost.
I have got to tell you. That is exactly my strongest point as both a Design and Manufacturing Engineer. As part of my “design process” not only am I constantly asking the question, “How are we going to make it?” but also, “How are we going to assemble it?” At each step in the creation of a design, these two questions are asked and answered in an ongoing iterative process.
I will continue this train of thought in Letter #7. Call me if you have any questions or need some help. I look forward to hearing form you.