German engineering
All too often, I spend long chunks of time at work doing what amounts to clerical stuff, crossing t's and dotting i's so that drawings and the ECOs that accompany them can get through the system. I'm glad of the consistency it brings, especially down the road when it's time to revisit those drawings and find some information or further refine a design. It doesn't especially engage my mind, though.
Another chunk of time goes to designing and in many cases, redesigning, the parts of the large and complicated device that we are building. This is generally fairly engaging, but quite frequently done lacking various things that would make it easier or more effective: background information, time, the right people to consult.
This evening, fairly late in the day, I was introduced to an engineer visiting from Germany. I don't really know that much about him, other than that his name is So-and-so, he is from Germany, and he worked as a machinist for a time. My strength, operating the CAD software we use to keep track of this stuff, is something he has not tried much of.
I explained what he had come to learn about, a new device we had designed for our tool, and then we got to talking about the part where the new device attaches. The primary purpose of this part is to hold still, but that turns out to be harder to get right than you might suppose. Things like rigidity and squareness are very relative. Steel is floppy stuff, and there are times when one one-thousandth of an inch can be too much error. This was the nature of what we discussed intensely. this evening.
Mechanical engineers (or those of us engaged in solid design) are, to a large degree, geometers, and a great deal goes into making things fit together correctly so that what goes together fits smoothly and doesn't collide when it's moved.
We tossed ideas back and forth, but this was an intense session that effortlessly ran later than I usually stay at work. His drawings are much tidier and far more detailed than mine, though I can get a point across well enough. Indeed, that seemed to characterize the whole exchange. For all that I am casual and disordered in my work style, he is very meticulous with his details. I wish I knew more about his background and how he did what he did, as we brought up a problem, tossed solutions back and forth, and he looked longer and deeper and cussed (as politely as it's possible to cuss) as he spotted some tiny, subtle flaw in that idea. To be sure, there are times when this sort of examination of detail is not warranted. There is such a thing as over-design. When thousands of dollars worth of delicate stuff needs to not wobble, though, it pays to mind the fine possibilities. I hope I listened patiently enough that he was comfortable feeling around for technical words in a language not yet entirely his own.
How do we learn these ways of thinking, problem solving, caution, and iteration? Can they be taught, or must they be discovered through experience, as one learns a language? Would I be better or worse at my job if I could master that particular aptitude I witnessed tonight?
I wonder what else he knows that I don't, and whether I'll ever know my branch of engineering in that depth.
Another chunk of time goes to designing and in many cases, redesigning, the parts of the large and complicated device that we are building. This is generally fairly engaging, but quite frequently done lacking various things that would make it easier or more effective: background information, time, the right people to consult.
This evening, fairly late in the day, I was introduced to an engineer visiting from Germany. I don't really know that much about him, other than that his name is So-and-so, he is from Germany, and he worked as a machinist for a time. My strength, operating the CAD software we use to keep track of this stuff, is something he has not tried much of.
I explained what he had come to learn about, a new device we had designed for our tool, and then we got to talking about the part where the new device attaches. The primary purpose of this part is to hold still, but that turns out to be harder to get right than you might suppose. Things like rigidity and squareness are very relative. Steel is floppy stuff, and there are times when one one-thousandth of an inch can be too much error. This was the nature of what we discussed intensely. this evening.
Mechanical engineers (or those of us engaged in solid design) are, to a large degree, geometers, and a great deal goes into making things fit together correctly so that what goes together fits smoothly and doesn't collide when it's moved.
We tossed ideas back and forth, but this was an intense session that effortlessly ran later than I usually stay at work. His drawings are much tidier and far more detailed than mine, though I can get a point across well enough. Indeed, that seemed to characterize the whole exchange. For all that I am casual and disordered in my work style, he is very meticulous with his details. I wish I knew more about his background and how he did what he did, as we brought up a problem, tossed solutions back and forth, and he looked longer and deeper and cussed (as politely as it's possible to cuss) as he spotted some tiny, subtle flaw in that idea. To be sure, there are times when this sort of examination of detail is not warranted. There is such a thing as over-design. When thousands of dollars worth of delicate stuff needs to not wobble, though, it pays to mind the fine possibilities. I hope I listened patiently enough that he was comfortable feeling around for technical words in a language not yet entirely his own.
How do we learn these ways of thinking, problem solving, caution, and iteration? Can they be taught, or must they be discovered through experience, as one learns a language? Would I be better or worse at my job if I could master that particular aptitude I witnessed tonight?
I wonder what else he knows that I don't, and whether I'll ever know my branch of engineering in that depth.
Labels: education, engineering, focus, rigor
posted by Dvortygirl at 7:50 PM
3 Comments:
> I wonder what else he knows that I don't
He knows German! :-p
I must admit that German precision and pünktlichkeit is something I like very much here.
People speak clearly, to the point, and trains are not even 1 minute late (not like Italy...).
Machinists who make what engineers design know a lot more than they do about what is actually possible. Learn all you can from the man.
Thanks! I know, and I'm trying. I've learned a lot by talking to machinists, technicians, and others.
Fortunately, one of our engineers got his start in machining and can often advise on how something will be manufactured. Unfortunately, contact between engineers and implementers is being lessened by such trends as outsourcing and offshoring.
Still, when I have the opportunity, I do my best to keep in contact with those building, assembling, and using what I design and encourage their suggestions.
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