Space Shuttle Syndrome!

When I was a lead engineer, I used to hand out KISS violations. Looked like a speeding ticket. I had seen the form someplace, looked great when slapped on a design.

Karl

(...)

That would be 'Feature creep':

--Winston

giving you a serious answer - it is called "mis-communication" - the engineer understood that you wanted a mechanism designed with certain characteristics - he didn't understand the other constraints. Not being there at the time, I can't tell you why this is, but I've been on both ends of it - did you actually say, you can use 3 switches, some plywood and some PVC pipe - this is to be "cheap and dirty"? if you said it, did he really understand it? this is not a matter of stifling creativity - you don't have to punish the guy (yet) but you do need to say "that's not what I had in mind", explain what is wrong, and ask him how HE would suggest getting back to your original intent.

When I had a lab of folks, I always "encouraged" failure, within some limits - by that I mean, that if someone wanted to take an approach that I was suspicious of, AND if it would not be fatal to the project, I would express my reservations and say "go try it your way, but be on the lookout for these issues" - sometimes their way was great, but if they ran into the kinds of issues I pointed out and it got to be a problem, then there was buy in to "my" way rather than having it dictated - this was much more effective, and I got much better results - at least with every employee who wanted to achieve results. I had a couple who were worthless, and could not do anything - those had to go

Bill,

Your methodology has worked and paid off in spades for me when I was in charge of manufacturing engineering. Also allowed me to sleep much better at night and on weekends:-))

buerste,

Did you tell your engineer your cost and schedule expectations? Life expectancy of this device? Reliability requirements? I was at the receiving end of such a situation as you describe, and once I explained my reasons for my design decisions the powers-that-be agreed with my decisions.

Issuing constraints after the job is done can drive one to drink.

Wolfgang

Is the guy who built it also the guy who will have to fix it when it fouls up? Will he get yelled at for the downtime while he fixes it?

Sounds a bit like he overengineered it to make sure it will last and work well. Unless he designed in failure modes...

Or he just didn't get it...

BTW, I can easily see how you trigger loose and taut, how do you measure Jam? Is that just a second step past taut?

On Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:55:48 -0400, the infamous "Buerste" scrawled the following:

Dad used to have Retired Colonel's Syndrome. What you're looking at is BES, or Bored Engineer's Syndrome. He was thinking "I could whip something out in a couple hours, but I have all this time to kill, so let's see what I can dream up...'

Don't you teach your workers the KISS principle, Druggie Tawm?

Get well soon. xox

-- If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. -- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

On Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:22:38 -0500, the infamous "Karl Townsend" scrawled the following:

I _like_ it!

-- If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. -- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

So you have an arm with a pulley designed to trap the wire and have the arm raised as tension is applied. When the arm is high it is too tight, when it lowers to a point it is too lose and when it falls down, the wire is jammed.

Arm has a cam or or three at pivot. (plywood is mounting surface). Done.

Wes

So you have an arm with a pulley designed to trap the wire and have the arm raised as tension is applied. When the arm is high it is too tight, when it lowers to a point it is too lose and when it falls down, the wire is jammed.

Arm has a cam or or three at pivot. (plywood is mounting surface). Done.

Tensioning arm is left for the student. :)

Btw, forte ate my post so I'm reposting. Sorry if it duplicates.

Wes

I teach this design stuff, sure is hard to get all of these messages across!!!!

Exactly. That switch will be above the "Start Despoiling" and be in parallel with the e-stop.

I try. Roger excels in our technology but he operates best when we have frequent interaction. But, I'm still waiting for my product photographs from one of the other departments....ARGH!

We've used dancers for years and need to improve. The new set-up replaces such and has almost no mass or inertia like the dancers.

On Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:41:53 -0400, the infamous "Buerste" scrawled the following:

Hey, fly me out. I'll take the photos myself. ;)

-- If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. -- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

I have an engineer tell me that his job was to take something simple, cheap, and efficiant, and engineer it into something complicated, expensive, and pron to failure! True story!!

yes, but engineers generally have a wry sense of humor

I'll send you my sister's broom.

Ill bring my Hassy and the Nikons...and let Larry carry the strobes

'In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language.. and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.' Theodore Ro osevelt 1907

If we have one at all.