Technology Can Be Nice

[viperwolf]

Check out this Audi plant, really cool shots of the cars production.

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[P. A. Schilke]

its always interesting to watch these kinds of videos.
and it gives you appreciation as to why they cost so much.
all those robots, jigs and fixtures dont just appear out of no where at no cost.

be interesting to know the capitol investment initially required to design and prepare the building process....then figure out how many thousands of delivered cars down the road do they start to make a profit.

Hi RP,

Don't forget you do not have to hire a couple of workers with pay and benefits, and these robots do it the same way each time...no operator error as they do not get tired...have to take a pee break etc. They are reusable on plant change over with programing, not retraining like people.... Just a couple thoughts....

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Trigganometry]

i get that, its still a long term investment that will pay off at some point. Robots arent all that cheap, though prices are coming down.
the robots still need maintenance, they need to be programmed, they fail too I am sure.
so while you save some money from one pocket, you also pay out still from another. the balance is somewhere in the middle.
but i wasnt just talking robots. the racking sytems, the trollies, the whole infrastructure of the build process costs alot of money to design and build as well.

10 years ago robots were not cheap. 125K minimum. But even back then they paid for themselves quickly. Uniform outputs and can be retooled easily.

We use them where I work in medical devices. Today units cost 30K. The return on investment is months. After that profit. Our quality level output is a QC guys dream. It’s not meant for everything but where it shines is repetitive movements with high accuracy. As Phil said, 24/7 no breaks, lunch, shift changes, benefits, sick days or best of all, they don’t lip you off! ?

 

[RangerAJS]

i get that, its still a long term investment that will pay off at some point. Robots arent all that cheap, though prices are coming down.
the robots still need maintenance, they need to be programmed, they fail too I am sure.
so while you save some money from one pocket, you also pay out still from another. the balance is somewhere in the middle.
but i wasnt just talking robots. the racking sytems, the trollies, the whole infrastructure of the build process costs alot of money to design and build as well.

Capital equipment can be depreciated, people can’t.....

 

[Dhass68]

Capital equipment can be depreciated, people can’t.....

I don't know about that, I have worked with several people that have depreciated with time

 

[Langwilliams]

That's all fine until Skynet takes over

 

[viperwolf]

I still have respect for the early times, those guys could make curves in the car look so good.
The tech is great no doubt, but sometimes it feels less personal. If that makes sense.

 

[RangerAJS]

I don't know about that, I have worked with several people that have depreciated with time

That’s assuming they were an asset to begin with ?

 

[Langwilliams]

I don't know about that, I have worked with several people that have depreciated with time

Many physical jobs wear you down...that's why you either get promoted with seniority or get easier jobs in the place by seniority. I've been carrying mail for 25 years years an there's no way I keep the same pace I kept when I was 30. I think retirement age should be based on the job you do....I could sit at a desk an type until I'm 67 but doubt I could sling bricks as long as I've delivered mail.

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