TURKEY: Local R&D in Japanese tailor procedure
The
last time I attended a social gathering, my highly experienced
professional colleagues of the local market complaint that in
general there is no R&D made in recent years in the local market,
but only copies. "Nobody is making a sheet of technical drawing,
but there is a practise to substitute for copying and duplicating the
equipment, machine, and device that come in front of them." Most
of the other members in the meeting were inclined to participate to
this notion. I do not quite agree with this market assessment. In the
1980s, we had an obligatory R&D experience, let me tell you about
it.
I
worked manufacturing halls more than 10 years in a public machine
production factory. Then they took me to the design section. At that
time, we got a license from a German VKW (and EVT) companies for 50
tph coal burning and 100 tph fuel oil burning steam boilers. Two each
boiler pieces were sent to us with 100 percent material and we
installed them on site.
They
gave us a new task of reproducing the missing technical drawings. A
small number of general arrangement drawings were received but they
were inadequate. Boiler materials, tubes, grids were physically sent.
We drew all of them in detailed drawings, then we produced these
boilers. We installed these boilers on site, we operated for many
years.
Later
in time, management gave me a new task directly. "Now you
learned how to copy. Now copy the guillotine, heavy duty lathe, and
steel sheet cold bending benches. Continue to copy the horizontal
sludge press, sugar centrifuge, raw factory lime tower."
I
gathered all the technical draftsmen working in the design bureau. I
gave each one tasks for copying a machine. Wherever they do not
understand, I interfered and drafted the detailing. After a long
tiresome disastrous period, technical drawings were prepared and we
finished the drafting work.
When
copying large-sized workshop drawings, we were trapped with old-age
"Japanese Tailor" fault. What did "Japanese Tailor"
do first? Let me explain it. Japanese tailors are doing great designs
around the world today. It was not like that at the beginning. They
had a learning period. In the 1850s Japan forced by the US fleet to
open its doors to the western world. Later, top rulers decided to
open the embassy in other countries. They would send diplomats to
Western countries. The managers thought, "It's necessary to
dress like a Westerner. It would not be appropriate to go there with
our own traditional clothes, let's create western dresses". They
asked a Western Christian missionary in Japan to give his western
dresses. They would create the same and wear it on the diplomats they
send. The poor missionary gave his worn-out old western dresses.
Because dresses were so old and used, there were patches on the knee
and elbows of the clothe. "Japanese Tailor" made the
patches exactly the same. The wrong addition of the patches on new
clothes was quickly understood. It was corrected after they noticed
the reaction at points they were assigned to and tailors created new
dresses. The rest of the diplomats have received new dresses, but
the "Japanese Tailor" application has become a necessary
lessons learnt to be taken in copying practice.
When
we copied it, we made the same mistakes, as ancient "Japanese
Tailor". Heavy big tools were made of steel casting. When we
made copy, we evaluated that most of them were suitable to make in
welded steel constructions. When we were re-designing, we examined
the thicknesses, but some unnecessary attachments were duplicated. It
turned out that we made the same mistake of patches of the Japanese
Tailor copied. After we made the first machines, we noticed the
situation. We made necessary corrections in the next manufacturing.
Later,
necessary budget money was allocated by the top management. Heavy
duty shop machines were produced for other machine factories.
Capacity of sugar equipment was enlarged and re-built. This process
continued for years. Meanwhile, the technical pictures we sent to the
manufacturing workshop were to disappear. Shop asked more blue
prints. "Blue prints are worn out, damaged, lost etc", they
said. We have never ceased to give a new blue prints to workshop.
I
left the factory in 1984. Time passed, in a casual trip to nearby
organized industrial zone in Ankara, I noticed that in some workshops
our steel sheet bending, guillotine, lathe, centrifugal are produced
with the same design. The technical pictures were our pictures, but
nameplates have been changed. Auto-cad design introduced, catalogs
were printed. We, engineers, draftsmen, technical staff, have not
earned any more than our monthly salaries. But the technical drawings
we produced in the public factory have been used free-of charge in
the market. I have no objection, it was very good.The market produced
these pictures. At least it was a start. So R&D was done, but it
was not done as it should be. It was made inexpensively in accordance
with the "market" conditions. That's the rule of our game!
Later
in time, on the market I also saw the steam boilers that we copied.
Our technical drawings have been transferred to the market in some
way. I have no objection to that. I wish we could also design larger
thermal power plants and transfer them to the market.
In
the energy and mining sector, we have designs for both open pit coal
mining
(Elbistan-Eüaş
etc.), or in coal-based thermal power plants (Çatalağzı,
Çanakkale, Tufanbeyli)
each
with capacities up to 6x900 KW, with maximum length of 3.6 Km, and
conveyor facilities and equipments in carrying capacities up to 11500
tons per hour,
and
manufactured in Ankara.
There
is no objection to copy from the examples, or to benefit from the old
projects.
Because,
without first and preliminary information, there is no new
development.
Ankara,
7 February 2018
---
Haluk
Direskeneli, is a graduate of METU Mechanical Engineering department
(1973). He worked in public, private enterprises, USA Turkish JV
companies (B&W, CSWI, AEP), in fabrication, basic and detail
design, marketing, sales and project management of thermal power
plants. He is currently working as freelance consultant/ energy
analyst with thermal power plants basic/ detail design software
expertise for private engineering companies, investors, universities
and research institutions. He is a member of ODTÜ Alumni and Chamber
of Turkish Mechanical Engineers Energy Working Group.
This
article is written for "EurasiaReview" web site release.
posted by yuvakuran at 1:44 AM
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