[Coco] CoCo vs EMP WAS--> Re: Coco Digest, Vol 24, Issue 48

[Dean Leiber]

>Rad harden **might** still be a requirment for certain
>devices/applications. I work for a defense contractor and we design
>weapon system for the future. DOD has removed many of the requiremnts

I used to work for a Defense Contractor myself and alot of the 
requirements we got were contradictory. We were designing a generator, 
which had to be RAD hard but the vehicle it went into had RAD hardness 
waved... fun times. Try and do 'Build-to-Print' with Gov Drawings 
sometimes. Instead of fixing an incorrect drawing alot of times you'd be 
issued a waver for your production lot. Then the next poor contractor had 
to go through the exact same thing. Sometimes this has been going on for 
20+ years.

Don't even get me started on 'Engineering Houses' who'd design stuff but 
don't build anything themselves. An example would be a hydraulic tank 
with gaskets on only SOME of the bolted on parts(leaks reported in the 
field...no kidding), a pickup tube which couldn't physically be installed 
(no one took into account the length of the threaded portion of the pipe) 
and a requirement that the unpainted steel top be free of oil for 
shipment (obviously, rust was found at the end destination...sigh...which 
was..you guessed it, cause for rejection of the shipment)

On another project, the Gov Project managers kept being moved/replaced 
every 6 Monthes so there was no real oversight. Each new team made 
changes, alot of which contradicted/conflicted with the last team's 
decisions. At the end of the day, the company delivered a piece of junk 
which didn't meet all the specs and the gov didn't say a peep. I was a 
young naive engineer then...actually used to believe someone was paying 
attention.

>for qualified parts. In the past we used ALOT of rescreened components.
>Normal parts that are tested/screened and certified. Take a $0.25 part
>and it becomes $125. Commercial/Industrial parts yields are so good
>that the add cost couldn't be validated. Most of the common electrical
>assemblies are call COTS(Consumer Off The Shelf) components.

I came in a little before COTS took off, but the company always used 
commerical parts where they could get away with it. The trick was in 
getting the whole assembly qualified;That way you didn't need to screen 
the individual parts. The really big change is the Gov no longer watches 
the processes anymore and just looks at the final product. This works 
fine for reputable companies who adhere to ISO standards, but the 'bottom 
feeders' were dancing with joy over that change.

>
>Control system is still our design. Electrical motor drives switching
>1000A RMS at 650v 3 phase bus voltages.......... :)

Hmmmm, sounds like you're working on the next generation vehicles with 
hybrid drive systems. Things are getting interesting in vetronics 
nowadays. I did work for things on the FAASV, MII3, Bradley, Avenger, 
AAAV (I think they renamed it) and a soft NBC vehicle for TRW. I'd love 
to poke my nose into the new robotic vehicles being developed.


Dean