Six Sigma business models have rapidly reduced the margin of quality between internationally traded products and continue to do so every year at a geometric rate. Given the same materials, tolerances and manufacturing processes, a widget hewn by a machine in China, Mexico, or the USA is going to turn out the same. The only difference is the cost to produce. This, of cousre, is not necessarily to the benefit of the individual economies involved in the trade.bossman wrote:I find that US made products exhibit a greater level of QC than Chinese made equivalents.
Knowledge is money. That's why we're all in this forum. Learning about basic electronics can net you substantial savings. Of course we have to know what products we're talking about specifically, but almost anything can be fixed if you know how it works and was initially put together (industrial / process engineering). I've saved enough over the last few years in electrical and other rework to have easily paid for a digital soldering and rework station. The money saved adds up faster than you might think:bossman wrote:The Chinese made products are 'disposable', whereas the US made ones were often repaired instead of tossed in the trash and replaced with new
- Tune up for the GF's car +$200
- Repairing a blown head gasket on the BMW +$2000
- Restoring the the battery for the nephew's "power-wheels" +$75
- Soldering a frayed wire in the GF's electric razor +$25
- Trouble shooting a faulty LED transmitter in the remote control +$20
- Trouble shooting and replacing the key pad flex cable for the cell-phone +$125
- Replacing a crapped-out hard drive in the GF's computer +$100
- Not buying a JBL SRX system because I can build something my self better for 1/3 of the price +$2000
- Re-capping a blown out Behringer DEQ power supply +$150
- Knowing that the DEQ cheap power supply caps eventually dry out over time +$300
The list goes on..Everything's repairable (cheap china toy to the family automobile) , it just depends how valuable it is too you. I think Bill has referred to this as "Sweat Equity"