Fabrication and the Language of Engineering

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Today, I went out to lunch with my friend/mentor, R - he's a professional electrical engineer who helped us out a lot on Rice Solar Car.  We started talking about a device he was working on, and we got around to brainstorming different ways to make it cheaply (fit for mass production), yet effective.  The device itself is very simple, but we spent more than an hour discussing ways to manufacture and assemble it.  That's one of the things about engineering I really like - that an object that has a simple and straightforward function can be quite challenging to make.  That's why I love the Discovery Channel show, "How It's Made".  It basically shows how everyday objects get produced in factories or by craftspeople.  In fact, I made several suggestions for manufacturing R's part that were inspired by things I saw on that show.

This whole lunch conversation reminded me of a time around 1.5 years ago when I was working in my lab making a small jig to bend a strip of thin sheet metal.  (I wish I still had a drawing of this particular part).  I drew up a design on CAD, printed it out, brought it downstairs to the Space Science machine shop, and presented it to one of the machinists.  He pointed to one of the drawings and said, "We won't be able to machine this here.  This fillet, the radius is too small.  We won't be able to make if that deep with a bit that thin."  I felt so stupid after the machinist told me that.  These are the things I never thought of...I had been used to drawing up models and having them 3D printed, which basically means I had total freedom over the geometry of the part I'm designing.  Having only occasionally worked with traditional machine shop machines, I wasn't prepared to design a part that would be fabricated using them.

Describing what a part is supposed to do is always easy.  Sometimes, even making a sketch of what the part should look like is pretty easy, too.  But 3D printing is still a relatively young technology, and many parts are constrained by the methods of manufacture available to the designer.  That fabrication step is almost always going to be a challenge.  I remember a lot of times during solar car design sessions, it'd be like:

Someone: Well for this part we can just use/do ___.
Someone else: Okay...how are you going to make that?
Someone: ....

or

Someone: Well for this part we can just use/do ___.
Someone else: ...Yeeeeaah you're not going to be able to machine it like that...

And just today, I was trying to (re)design another part with fabrication constraints:

Me: UGH I'll have to 3D print another thing to hold this part up...that's going to take so long...Chad: ...Do you have to 3D print it?

So anyways, after I got back to my room, I decided to watch some more "How It's Made".  In the first couple seasons, the intro shows a bunch of fabrication words like "trim" or "compress" or "apply heat" along with a little animation performing that action, which I think is really cool.  There are just so many different, creative techniques engineers, craftspeople, artisans, and tradespeople have developed over the course of human history  to build stuff that at one point never existed.  Sometimes the idea is so far ahead of current technology, you need to build the tool to build the thing you actually want to make...or even build the tool to build the tool to build the thing you want to make (you get the idea).

Anyways, after watching a couple of episodes, I decided to list all the fabrication-related words I could possibly think of (in a reasonable amount of time).  There are just so many awesome techniques people developed to make all the stuff we have today, I just wanted to try capturing all that in spoken/written language.  Now I tried to ROUGHLY categorize these by a general topic, but obviously such groupings are artificial, and some techniques can easily be put under another category I've listed.

Oh, one more thing.  I noticed a lot of these verbs are also nouns, which probably means those things (probably a tool of some sort) have become so popular or so functional that their use is some generally accepted technique.  But then think all the verbs (techniques) you'd have to perform to make that noun.  Take, for example, bolt.  You BOLT something together.  But to make that bolt you had to use some sort of dye to CUT threads into that bolt, which you had to EXTRUDE or STRETCH or LATHE from some other piece of metal, say stainless steel, which you had to MINE, REFINE/SMELT, and MIX with PULVERIZED carbon black and chrome and nickel.  Anyways, it's amazing how much stuff you have to do to make a simple bolt.

Okay.  Without further ado, here is a list of all the things you can do to make stuff (that I could think of in maybe 1.5-2 hours or so).

Kerry's list of things that engineers, tradespeople, craftspeople, and artisans do

Topic	Technique
Computers	Upload, download, program, compile, execute, debug, sync, type, query, signal, transmit, receive, sort, search, comment, time, loop, count
Raw materials	harvest, extract, condense, reform, mine, drill, grow, farm, refine
Measurement	Measure, align, calibrate, mass, weigh, graph
Attachment	Glue, JB-weld :), cement, tape, screw, nail, bolt, bind, rivet, velcro, hook, weld, braze, solder, clamp, pin, mount, fuse, sinter
Soft materials	Sew, string, stitch, weave, knot, zip, tie, zip-tie, wrap, wind, reel, pultrude, fold
Subtractive manufacturing	Cut, laser-cut, waterjet cut, saw, carve, lathe, mill, route, drill, tap, thread, trim, punch, dye-cut, perforate, enrave, wipe, chisel, scrape, whittle
Fluids	Spray, pour, vent, dry, mix, whip, brew, agitate, inflate, ventilate, blow, suck, vacuum, rinse, filter, purify, pump, pressurize, drain, treat, fill, percolate
Design	Trace, draw, draft, model, CAD, scan, photograph, film, print, mark, optimize, simulate
Shaping	Bend, press, compress, sand, grind, chamfer, fillet, sculpt, extrude, sharpen, dull, file, taper, deburr, roughen, texturize, stretch, twist, shave, flange, hammer, roll, sand/shot-blast
Heat	Heat, fire, bake, forge, burn, autoclave, cool, chill, freeze, steam, refrigerate, boil, vaporize, melt, temper, smelt, quench
Solid handling	Pulverize, atomize, sieve, trawl, scoop, funnel, shoot, push, pull, rotate, lift, screen, gear
Additive manufacturing	Cast, mold, print, 3D-print, inject, layer
Finishing	Finish, coat, paint, stain, seal, insulate, wrap, shrinkwrap, vacuum seal, laminate, dye, polish, wax
Electrical	Wire, connect, plug, crimp, strip, pulse, de-noise, dampen, power, charge
Chemical/Physical	Cure, react, sputter, ionize, oxidize, reduce, expose (light), excite, spin-coat, activate, dissolve, acidify, alkalize
Civil/construction	Demolish, pave, reinforce, lay, scaffold, cantilever, support

Can you think of any others?  If so, please comment!

The Hunger Games...I likes it.

I'm not a big reader of fiction, but I did very much enjoy The Hunger Games (THG) series.  I watched it again this evening, after having listened to the series on audiobook (during my Europe trip).  This is definitely a movie you get more out of after reading (or listening to) the book, since the book is written in first person, in Katniss's POV.

One of most believably brave characters I've ever encountered.

Even after the first time I watched the movie, though, before the audiobook, I was pretty impressed.  The story has so many elements I like: survival, archery, a strong female character, slight romance (more interestingly, questions about romance), an anti-authoritarian and wealth gap theme, etc.  I think I was most impressed, though, and most disturbed by how real the story felt.  I can't help but see so many parallels to real life - the Hunger Games are being fought everyday.  The main thing I think of are all the public services that are being pitted against each other.  Which one do we kill?  Do we lay off a bunch of firemen or close a bunch of post offices?  Do we cut budgets for education or for NASA?  Do we cut classes or raise tuition again?  These parallels seemed especially strong to me at the time, since when I first watched The Hunger Games, it was right after I read that University of Florida cut their computer science department...all while their athletic budget grew.

The last two big parallels might contain spoilers (although they probably won't surprise you coming from a story of a dystopian future).  Still, the following spoiler-containing text will be colored the same as background color.  To read it, just highlight the text below.

There's pretty obvious connection between the brutal crackdowns of the Peacekeepers during uprisings and real-life police crackdowns on Occupy protestors, journalists, and whistleblowers.


The last real-life analogy I found especially heinous.  In the last book, Mockingjay, President Coin uses a tactic in the war against The Capitol which involves bombing a group of children, waiting for first responders to arrive (of which Prim is a medic), and detonating a second round of bombs afterwards.  The bombing was made to look like it was done by The Capitol to turn public opinion against President Snow.  Turns out this tactic has a name...our government calls it "double-tapping".  We use it during our drone strikes.  We bomb a neighborhood that is supposedly inhabited by a suspected militant, kill a bunch of civilians in the process, wait for first responders to arrive, and then bomb them again.  Another alternative is that we wait for a funeral procession to begin for those killed in the first wave, and then bomb that funeral.  And then we cover up the whole thing by blaming the strikes on other militants.  The same tactic was actually used in the Collateral Murder video released by Wikileaks - the Apache helicopter fired a couple of rounds, injuring/killing one or two journalists, waited for survivors to assemble to transport the injured, and then opened fire again.  ....And we tried to cover that one up, too.  It's just so obvious that nothing the bad guys in THG is below what America does in real life.

Well that's about it.  Oh wait...I forgot to mention.  At the end of the Mockingjay audiobook, Suzanne Collins (the author of THG) gives a little 3-minute talk.  The last part the talk is given below:

What would I like young readers to ultimately take away from The Hunger Games trilogy?  Questions about how elements of the book might be relevant in their own lives...like how do you feel about the fact that some people take their next meal for granted when so many other people are starving in the world?  What do you think your government, past or present, or other governments around the world make?  What's your relationship to reality TV versus your relationship to the news.  Is there anything in the books that disturbed you because it reflected aspects of your own life?  If there was, what can you do about it?

This just makes me love this series even more.  It's just so real, and it's awesome that the author is actually trying to communicate a meaningful message to her audience.  I fell in love with superhero stories as a kid because they were always trying to teach a lesson (Spider-Man's themes of power and responsibility, X-Men's mutant civil rights movements, Batman's themes of fear and mental dexterity/determination, etc.).  Unfortunately, I don't feel like the stories that have been popular with my generation have really had any  interesting message or lesson to communicate.  Pokemon, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Twilight...I mean I never liked English class, so maybe I'm missing something super obvious in these stories, but they all kind of just feel like generic good-vs-evil stories.  Epic, sometimes, but not terribly interesting; I don't feel like I learned anything or became wiser from knowing those stories.  (Okay I'm not really sure if that applies to Twilight, since I really don't know enough about it to make that call.  I did watch the first movie with some friends using it as a drinking game once, but I left not really knowing what the plot/point of the movie was).

Anyways...Yes, I really liked The Hunger Games, and I'm glad it's gotten pretty popular.  Media does matter.  The kind of stuff in movies and on the radio...it does affect people.  So I think it's good that THG is out there, hopefully encouraging young adults (and children) to question things in our society and prevent it from becoming a Panem.

Lastly, in case you wanted to read the entire transcript of Suzann Collin's mini-talk at the end of the Mockingjay book (I wonder if this "talk" is in the print versions of the book.  It'd be really cool if it were!), here it is below.  It's pretty interesting.

Hi, I'm Susanne Collins.  The spark that triggered the Hunger Games trilogy?  A significant influence would have to be the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.  The myth tells how in punishment for past deeds, Athens periodically had to send seven youths and seven maidens to Cree, where they were thrown in the labyrinth and devoured by the monstrous Minotaur,  Thesius who is the son of the kind, volunteered to go.  I guess in her own way, Katniss is a futuristic Theseus.   

But she may be more closely tied to the historical figure of Spartacus.  He was a roman slave and gladiator who lived in the first century BC.  He broke out of his gladiator school in Capula, started an uprsising, and that led to what is known as the Third Servile War.  I send my tributes into an updated version of the Roman gladiator games.  While the details are different, the three essential elements remain: 1.) You have a ruthless government that 2.) forces people to fight to the death as 3.) a form of popular entertainment. 

The actual moment of inspiration for the trilogy came when I was channel surfing between reality TV programming and news coverage of the war in Iraq.  One night, I'm sitting there flipping around.  On one channel there's a group of young people competing for, I dunno, money?  And on the next, there's a group of young people fighting in an actual war.  And I was tired, and the lines began to blur in a very unsettling way, and I thought of Katniss's story.

I never directly base my characters off real people.  Since the situations that theykk be entering will be futursistic and specific to that time, but there are differently bits and pieces of characters that were inspired by people in my own life.  For instance, if you take the crew who create the The Hunger games each year, a lot of their personalities, their attitudes, their absorption with the show they're creating come from my work in television.  I've been a TV writer for over 19 years.  In a way it's very easy for me to imagine the world of the game makers because in a much gentler way, I was one myself. 

What would I like young readers to ultimately take away from the hunger games trilogy?  Questions about how elements of the book might be relevant in their own lives like how do you feel about the fact that some people take their next meal for granted when so many other people are starving in the world?  What do you think your government, past or present, or other governments around the world make?  What's your relationship to reality TV versus your relationship to the news.  Is there anything in the books that disturbed you because it reflected aspects of your own life?  If there was, what can you do about it? 

I think it's important for everyone to read.  It exposes you to people and places and times and ideas that you might never encounter or encounter in such an intimate way. there's this one on one connection, no one's interpreting the material for you.  If there's an opportunity for your mind to meet the author's mind, grab it.

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