Manufacturing systems and strategies response

I think the article does a good job introducing general knowledge of manufacturing systems. I think the most interesting part is the diagram that has flexibility as x axis and productivity as y axis.

I have been studied in both the University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan, and both schools have good fabrication labs. During these years of physical modeling, I feel that making decision of which tool or which combination of tools to use is always hard. There is always another way to produce the product that is more time consuming but less labor intensive or vice versa. The diagram in the article shows exactly why. We as architecture students are very likely to model something repetitively, which is a very important characteristic of architecture. Meanwhile, we model for ourselves as opposed to factories manufacture for their  large number of customers, so we model repetitively but not that repetitively. In the diagram, rigid multi-machine system works best if productivity is the goal, while CNC single machine system is more accurate and precise. But neither of those are likely to be what we are frequently doing. Then we have to make decisions based on precision required, time, money, labor, etc.

Another thing come to my mind is that machines are replacing human labors increasingly. But the best cars and the best watches are still hand made. In theory, cars and watches are not high-tech products, so it makes more sense if machines now do better jobs assemble cars and watches. I think this is because human have experiences, a experienced worker know what the sound of the engine should be, a experienced watch maker knows what is wrong by just listening to the tick tack. a trained worker’s hands know if the bolt is too tight or too loose. Watches and cars are special items as well. They are old inventions, but not likely to be replaced by anything like CD players went distinct. Watches and cars have cultural meanings,  they represent taste, wealth, career, class, and even more.