2017-03-19

Notes.
Thanks to the people and companies that contributed to The Prepared in the past week - and to everyone who wrote in with thoughts on encouraging a less male-centric list!

Planning & Strategy.

• The Economist on Trump and manufacturing jobs: "Putting the components that make up a product together looks like the essence of the manufacturing process. But it often adds little to the finished product’s value." Note that in the US, vises are things that clamp parts and vices are things you shouldn't do; UK English makes no such distinction.
• A good overview of the use of FEA software in the high end cycling industry - particularly on carbon fiber composites. This article quotes Jing Bi @ Dassault Systemes, who I've been collaborating with at nTopology a lot recently.
• A long profile on Alan Adler, inventor of the Aerobie (one of my favorite things in the world) and Aeropress (how I make my own daily coffee).
• A friend, who works on electric motorcycle company in the Bay Area, is looking to expand his network of like-minded folks. If that sounds like you, send a note and I'll connect you.

Making & Manufacturing.

• A video tour of Plymouth Tube, a manufacturer of cold drawn, seamless, steel tubing. I've personally used hundreds of feet of this stuff - their catalog of 4130 steel tubing is extensive, affordable, and available from a number of convenient suppliers. 4130 tubing is commonly referred to as "aircraft grade;" I used it for most of the stuff in these three photosets. Cold drawing is really cool, and can be used to make surprisingly complex (e.g. butted) tubes.
• Voodoo Manufacturing bought a Universal Robot and have it tending Replicators in their FDM factory in Bushwick. Pretty rad.
• Two Tesla things: First, a (somewhat shaky, but interesting nonetheless) video tour of the Gigafactory; Second, a 52 Mwh PowerPack installation on Kauai.
• A report from the World of Concrete conference.

Maintenance, Repair & Operations.

• The EPA says that 99% of lead acid batteries are recycled, making them the most recycled consumer good in the US.

Distribution & Logistics.

• Ingrid Burrington, one of my favorite infrastructure writers, on Amazon's AWS sites and their relationship with the US's intelligence community.
• I've been listening to Containers, Alexis Madrigal's new podcast on the shipping industry in Oakland. It's very good, and highlights the inherent conflict between US manufacturers (who *might* want more protectionist trade deals) and the shipping industry, which (obviously) doesn't.
• A trap for self-driving cars.

Inspection & Testing.

• A really, really good video tour of Starrett's Massachusetts factory. I've got a good selection of Starrett measurement & inspection tools myself, and have always wanted to visit their factory.
• The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (which did not find the plane) resulted in a remarkably high-resolution dataset on the region of the Indian Ocean where the plane is thought to have crashed.
• Fictiv spills the beans on who their users are, and what tools they use.

Tangents.

• "I believe a founding team should know exactly how much of the company they own at every second of the journey. Notes hide this from them, particularly the less sophisticated founders."
• "Living in a big city means getting comfortable with the gradual disappearance of things you love: bars, restaurants, stores, buildings, scenes, neighborhood identities."

Thanks as always to our recurring donors for supporting The Prepared. Credit also to Noah, Tim, Heather, Ken and Bill for sending links.
Josh thinks he can program The Public Radio without touching it. We're very into this idea.