Poorly Made In China

[properchopper]

Interesting :

http://www.economist.com/node/13642306

"......Not only did he quickly, and seemingly effortlessly, find customers, they were delighted with what they found in China. Factories will do anything to please. Prices are famously low and production cycles short. His clients returned from their initial trips to China stunned by how quickly factories became proficient and puzzled by how much could be done so well, so fast, so cheaply. They were right to wonder.

Most of Mr Midler’s work is coping with what he calls “quality fade” as the Chinese factories transform what were, in fact, profitless contracts into lucrative relationships. The production cycle he sees is the opposite of the theoretical model of continuous improvement. After resolving teething problems and making products that match specifications, innovation inside the factory turns to cutting costs, often in ways that range from unsavoury to dangerous. Packaging is cheapened, chemical formulations altered,....., and on and on, in a series of continual product debasements..."

[egneg]

The same thing is true for products from India. I used to work for a gear manufacturer that got it's blanks from India and they ran into major quality issues because the blanks were so inconsistent. The scrap rate was enormous.

[properchopper]

There's an old term "Sausage manufacturing " ; initial production has 50% meat, 50% fat/grissle. Later runs, to cut production costs - 25% meat, 75% fat/grissle and so on.

"....After resolving teething problems and making products that match specifications, innovation inside the factory turns to cutting costs, often in ways that range from unsavoury to dangerous. Packaging is cheapened, chemical formulations altered,....., and on and on, in a series of continual product debasements..."


I suspect this might explain the inconsistancies experienced in "spec" motors. Call me crazy, but I seem to find some"spec" motors run better than others.

[TheShaughnessy]

They don't seem to all be created equally.