I know you’ve been having problems getting good magnets. Have you given up on that or are you thinking you’ll get a few more PMG’s built? I’m guessing it’s one you’ve had for a while. If the engine I’m looking at turns out to be good, I’ll be looking for a generator. My father in law has an electric motor shop and he and I have plans to experiment with the asynchronous motor turned driven to be a generator. I bought the book from you about it but he and I have a few different ideas. I hope I have more info to add for the DIY community. I will want a generator though for when there is no grid power…or perhaps no electronics because of EMP. With the Muslim uprisings around the world…this too may be coming soon to a country near you!
Jeff
My answer: Jeff,
Few people understand how serious problems are in China. They need a very high growth rate in the economy to make ends meet, and it appears that signals from the top in some cases push production regardless of QC. The magnets we are seeing right now are examples of ‘top down’ pressure to produce products at least cost. As I have mentioned, making quality magnets that are properly matched as per flux density is tedious work, and it must be done by people who care about what they do.
I would bet my house there’s a bean counting manager who has the authorority to over rule technical management. I can see their visit in my mind’s eye. They visit the production line, note that the morons are taking all day to mix dirt and press it into magnets. Of course the bean counter knows that simple farmers know dirt best, so he fires all the technicians and brings in Peasants to work at one fifth the cost. After all.. he knows a magnet is a magnet, and he thinks it passes the test if it sticks to the fridge.
China has operated in ‘top down’ mode for how many years? Remember when Mao was the voice of God? He ordered Peasants to be armed with pellet guns, and every bird to be shot.. They were eating too much of China’s food crops he thought.
China has lessons to learn, while the USA seems unable to lean that we can’t give every Federal and State employee twice the wages of the private sector, free health care, and a $100,000 pension, they need learn that if they continue to make junk, people will sooner or later quit buying Chinese all together.
Some of the horizontal engines out of China were made to sell, not run. If you look at the worst of them, you’ll find bushings in place of ball bearing in places where significant radial loads are found.. example might be a 195 on the balance shafts. Missing pieces like oil pressure regulator, etc.
We Americans don’t seem to have the courage to hold our elected officials accountable. The Chinese people have more of an excuse… they don’t have the influence to do more than go along with the current program. Muslims are a small problem compared to those who get elected by promising the impossible and Americans foolish enough to believe it.
As for PMGs, I just don’t know how long it will take for China to learn the lesson. I have heard that no one trusts China to make magnets for the hybrid cars.. true or false, I just don’t know. Canada claims to have found some rare earth, we’ll see if they sell it all to the Chinese the way Australia purportedly did..
G
I recently had the experience of one of our company vice presidents returning from a trip to china to oversee the completion of a die for our production facility. I asked him about the production lines and the QC involved in not only this die, but also other aspects in the industry……he took me to his office and showed me pictures. Worth a thousand words.
The enviorment in which our products we buy are made are far less than satisfactory. Working conditions? Whats that? Hours worked are slave like along with wages. QC….whats that? I could go on and on, but anyone with half a bean in the head will get the picture.
A major part of the issue with consumer goods brought into this country is not due to the chinese……its due to the American public being so dumbed down through consistant junk purchases that they expect that blender or bearing to last only a year…….. but thats OK cause they only paid 40% of what an american equivalant would cost. (if an equivilant is even made here anymore)
I am too poor to buy anything cheaply made……
One more side note…looking at the pictures from china….I would DEEFINATLY wash and sanitize ANYTHING used in the food enviorment……NO, I am not kidding
Denny,
There are plenty of reasons why things are not made here anymore, and it’s not all Greed. You need recognize that small and large business sometimes move to survive. In my State of Washington, many believe that Corporations are evil, and it’s their duty to either run them out of the State or make them pay till they are no longer profitable.
There is a great experiment going on right now.. We saw the Government and Banks together loan money to people who couldn’t pay it back, AND had no incentive to do so. Some think every man should own his own home whether he can pay for it or not. These insane loans are still being made, and the result will be more defaults all on our backs.. Devaluation of our currency will likely convert any savings you had to lunch money. Soros and his friends are giddy over the prospect.