Machine design, tập 84, số 05, 2012

April 5, 2012
A Penton Media Publication
Tune in to EngineeringTV.com

NEWEST SAILOR:
A FIREFIGHTING ROBOT,
page 22
HIGH PRESSURES
CHALLENGE PUMPSEAL DESIGNS,
page 44
INTERNAL PERMANENT
MAGNETS GIVE MOTOR
DESIGN A NEW LOOK,
page 56


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RS# 101


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VOLUME 84
ISSUE 5
APRIL 5, 2012

FLUID POWER

FEATURES

For the past three decades, there has been a steady
increase in the demand for liquid-chromatography (LC)
pumps that can handle higher pressures. Users say higher
pressures improve sample resolution and throughput
rates, while manufacturers are keen to launch morecompetitive, cutting-edge devices.
Until recently engineers, working with seal suppliers, have been able to satisfy these requirements, and the
increasing pressures have led to instrument and performance improvements of nearly 1,900% since the mid1970s. As a result, countless life-improving drugs and diagnostic processes have been developed.

But over the past two or three years, the race for everhigher pressures has outpaced the industry’s ability to
solve the complex challenges of generating and maintaining them.
Today, LC engineers face the formidable task of operating pumps reliably and consistently at and above
20,000 psi. And due to limitations in material capabilities
and current pump designs, they can no longer rely solely
on a seal to get them there.

Fast-forward to 1982, and HPLC devices were operating at 3,000 psi. Almost 10 years later, they reached the
8,000-psi milestone. Further strides led to the 2004 introduction of UHPLC and instruments generating pressures up to 15,000 psi. Adjustments to these designs let
pumps reach their current operating ceiling of 17,000 to
19,000 psi.
Now, in pursuit of even higher resolution and productivity, the industry has its sights set on the next big pressure milestone: 20,000 psi and above.
To better comprehend what today’s LC pump engineers
are up against, it’s helpful to think about how the 20K+
barrier equates to other applications. In a subsea environment, for example, you’d have to descend nearly 8.6 miles
before encountering this kind of pressure.
The reciprocating pistons that generate this pressure
in an LC pump can also see some pretty rough treatment.
They can be small (less than 2 mm in diameter), but their
performance is similar to that of pistons in internal-combustion engines. In regular service, they are expected to
deliver over 2 million leak-free cycles.

The pressure progression

Beyond the seal

Increases in LC-pump pressure have been evolutionary, not revolutionary. Even though the science of LC dates
back to the early 1900s, pressure wasn’t a critical component in the equation until 1970, when the late Professor
Csaba Horváth of Yale Univ. first introduced high-pressure liquid chromatography.

While the increasing pressures of LC have never been
a simple challenge, the new requirements have stretched
existing designs to their limits. The life-sciences industry
can no longer expect to reach its pressure goals by focusing
only on better seal designs and materials. Engineers must
also consider changes to the pump and seal together. Some

items being looked at include:
• Piston (plunger) diameter, material, and surface finish.
• The connection between the plunger and its drive
mechanism.
• Plunger alignment during travel.
The number-one requirement is delivering accurate
flow rates, and this goal is what determines the plunger
diameter, stroke length, and speed. This is an area where
sealing and pump-operating requirements compete.
There’s a fine line between conditions for best sealing and
the plunger performance needed to build cylinder pressure. Here’s how to address some key considerations.

Authored by:

Michael Binder
Application Engineer

Steven Twork
Market Manager
Analytical and Laboratory Automation
Products
Bal Seal Engineering
Foothill Ranch, Calif.

Edited by Kenneth J. Korane


Drive mechanism

Key points:

Pistons are typically driven by a rotating cam or linear
actuator. These drives push the piston forward within
the pump’s cylinder, building up pressure. When designing the drive mechanism, it’s crucial to consider how the
plunger attaches (floating or fixed), and to compensate
for pulsations during pumping. Speed and stroke length
will vary plunger side loading, which can cause premature
wear on the seal.
Synchronizing the pump linkage is also critical. In rotary-cam driven plungers, a cam follower rides along the
periphery of the cam. The cam’s high spot (lobe) pushes
the follower which, in turn, moves the piston forward.
To retract the piston, a return spring may be used. If the
plunger doesn’t return freely due to low spring force and
high seal friction, the follower loses synchronization.

• Higher pressures improve sample
resolution and throughput rate in liquidchromatograpy pumps.
• Various pump modifications can raise
pressure capabilities.
• Pump engineers should work with seal
suppliers experienced in thermoplastic seals
and HPLC.

Resources:

Bal Seal Engineering, www.balseal.com

Breaking
the 20K

helps keep
20 Clutch
century-old clock ticking
Tower clocks are retrofitted with electric motors
to reset the weights that power the clock
mechanisms.

Liquidchromatographypump test
facilities are
critical for realworld evaluation
of pump and seal
prototypes in a
variety of media
and pressures.

BARRIER
Seals alone won’t take highpressure pumps to the next level.

44

MACHINE DESIGN.com

APRIL 5, 2012

APRIL 5, 2012



44

the 20K barrier
44 Breaking
Seals alone won’t take high-pressure pumps
beyond 20,000 psi.

52

Steel is up to the
automotive challenge
There’s a reason steel has remained the
dominant material used in cars and light trucks.
The same reason will let steel survive the CAFE
crunch of higher fuel economy.

your motor IQ?
56 How’s
The quest for greater motor efficiency leads in
many directions, with more than a few novel
designs.

MOTORS TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

How’s your

MOTOR IQ?

Electric motors are by far the most
common method used to convert
electrical energy into mechanical
motion. To provide motion, most
motors use attraction and repulsion of magnetic fields to create the
force needed for movement. But the
generation of those fields and their
method of interaction gives rise to
literally dozens of motor designs.

Think you know
electric motors?
Check your
knowledge against
these devices.

Case
Rear housing
Rear rotor

Front-rotor
assembly

Bearing

Ac-induction motors

Shaft
Axial stator/field
Standard induction motors have

pole assembly
been in use for over 100 years and are
Axial-field pole
reaching the limit of improvements
detailed view
Interior permanentin both performance and cost. In an
magnet
rotor
induction motor, a stator winding
wound on the outer frame of the motor induces a voltage into the conductors of the rotor. The rotor voltage
Winding
Conical-shaped
creates a current flow through the rosurface
Magnet
tor forming a magnetic field that interacts with the magnetic field of the
stator to make the rotor turn.
This exploded view of the NovaTorque PremiumPlus+ PM motor shows the
Induction motors have several
special shape of the rotors and stator assembly. The cone-shaped rotors hold
inherent advantages. First, they are
the permanent magnets with the entire magnetic path concentrated within
simple to build and are robust and
the rotor and stator poles. No flux flows through the motor frame like that
which occurs with standard PM motors.
reliable. Second, they naturally adapt
to the load placed on the motor. Current rises as the load increases while the motor’s natural slip accommodates torque
Authored by:
spikes. Through agreements between motor manufacturers, induction motors
John Petro
come in standard sizes and mounts that promote interchangeability.

Vice President Engineering
The primary speed of an induction motor is based on the frequency of the ac
NovaTorque Inc.
power line, rather than the applied voltage. This means for fixed-speed applicaSunnyvale, Calif.
tions, ac-induction motors can be driven directly from the ac-power line without
Edited by Robert Repas
the need for any electronic drive. However, most applications can show sizable

energy savings through the use of an electronic-drive module.
Key points:
In applications where variable speeds are advantageous, a variable-frequency
• Induction motors are simple to build,
drive is mandatory for all but the smallest of induction motors. Once a motor
robust, reliable, adapt to the load, and
drive has been added, though, the cost differential between an ac-induction motor
come in standard sizes and mounts.
and that of a permanent-magnet motor becomes only the cost of the motor. The
• Permanent-magnet motors have higher
cost of the drive for either motor type is pretty much the same.
efficiency and smaller size for the same
Induction motors operated with an electronic drive can reach speeds four
output power.
times that of the motor’s base speed while still maintaining a constant horsepower.
• Special cone-shaped rotors and stator-field
This is possible because ac-induction motors do not generate a fixed back or
windings in IPM motors create a magneticcounter-EMF (electromotive force) in the rotor that builds up with higher rpms.
flux flow that parallels the motor shaft.
Upper speed limits are based purely on the mechanical design of the motor, with
centrifugal force being the prime limiter.
Resources:

56

MACHINE DESIGN.com

APRIL 5, 2012



NovaTorque Inc., www.novatorque.com

56
Access our Reader Service
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APRIL 5, 2012

MACHINE DESIGN.com

45


AC TC-Frame












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RS# 103

ON THE COVER
A model from a steel-industry
project shows where various
lightweight steels can be used
in electric vehicles.

DEPARTMENTS
8 EDITORIAL

The fallacy of more-productive manufacturing

10 EDITORIAL STAFF
12 LETTERS
16 SCANNING FOR IDEAS
Self-compensating miniature shocks
Industrial connectors for data, control, and power apps

20 REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
30 LOOKING BACK
36 COMMENTARY
How to spend $140 billion on R&D

38 BERKE ON SAFETY
Ladders are still a safety issue

40 VANTAGE POINT
Avoiding the pitfalls of export control

42 INVENTOR’S CORNER
Holder lets smartphones take pictures of microscopic images

SOFTWARE REVIEW
62 3D mouse lets users “fly” through designs
64 SOFTWARE PRODUCTS
66 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
Bearings & guides

68
75
77
78
78
79
4

PRODUCTS
AD INDEX
BUSINESS INDEX
CLASSIFIEDS
BUSINESS STAFF
BACKTALK
MACHINE DESIGN.com

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APRIL 5, 2012

POSTMASTER: Send change of address notice to
Customer Service, MACHINE DESIGN, P.O. Box 2100, Skokie,
IL 60076-7800.


N
Nano
Super
A
Air Nozzle for
p

precision
blowoff
Th Nano Super Air Nozzle
The
is the smallest available.
EXAIR’s
“precision blowoff”
EX
provides
pr
optimum air
entrainment
t i
t ffor a di
directed high volume,
high velocity airflow. The compact size
permits mounting where space is limited.
www.exair.com/45/nano.htm

E
Efficient
air guns,
co
comfortable grip
Sa
Safety
Air Guns use
engineered Air Nozzles
en
to provide superior

pe
performance. Safe
operation is assure
assured along with low air
consumption and noise level. Many styles
and nozzles are offered. Extensions and
Stay Set Hoses are available.
www.exair.com/45/sag.htm

N
Nozzle
cluster,
h
high blowing
fforce
M
Many
blowoff, cleaning,
cooling and drying
co
aapplications require
hi h force
f
d extensive
t
high
and
reach. EXAIR’s
Super Air Nozzle Clusters deliver up to
9.8 lbs of force. Three sizes for handheld

and stationary mounting are available.
www.exair.com/45/blast.htm

U
Unique
flat nozzle
u
uses patented
te
technology
Th 2” Super Air Nozzle
The
is a highly efficient,
unique flat air nozzle.
un
Using EXAIR’s pate
patented technology, a
precise amount of air is released through
the thin slot, across a flat surface. The result
is a wide, forceful stream of high velocity,
laminar airflow. Force and flow can be easily
adjusted.
www.exair.com/45/2san.htm

Directed blast of air
D
EX Air Jets utilize the
EXAIR
Co
Coanda effect (wall attachm

ment of a high velocity
fluid)
u to produce a vacuum
on one end that pulls
large volumes of room
ro
air through the unit.
Both the outlet and inlet can be ducted
for remote positioning.
www.exair.com/45/jet.htm

Super Air Nozzles™
S
The aerodynamic design of
Th
EX
EXAIR’s Super Air Nozzles
pr
provide a high thrust,
co
concentrated stream of high
ve
velocity airflow. The sound
lev
level is as low as 71 dBA
w
with hard-hitting force up
to 23 pounds. All meet
OSHA noise
i and

d pressure requirements.
www.exair.com/45/super.htm

A breeze to a blast
These Safety Air Nozzles are adjustable,
making them suitable for a wide variety
of blowoff applications. EXAIR’s
design allows you to “tune in” the
force and flow to the application
requirements, thereby minimizing
air consumption. A micrometer
like dial indicates the gap setting.
www.exair.com/45/adjust.htm

This small Super Air Nozzle costs only $32.
Installing it in place of one 1/4” copper tube
can save you $592.80 per year.

Here’s how:
A 1/4" copper tube is a common homemade blowoff that
hat consumes
33 SCFM when at a normal supply pressure of 80 PSIG.
G. EXAIR’s award
d
winning Model 1100 Super Air Nozzle is 1/4 NPT and consumes only 14
SCFM at 80 PSIG.
33 SCFM (copper tube) - 14 SCFM (Super Air Nozzle)
e) = 19 SCFM compressed
air saved. For this example, the blowoff is continuous.
Most large plants know their cost per 1,000 standard cubic feet of compressed air.

If you don’t know your actual cost per 1,000 SCF, 25¢ is a reasonable
nable average to use.

SCFM saved x 60 minutes x cost/1,000 SCF = Dollars saved per hour.
In this case, 19 SCFM x 60 minutes x .25/1,000 = 28.5 cents per hour.
28.5 cents per hour x 40 hour work week = $11.40 per week.
$11.40 per week x 52 weeks = $592.80 per year.
The Super Air Nozzle pays for itself in just over two weeks.
For more information, visit www.exair.com/45/410.htm
If you would like to discuss an application,
contact an Application Engineer at:

11510 Goldcoast Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45249-1621
(800) 903-9247 . fax (513) 671-3363
RS# 104

@exair


What’s new online machinedesign.com
NEED CAREER ADVICE? ASK THE EXPERT
After a long career as an engineering consultant, author and speaker, CAD/CAM
and automation expert Joel Orr is now coaching engineering professionals on
issues such as career planning, starting a business, work/life balance, and overall
productivity and satisfaction. He answers your questions on engineering careers
at />
Zero-backlash belt drives

EDITOR’S WEB PICKS

An engineer from Bell-Everman discusses
backlash, stiffness, and lost motion, and explains
how servobelt drives ensure precise linear and
rotary positioning. View the session at www.
engineeringtv.com/video/ServoBelt-RotaryPrecision-Posi;MDM-2012.

6

Finding MIMO

eBooks for tablets

Agilent helps explain the intricacies
of MIMO (multiple-input, multiple
output) technology for wireless
devices. New application notes and
a selection guide, plus hard copies of
posters, CDs, and other resources are
available at www.agilent.com/find/
MIMO-Forward.

Wago’s many eBooks on electrical
connectors, terminal blocks, I/O
systems and networks, as well as
catalogs and brochures, are now
compatible with E-Book Systems’
free iFlipViewer Application for iPad
and Android tablets. For additional
information, visit www.wago.us.

Braking technology
Web site

Automation product
catalog

Twiflex has launched a new Web
site (www.Twiflex.com) on its line of
industrial disc brakes, centrifugal
clutch couplings, and flexible
couplings and shafts. It discusses
specific product features and
benefits and contains application
profiles, data sheets, brochures,
catalogs and service manuals, as
well as selection guides and braking
calculations.

Banner Engineering’s 2012
Product Catalog has 875 pages
of information and data on the
company’s sensors, lighting
and indicators, machine vision,
wireless, and machine safety
lines. It also contains application
details and a selection guide that
lets users compare features and
performance. Get a copy at www.
bannerengineering.com.

MySeal App

Gearbox configuration
tool

The Freudenberg Sealing
Technologies MySeal app lets
engineers access a database of seal
materials and evaluate the best
one for a specific job. Info includes
material properties, specifications,
and acceptable temperature ranges,
and it can suggest alternative
materials. The free app for
Android and Apple devices can be
downloaded from iTunes, the Apple
app store, or www.FST.com.

MACHINE DESIGN.com

Wittenstein’s Product Configurator
now has a motor-to-gearbox option.
It includes a database of more than
7,000 motors and lets users design
a gearbox based on application
requirements. It reportedly fills the
gap between the company’s online
Product CAD Generator and cymex
servo-sizing software. Learn more at
www.wittenstein-us.com.

APRIL 5, 2012

UPCOMING WEB
EVENTS
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Learn the basics of programmable
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continuing education credits.
This continuing education course
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lasting an average of 6 min. The
course includes quizzes, progress
testing, plus a final comprehensive
exam. You will interact with
an instructor by creating and
uploading ladder programs to be
evaluated and approved to ensure
mastery in each section.
The course uses the Click PLC as
the basis for topics such as sensors,
inputs, outputs, programming
instructions and more. (PLC
hardware is not a requirement of the
course.) Use the free programming
software to create programs;
upload the assignments and

we will test them on our trainer.
You are allowed 120 days to
complete the course of study.
Upon satisfactory completion,
you will receive 3 hr of continuing
education credits. The course cost
is $195.00 for a limited time.
For complete information, visit
www.interconnectingautomation.
com and click on the “Online
Training” link.


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RS# 106

Copyrights ©2012 Apple Rubber Products, Inc. All rights reserved.


EDITORIAL
The fallacy of
more-productive
manufacturing
Readers who have watched the U. S. economy limp along for the past few

years will probably recall one of its few bright spots: The productivity of
U. S. manufacturing workers has been rising.  In 2010, for example, the
U. S. Bureau of Economic Analysis says manufacturing output per worker
rose to almost $149,000 from $135,000/worker the year before, a rise of
over 10%.  That was the largest annual increase in U. S. manufacturingworker productivity since the 1940s and followed a 7.85% increase in
2009.
You would expect rising productivity in manufacturing to make the
U. S. a more-competitive place to produce goods. And there are certainly
reports in the media that some manufacturing work, indeed, is being reshored. But foreign manufacturers have not exactly been beating a path to
U. S. doors, despite initiatives by politicians to promote a U. S. manufacturing renaissance.
There is a good reason our manufacturing base isn’t growing like
spring weeds, claims Frank Berlage, CEO of Multilateral Partners Global
Advisory Group LLC, an investment firm. In a nutshell, Berlage says there
is a problem with the BEA productivity figures. Better manufacturing
productivity would be good if it was due to factors such as more automation or smarter workers. But that isn’t the case. MPGAG’s own research
shows that 62% of the rise in productivity in U. S. manufacturing between
1995 and 2011 came from the fact that it was highly profitable for U. S.based factories to assemble components made overseas into finished
goods. This is a far different situation than if the economy hosted an
integrated manufacturing infrastructure that produced components and
subassemblies, as well as finished goods. As such, says Berlage, the productivity gains portrayed by official figures are false.
Evidence of the problem, says Berlage, can be seen in the accumulated
U. S. current accounts deficit. A country’s current account is its exports
minus imports. A current account deficit means a country imports more
than it exports. All things being equal, one would expect a country that
was getting better at making goods to import less and export more. That
hasn’t happened. BEA data shows an increasing deficit in U. S. international transactions since 2010, after imports dropped during the time of
the worldwide financial crisis.
The difficulty with productivity arising from importation of basic
components is that it could evaporate if the value of the U. S. dollar drops
significantly versus that of other currencies. And this could happen

sooner rather than later if U. S. debt continues to mushroom to a point
where other countries are no longer interested in financing it.
Nevertheless, the U. S. has plenty of room to boost its production
capacity. Today, both Germany and Japan get over 20% of their gross domestic product from manufacturing. In China, the figure is closer to 40%.
But only about 10% of U. S. GDP comes from manufacturing. As Berlage
puts it, “If the future of the U. S. now depends on my travel agent calling
my tennis coach so together they can open a nail salon, we are in serious
trouble.”
— Leland Teschler, Editor

RS# 107

APRIL 5, 2012


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RS# 108


EDITORIAL STAFF

EDITOR
Leland E. Teschler


MANAGING EDITOR
Kenneth J. Korane


SENIOR EDITORS
Leslie Gordon

Stephen J. Mraz


ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Robert J. Repas, Jr.

RS# 109

INDUSTRY COVERAGE
AUTOMOTIVE, PACKAGING,
MEDICAL
Stephen J. Mraz

CAD/CAM, MANUFACTURING
Leslie Gordon

ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONICS
Robert J. Repas, Jr.

FLUID POWER, MECHANICAL
Kenneth J. Korane

EDITORIAL PRODUCTION
Denise Greco
Editorial Production Manager
Randall L. Rubenking
Art Director

1300 E. 9th St. Cleveland, OH 44114-1503
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LETTERS
Union? No thanks.
I’d like to answer the question
posed by Stephen Mraz’s commentary (“Time for engineers to think
about unionizing?” Jan. 19). If one is
a professional engineer, with independent, primary adherence to professional ethics, the idea of having
one’s professional standing collectively bargained should be anathema. On the other hand, if one is a
laborer, albeit skilled, working at the
behest of one’s employer, then subsuming one’s working conditions to
the interests of union negotiators
may be desirable. Just don’t confuse
the two different situations, as Mr.
Mraz does; one is a professional and
the other a laborer.
William F. Hammett
Stephen Mraz’s commentary encouraging engineers to unionize
is disgusting and despicable. If he
thinks unions are good for Boeing,
he must be completely disconnected from reality. Does he think
all our good heavy-industry jobs
are leaving America just because
of cheaper labor offshore? Doesn’t
he realize that these jobs are being driven offshore by unrelenting

union demands on management?
Unions and their often inefficient
and crushing work rules forced U. S.
Steel to close its huge Fairless works
in Pennsylvania, Bethlehem Steel
likewise. It is totally irresponsible
for you to let this Mraz guy promote
unions in your magazine. Any engineer worth his salt would be embarrassed to admit he was jealous of
union members.
Chris Page
If you read the commentary, you will
see I do not advocate that engineers
join or form unions. I merely ask openmindedly why they haven’t. And to
get some background, I talked to engineers in a union, SPEEA, to get their
take on whether being in a union had
been a positive or negative in their
careers. I assume from this letter and
several others that the reason the
writers shun unions is that they see
unions as being for the hoi polloi, the
“laborers,” while engineers are pro12

MACHINE DESIGN.com

fessionals. Last time I checked, there
were no special lines in the unemployment office for professionals. I
also find the last line in Chris Page’s
letter to be revealing. Apparently, he
can imagine an engineer being jealous of a union member, but considers
it bad form to admit to it.

— Stephen J. Mraz
Your commentary in the January
19, 2012 issue of M ACHINE D ESIGN ,
“Time for engineers to think about
unionizing,” was amazing. Should
we really encourage engineers to
jack up their companies’ cost to
run a business in America? Brilliant.
That’s just what we need, more
U. S. companies with noncompetitive labor rates.
You are setting American engineers up for layoffs and plant
closings.
I assume you have a union connection driving your actions.
Kevin Ewing
Your assumption is wrong
— Stephen J. Mraz
In your commentary about engineers unionizing, you lay out exactly
why unionizing is a bad idea. It is
called greed. Even if the company
is having economic problems and
nonunionized workers have to make
concessions to keep the company
afloat, the union workers, just like
government workers, keep getting
raises and expanded benefits at the
expense of their fellow workers.
“So why do you think engineers
have avoided unions all these
APRL 5, 2012

years?” Maybe they have compassion and like working as a team instead of just for themselves.
Sandra Permid
Your editorial was a little confusing. Autoworker unions have destroyed the U. S. auto industry. For
years, the auto companies had
their hands tied in dealing with labor issues, so whenever they were
in trouble, they took it out on the
suppliers. It seems that the only
place where unions are flourishing is in the public sector where
elected officials sign the contracts
and taxpayers foot the bill. The disconnect allows unions to flourish
at the expense of the community.
Tom Van Loon

Looking for
American workers
I just read Leslie’s Gordon’s blog
(“Why does the U. S. lack skilled
workers?”) and have to admit this
issue is dear to my heart and I am involved in various programs to promote manufacturing jobs to high
schools as well as technical schools.
My daughter, a high-school senior, recently invited me to a school
meeting on the various opportunities that seniors might be interested
in. The presenters spoke almost totally about college opportunities;
some mentioned military careers.
Then was a question-and-answer
session during which I asked why
manufacturing jobs were not mentioned. I also briefly described how
many jobs were sitting empty in my
home state.

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RS# 112

©2012 National Instruments. All rights reserved. CompactRIO, LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments.
Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 05312

LETTERS
After the meeting was over, I
spoke with the presenters and discovered that the states track the
number of kids the high school
sends off to college. The high
school is in fact graded on this
metric. I then asked if high schools
track the college completion rate
and was told that they did not.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the states
credited high schools for promoting manufacturing jobs. And why
not be honest on how many kids
actually make it through college
and earn a degree.
Rich Kime
As a sometime-designer of factory
equipment, I can testify that many
in the lower-paid echelon of factory workers are woefully underprepared to think critically, thus the
heavy emphasis on “poke-yoke” design. (The original Japanese phrase
translated roughly as “mistake
proofing.”) One of the problems,

however, is not so much that U. S.
factories can’t hire well-qualified
people, but that management just
won’t pay reasonable wages for
them and the work is uninteresting and tedious. Why should intelligent people take repetitive, nonchallenging, and poorly paid jobs
in a factory when they can do more
interesting things, even at low pay?

Foreign workers are often less
picky, even if no better qualified. If
factory jobs were made more rewarding by placing more emphasis
on intelligent decision making, I believe many “poorly qualified people”
would end up significantly more
qualified after some period of adjustment and a little training.
It seems the lessons Harley Davidson learned in the late 70s and
early 80s about “ownership” of jobs
have still, at this late date, not been
learned by most of American Industry. And these lessons are taught in
almost every U. S. MBA program.

RS# 113
14

MACHINE DESIGN.com

APRL 5, 2012

American industrial engineers are
constantly doing time studies to
determine how to shave seconds
off of fabrication processes, but
they are seldom tasked by corporate executives to find ways to get
employees involved in making
products better. A few companies
make half-hearted stabs at it, but
they are really not interested in or
willing to invest part of upper managements’ and shareholders’ profits
to make meaningful changes. Company managers are also unwilling

to delegate any part of the decision
making to their employees as Harley Davidson did. Consequently we
coddle and tolerate intellectual laziness, and it shows.
In short, the problem is as much
about poorly educated managers
and greedy corporate bigwigs as it
is about poorly educated and intellectually lazy laborers.
Mark Stapleton


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