[calvinmorrison]

Factories, were like that. Giant Mills, Planing machines, vacuum forming tooling, welding stations, etc. Configurable, yes. Tooling, yes. It's why ford, singer and a hundred other american factories could start making bombs, guns and anything during WW2. You had machinists who could read a drafting diagram, and drafters who could draft anything up.

Today, could we do that? probably not. Not even - we don't have the basic bootstrapping tools in capacities needed, we don't have a wide group of people with the skillset.

So yes, you can make anything in a factory designed to make mostly anything

With specialization, especially like in the auto industry, you'll have one shop in mexico that gets an order 6 weeks ahead of time and has to deliver down to the day on the production schedule of ford to supply say a car headrest, and thats it. So, could we... today... maybe?

[tsss]

China can do it. No car that leaves a factory there is the same. Everything automated and yet customizable.

[calvinmorrison]

Right but big robot arms do need to be reprogrammed. In short we traded higher throughput for less flexibility. Tooling and such is expensive and complicated. A sheet brake and a welder and a mill and lathe can produce a LOT of stuff without any expensive tooling.

[detourdog]

This has always been the trade off. One of my first design jobs was working for Simco. They made boxes with fans and ionizer and you could design what ever you want as longs as it’s bent sheet metal. I’m trying to develop a small run manufacturing facility. Last step is a 9 month composite construction certification course in September. I think composites will provide freedom in the final form and flexible tooling.

[fragmede]

> big robot arms do need to be reprogrammed.

The cost of that reprogramming goes down over time, no?