To CNC or not to CNC – that is the question.

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

Posted by Roderick Jenkins on 14/01/2012 23:25:25:

I beg to differ. It’s the design that makes the Super 7 so eminently suitable for model engineering. How it’s made is irrelevant. If the accuracy and “feel” are there then it is still a Super 7. The Moore’s couldn’t manufacture it at an economic price, perhaps somebody else can. I hope so.

 

cheers,

 

Rod

 

 

That’s a fair opinion Rod, but how many people would be happy to buy a Rolex if it were really made by Timex?

 

Not me for sure.

 

 

Martin.

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Many things are made under Licence and are as good as the original design.

detailed drawings will show tolerances and material and a well equipped modern workshop will faithfully copy and create a working article.

As it is now in industry many parts are made all over the world and arrive at an assembly plant and then the item in question is assembled for further distribution across the planet.

In the instance of Myford, they should, having aquired the name advance the design’

What was Myford is out for good and a new design incorporating what is best and with new features added will be welcomed.

Modular design and some digital additions will bring it into the modern world.

 

Clive

 

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

What Myford had was 2nd to none build quality but at a massive price, not quite sure how anyone can solve these mutually exclusive issues,maybe buy in the machined parts and assemble in this country. I wonder how much the price of components from China would rise if they actually had to produce parts to drawing specification ie. correct size and made from the correct material?

Tony

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Martin,

Do you actually know where your Rolex is made ?

 

Not a daft question these days .

 

I have a Peugeot Boxer van, when I bought it I had the choice of a Boxer, Citroen Rely or Fiat Ducato, basically same van same design just minor differences.

 

However all made my Fiat in Italy regardless of make.

 

John S

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Posted by Tony Pratt 1 on 15/01/2012 13:07:50:

What Myford had was 2nd to none build quality but at a massive price, not quite sure how anyone can solve these mutually exclusive issues,maybe buy in the machined parts and assemble in this country. I wonder how much the price of components from China would rise if they actually had to produce parts to drawing specification ie. correct size and made from the correct material?

Tony

 

 

Tony, this is something I never understood with Myford.

True they did have a good build quality at the expense of expensive hand fitting but why?

 

They were very keen to tell us that parts were made to exact tolerances on state of the art machines, something disproved when we attended the sale.

 

So if you have state of the art parts, why do you need the hand fitting ?

 

And if you are relying on hand fitting this tells you the parts are all over the place.

 

I worked at Raglan’s for a time and we operated the same way, loads of hand fitting but in all fairness our machinery was total junk.

The beds on the raglan were two hardened and ground steel strips that bolted to the cast bed. The bed was gang milled inside the works but the strips were out sources from Slack and Parr at Kegworth who had better equipment than we had, lets face it Pedigree Pet Foods at Melton had better equipment <g>

 

The bed was hand scraped, the strips fitted and checked then removed and more scraping done. A very time consuming job.

 

We then got bought out by Myfords, told we had 6 months to improve quality or they would shut us down.

Roughly translated meant “You are in direct competition to us ”

 

We then had a new manager who was keen, one of his first jobs was to send a milled bed to Slack and Parr and have it ground. Lo and behold the strips just bolted straight on saving probably half a day per machine.

 

Myford would not approve the expense of having the bed ground and they refused to do it at Beeston stating there was no spare time on the bed grinder.

 

John S.

[Steve WithnellParticipant @stevewithnell34426]

Posted by John Stevenson on 13/01/2012 22:57:53:

Posted by John Haine on 13/01/2012 11:24:09:

 

Years ago car engines were hand assembled, today they are assembled with robots and are the better for it.

 

John S.

 

It’s not just the build either, but the massive design improvements (which Myford didn’t deliver on as pointed out in an earlier post). A car service could include greasing over twenty points on the car, and the blocked nipples had to be unscrewed cleaned or unscrewed/broken replaced. A noise on the back axle would require a differential strip down and re-shimming.

 

Look at a 1930 Singer saloon, a tray fastened to the exhaust under the carburettor to catch the petrol drips… So improvements in design mean we motorists no longer need a flat cap to beat the flames out on a not uncommon petrol fire.

Steve

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

I get your point Chaps, but I’m looking at it like in this example.

 

After years of problems with trying to build British designed cars over here, we more or less gave up – and depending on your viewpoint, the blame was laid at the door of the unions, management and/or governments etc.

 

Enter the Japanese with Nissan and Toyota and they start making world-class cars, over here, in Old Blighty.

 

The reason I think it works is because they brought their manufacturing philosophy with them, all the way from head office in Japan. So you get a genuine, top quality Nissan/Toyota branded car, made over here, by us Brits.

 

Unless some of the ‘significant’ original staff from the Nottingam Myford plant are still involved, then I don’t see a connection between the old Myford company and the new one. In fact I don’t see any link between them, apart from the right to use the name and designs.

 

Just my opinion.

 

Martin.

 

 

 

Edited By blowlamp on 15/01/2012 14:57:34

Edited By blowlamp on 15/01/2012 15:05:45

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

One reason a Myford was so expensive to make was the design – it wasn’t designed to be mass produced. Why on earth did they stick with taper bronze bearings that need daily lubrication and hand scraping for example? Precision roller bearings are a fraction of the price, low maintainence and well proven to be suitable for toolroom standard lathes.

 

Look at that bed, with all those ‘interesting’ relationships between bearing surfaces. A mini-lathe style V-bed is much easier to manufacture with a degree of automation, and has far fewer critical dimensions – and it automatically aligns headstock saddle and tailstock.

 

If I had ever had the money to buy a new Myford, it would have been better spent on a decent sized oriental lathe and pay an expert to fit and set it up to Myford standards – then walk away with a few grand still in my wallet.

 

Neil

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