Design World

  • Home
  • Articles
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
  • Suppliers
  • 3D CAD Models
    • PARTsolutions
    • TraceParts
  • Webinars
  • Leadership
    • 2019 Winners
    • 2018 Winners
    • LEAP Awards
  • Engineering Resources
    • 3D Simulation Resources
    • DIGITAL ISSUES
      • EE World Digital Issues
    • LEAP Awards
    • MC² Motion Control Classroom
    • Podcasts
    • Totally Integrated Automation
    • Women in Engineering
  • Ebooks / Tech Tips
  • Videos
  • Subscribe

Death of the shadetree mechanic?

By Paul Heney | July 22, 2019

Share

Downs (center), speaking at the May 2019 Fluid Power Technology Conference.

Technology has shifted many former engineering functions to software or electronics over the past couple of decades, and that trend shows few signs of slowing. Let’s take mobile hydraulics as an example. In my career, I’ve met a lot hydraulics people — from system designers to founders of component manufacturers — who started off as teenagers either on the farm, working on equipment, or in the driveway, working on their car. These kinds of mechanical lessons often proved invaluable in their later movement into engineering design.

But today’s modern agricultural equipment users have been grumbling about some aspects of progress the last few years. Outlets as varied as WIRED magazine, Forbes and The Guardian have all covered the “right to repair” issue (which also extends to consumer electronics and other items). Some farmers are fighting back against the trend for OEMs to require all repairs to be done only by authorized repair shops or technicians.

Greg Downs, Senior Principal Engineer, Zoomlion Heavy Industry NA Inc., spoke with me about this issue at this Spring’s Fluid Power Technology Conference in Milwaukee, and he noted that when he was growing up, he used to work on cars a lot himself.

“We’d build an engine and we didn’t have to have a PhD to do it — but you can’t do that anymore. The reason is because they have cars that are more reliable and a better quality. You give up simplicity for the complexity, because they are better performing, more efficient,” he said.

“Several years ago, I was talking to a farmer about his combine harvester,” Downs said. “He explained how he could work on it during his harvest, when the machines had a lot of belts and chains and mechanical drives. But I told him that he’d been asking for much higher productivity, more speed, bigger grain tanks, longer seasons. All of these things mean more efficiency. So, you give up some of that ease of maintenance for systems that are much more complex but also simplified; your software diagnoses issues. In order to get the higher production, the higher efficiencies — that’s what you give up. The days of being a shadetree mechanic, going out and changing out things is becoming less and less.”

Some engineers who learned mechanics the old-fashioned way might not be able to handle all the new changes. The truth is that today, we need experts to fix things — that means engineers comfortable with electronics and sensors and software in addition to the mechanics. And really, this is just one more lesson that adapting to change might be the best lesson we can learn early on in our careers.

 

About Paul Heney

Paul J. Heney, the VP, Editorial Director for Design World magazine, has a BS in Engineering Science & Mechanics and minors in Technical Communications and Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Tech. He has written about fluid power, aerospace, robotics, medical, green engineering, and general manufacturing topics for nearly 25 years. He has won numerous regional and national awards for his writing from the American Society of Business Publication Editors.

DESIGN GUIDES



PTC Creo

Enews Sign Up

Motion Control Classroom
Leadership in Engineering

Design World Digital Edition

September 2019 issue

Browse the most current issue of Design World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading design engineering magazine today.

EDABoard the Forum for Electronics

Top global problem solving EE forum covering Microcontrollers, DSP, Networking, Analog and Digital Design, RF, Power Electronics, PCB Routing and much more

EDABoard: Forum for electronics

Sponsored Content

  • The Decision-Makers’ Guide to Additive Manufacturing: Explore the essentials of today’s AM environment and improve your results
  • The First 3 Things any Injection Molding Service Checks on Your Parts
  • Elastomeric Couplings Provide Reliable Performance on Pipeline Injector Pumps
  • Consistent linear motion systems with the PBC Linear Uni-Guide
  • New Nested Spirawave® Wave Springs from Smalley
  • What are the four torque characteristics associated with stepping motors?
Engineering Exchange

The Engineering Exchange is a global educational networking community for engineers.

Connect, share, and learn today »

Tweets by @DesignWorld
Design World
  • Advertising
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Manage your Design World Subscription
  • Subscribe
  • Design World Digital Network
  • Engineering White Papers
  • LEAP Awards

Copyright © 2019 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Design World

  • Home
  • Articles
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
  • Suppliers
  • 3D CAD Models
    • PARTsolutions
    • TraceParts
  • Webinars
  • Leadership
    • 2019 Winners
    • 2018 Winners
    • LEAP Awards
  • Engineering Resources
    • 3D Simulation Resources
    • DIGITAL ISSUES
      • EE World Digital Issues
    • LEAP Awards
    • MC² Motion Control Classroom
    • Podcasts
    • Totally Integrated Automation
    • Women in Engineering
  • Ebooks / Tech Tips
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use this website.OkNoRead more