Monthly Archives: October 2016

Dot to Dot

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We all learned to create pictures by connecting the dots.

We all learned to create
pictures by connecting the dots.


A simple child’s task like connecting the dots matches a computer’s capability. This was especially true in the early days when computer numeric controls had a lot less intelligence. It was a stretch for the computer to perform a simple 2 dimensional connect the dot task. Even todays CNC (Computer Numerical Control) is based on connecting dots with straight lines.
We began the computer controlled manufacturing revolution by using simple 2 dimensional dot to dot. In the very beginning there were long distances between the dots. The parts that were CNC manufactured had facets like you see on diamonds. As Moore’s law has given us more computer memory and horsepower we use ever greater numbers of dots to the point where the facets caused by straight line connecting of the dots are perceived as a smooth blend. A simple 2 dimensional approximation of a circle using a ring of dots connected by straight lines has evolved into a the chain of connected dots that has lengthened to stretch many miles.
A string of connected dots, many miles in length guides the path of a cutter used to make a mold

A string of connected dots, many miles in length guides the path of a cutter used to make a mold


As we acquired more computer horsepower we wanted to expand into three dimensional objects. We again looked for the simplest way. A straight line connecting two dots was evolved into a set of three dots connected by straight lines defining a plane in three dimensions. Computer defined three dimensional objects look a lot like geodesic domesdotgeo Tyranny of numbers came to get us. Whereas we were able to manually program CNC machining G-code and moon landings by creating the travel path dot by dot, it simply was not humanly possible to define all of the little triangles needed to define an object shape. The STL (STereoLithography) data format we created for the task actually is capable of defining just about any shape that we can conceive. It was the early 90’s before any version of CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) software could generate a complete enough STL shape definition to be commercially useful. It was the turn of the century before any CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) software caught up to the same level. The underlying issue is that most of the part shapes that we use are not pure cubes,cylinders or spheres. In the classic example, three different radii meet at a corner. What is the shape at the corner? Turns out the computer does not know either.dotradii
The historic solution to the three different radii meeting at corner, was to instruct the pattern maker to do a blend. The digital solution started out in a very similar fashion. The STL file was manually adjusted by a person. This time consuming and costly step is one of the impediments slowing the adoption of 3D printing. The incredibly slow 3D printing speed is fast compared to the time need to clean a STL data file triangle by triangle. Moore’s Law keeps advancing. Each generation of software and 3D printing hardware opens the door for new affordable uses. Even though 3D printing theoretically has the ability to create any shape, in the near term it will have economically imposed shape limitations like any other manufacturing process

Bridging the Gap

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bridgeold
Many of us have taken a bridge loan to cover the gaps between employment. This is a feature of the “on demand” economy. As consumers we have been quick to adopt the concept of having what we want “on demand” It is easy to not think about who is funding the gap in demand. It is a lot tougher when the funding comes from our personal savings instead of a company reserve. We all like the concept of instant gratification. We react with dismay when we are expected to instantly deliver. I suspect that this is closer to the root of the gap issue.
We all hear about a skills gap. Will Rogers comes to mind when I consider the issue. He once quipped that it is easy to make money on the stock market. You buy stock and sell it after the price goes up. Someone asked him. “What happens if the price does not go up?” He said, “That is easy too, You don’t buy it.”

Will Rogers

Will Rogers


Solving the skills gap is every bit as easy. In North America we universally have enough hours of education to be the envy of the majority of the world’s population. Any skill that our economy needs can be learned in within the number of hours of education that we have received. So how do we solve the skills gap? We quit spending our education hours learning unneeded skills.
This is a lot easier said than done. The “new” math that is taught as a part of STEM education was inverted by the Arabs before the birth of Christ. Initiatives like vouchers are vigorously opposed by the education hierarchy, most likely because they introduce the possibility that the students might gain some say about the skills that they are being taught. Ah Yes, The credibility gap.
A fissure

A fissure

Gain

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gaintriode
Back in the early days of radio, the pioneering inventors determined that it was not enough to simply gather radio signals with ever larger antenna. They brought radio to the masses with the invention of the triode. This device amplified the small signal at the antenna to a level that a user could easily hear. The amount of amplification was measured as gain. The early triodes had gains of 10. The broadcast triods had gains many times that amount delivering broadcast powers of 50,000 watts. Even in today’s transistor world, we still use triodes to generate the final gain needed for broadcasting.
Arthur G McKee was the author of many of the patents that created the golden age of steel production in North America. He started an engineering firm, Arthur G McKee and Co, to gain from that talent. He needed to gather others to accomplish that gain. My dad, the son of immigrants, attended Fenn College an engineering school across the street from Mc Kee Company. Arthur worked with this school to find and train the best talent to become his workforce. An unwritten but understood bargain occurred between the selected talent like my dad and Arthur. Arthur transferred his engineering knowledge and paid professional salaries. My dad remained loyal to the company helping it make excellent profits for his entire career. Many of the colleges got their start this way. Fenn College is now Cleveland State University. With 25,000 students it has gotten away from training its graduates for a profitable lifetime.

The cost of a year of college has gone up 11 times what it cost in the seventies. We only wish wages increased to match

The cost of a year of college has gone up 11 times what it cost in the seventies. We only wish wages increased to match


Now the millennials are entering the workforce. The old formula where employers would see a gain by investing in employee training has evaporated. In the short term we will experience a mismatch until a new pattern emerges that insures that a gain accrues to the people who invest in education. The thing that we know for sure is that the marketplace will reward the players who have the skills that are wanted.