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[Sunset Machine]

A friend has a 20" Chinese lathe. He turned and faced a couple of 12" rounds for me, all dimensions +/- .0005". Then a shaft broke in the gearbox.

[Roadracer_Al]

Dang. Sounds like your friend needs a backup lathe to keep the Chinese lathe running.

[EdK]

Oh come on people. The Chinese are perfectly capable of making top notch machinery. But how much are you willing to spend?

Ed

[Highpower]

Hey Ed, I just noticed you seem to be missing a welder in your sig line.

[EdK]

(04-05-2016, 09:11 PM)Highpower Wrote: Hey Ed, I just noticed you seem to be missing a welder in your sig line.  

Oh $hit, busted.

Ed

[the penguin]

(04-05-2016, 08:42 PM)EdK Wrote: Oh come on people. The Chinese are perfectly capable of making top notch machinery. But how much are you willing to spend?

Ed

Ed,

That is so true. I spent about 1-1/2 years working in China, all told spread over 13-14 trips, working for Goodyear, Proctor & Gamble, GE and other companies. Some of the equipment I saw over there was amazing, incredibly advanced, true cutting edge.

I was in a automotive part factory I saw a series of CNC machines, some Haas, some Mazak, some German made and some Chinese, all roughly equivalent to each over. I asked why they were not sold in the US, I was told, when it gets to a certain point, quality cost money, no matter where its made. The Dutch engineer I was talking to said, if all of the pieces have basically the same capacity, the cost will be very similar to each other. He said, that if a German machine, a US made machine and a Chinese made machine, all have similar cost, who would buy the Chinese one, no one outside of Asia. There is no market for them outside of Asia.

If you look at some of the top of the line, Jets, South Bend and others, there is even good quality in the mid priced range equipment, something that wasn't possible 10 years ago.

He also said, that the Chinese are not stupid people, if we would stop buying cheap crap, they would stop producing cheap crap. He said, that except for Milwaukee tools and a few others, Chinese companies do not market anything in the US, it US companies, that buy and market, Chinese products in the US.

[Sunset Machine]

The black eye comes from their bad products though. They stain themselves by doing that. We're keen on brand names here - "Chinese" has become a brand name known for junk. Not a very smart move, really.

Let me add something. Japan. After WWII they were in the mud, producing junk with a bad rep for 20 years, and almost overnight it changed. They had to surpass us in the US to sell anything. Today, we have little interest and offer no competition to China. The three-legged stool has a busted leg.

[Dr Stan]

(04-07-2016, 08:25 AM)Sunset Machine Wrote: The black eye comes from their bad products though. They stain themselves by doing that. We're keen on brand names here - "Chinese" has become a brand name known for junk. Not a very smart move, really.

Let me add something. Japan. After WWII they were in the mud, producing junk with a bad rep for 20 years, and almost overnight it changed. They had to surpass us in the US to sell anything. Today, we have little interest and offer no competition to China. The three-legged stool has a busted leg.

The credit for Japan's improvement goes to W. Edwards Deming who was asked to come to Japan by General Douglas MacArthur.  Deming really turned Japan's manufacturing around.  BTW, Deming was figuratively and literally laughed out of US industries for his ideas on quality.

[awemawson]

Yes - TQM - total quality management - turned the Japanese manufacturing industry 180 degrees back on the right course.

[the penguin]

(04-07-2016, 08:25 AM)Sunset Machine Wrote: The black eye comes from their bad products though. They stain themselves by doing that. We're keen on brand names here - "Chinese" has become a brand name known for junk. Not a very smart move, really.

again, as they don't market anything here, they sell exactly what they are told, by American companies, to make and at what price point. The general public wants cheap, so they get cheap. If we stop buying cheap crap, then they would have make better stuff, but the general public is happy with the current status quo, a $100 will still get you a full shopping cart a Wal-Mart. As the American companies are making lots of money, they feel no need to change their current policy, so those who do care about quality, suffer.

I can blame the Chinese for lots of stuff, but selling cheap stuff here, isn't one of them, they are send over here exactly what they are asked to ship over.