[Coco] CoCo vs EMP WAS--> Re: Coco Digest, Vol 24, Issue 48
Dean Leiber
adit at 1stconnect.com
Wed Sep 14 15:34:22 EDT 2005
>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
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