OT: This is a problem....

[StickyBun]

The kind of problem that will continue to get worse....

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/techn...-made.html

[Guest]

@StickyBun said:
The kind of problem that will continue to get worse....

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/techn...-made.html

As they say, it's the little screws that thing ya...stop. Reverse that.

[Guest]

@StickyBun said:
The kind of problem that will continue to get worse....

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/techn...-made.html

To be fair apple uses its “own” screw with a propritory head. So its not like they went to the local Ace Hardware and they were sold out. 

[Guest]

@AGRforever said:

@StickyBun said:
The kind of problem that will continue to get worse....

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/techn...-made.html

To be fair apple uses its “own” screw with a propritory head. So its not like they went to the local Ace Hardware and they were sold out. 

all mfgs are going to do these little show and tell attempts at bringing production home to try and humor their customer base,  and of course they will have some sorts of issues that will cause them to go running back to china for their "specialized" production capabilities... honestly if a company like apple made even a half assed effort to source those screws in the US they would have no problem finding a shop that could produce them,  but that wouldnt tell a sympathetic story as to why they went back to relying on china and their cheap as hell labor and questionable at best political/business tactics. 

[Guest]

@JimmyinSD said:

@AGRforever said:

@StickyBun said:
The kind of problem that will continue to get worse....

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/techn...-made.html

To be fair apple uses its “own” screw with a propritory head. So its not like they went to the local Ace Hardware and they were sold out. 

all mfgs are going to do these little show and tell attempts at bringing production home to try and humor their customer base,  and of course they will have some sorts of issues that will cause them to go running back to china for their "specialized" production capabilities... honestly if a company like apple made even a half assed effort to source those screws in the US they would have no problem finding a shop that could produce them,  but that wouldnt tell a sympathetic story as to why they went back to relying on china and their cheap as hell labor and questionable at best political/business tactics. 

and after decades of depleting our manufacturing, hardware mfgs don't just ramp up overnight.  We have a steel vendor that couldn't keep up with demand as we ramped up one product.  But with a continued demand, they have increased production to keep up with us. 

[Guest]

The word "screws" is only referenced 8 times in the entire article.

1. Once Apple began making the Mac Pro in Austin, they "struggled to find enough screws."

2. Apple's Chinese manufacturing depends on in-house screw manufacturing.

3. A 20 employee US machine shop Apple relied on could only produce 1,000 screws a day.

4. It was such a problem, Apple ordered screws from China.

5. Employees of Flextronics, the company hired by Apple to build computers in the US, hired Caldwell Manufacturing in 2002 to make 28,000 screws.

6. "In 2002, Caldwell was capable of the high-volume production Apple needed. But demand for that had dried up as manufacturing moved to China. He said he had replaced the old stamping presses that could pass-produce screws with machines designed for more precise, specialized jobs.

7. He made due with his new machines although he could not make the exact screws Apple wanted. 

8. His company delivered 28,000 screws over 22 trips.

---

Funny how someone had the ability to do this in 2002 but once they jettisoned that equipment nobody could anymore.

The word "materials" is only written twice. Getting the raw resources to make tiny screws isn't the issue. It says point blank, Caldwell sold the equipment capable of doing this in 2002 because demand dried up and manufactures moved over seas.

Without addressing the struggles of reacquiring or manufacturing these screw making machines, the article strongly implies we're ****** anyways because the Chinese can "Marshall 100,000 to work on all night for you." Don't get it twisted, "That has become an essential part of the product-rollout strategy."  ... it keeps going and going and going... 

but why can't we get our hand on or manufacture tech that existed in 2002?  It's completely glossed over. The article ends with "But the Mac Pro has been a slow seller," and "Apple announced that it would add up to 15,000 workers in Austin, ... None are expected to be in manufacturing."

... so, don't worry about it anyways... i guess? 

[Guest]

It is what it is.  Big business and politicians intentionally moved manufacturing offshore for profits for the few, knowing full well they were avoiding all the regulations and taxes that provide us with a higher standard of living, and hollowing out our manufacturing base.  There's nothing that can be made in China that couldn't be made in America if it was a level playing field.