Processes
Join Our Community Subscribe to Paul's PostsAs one whose direction is steered with his engineer’s nerd brain, I am continuously fascinated by processes.
For example, what kind of process do nut processors employ to individually open pistachio shells? Is it the roasting process? Automated insertion of a hypodermic with compressed air and blowing them open?
Somehow, 95% of pistachios are opened just enough to get a fingernail inside and open ‘er up.
The answers to questions of process are often complex and hard to understand, like building a CRISPR. More often than not, they turn out to be simpler than we had imagined.
The process of designing and launching a new audio product ranges from a straightforward path of simple napkin sketches to market in a matter of months, to years-long R and D, design, testing and manufacturing.
From a customer-facing standpoint, it likely doesn’t matter much. The product is what you want and performs the way you hope and expect or it doesn’t.
While all that’s true, let us not ignore the process of selection and evaluation before making our final choice.
The processes each and every one of us go through from deciding what’s for dinner tonight to which pair of speakers sounds better than another, is not to be trifled with.
Life itself is a series of choices we make based on the processes that have over a lifetime proven to work.
*(Pistachios, it turns out, pop open naturally. All the nut processors have to do is pick them when they’re mature).
Fascinating subject. I was always interested in the way that industrial robots are programmed to carry out quite complex functions over and over. Also as an aside, did you know baked beans are cooked inside their already sealed tin. Theres some clever folk out there but I’m also sure some processes go through trial and error development too.
Paul, have you ever thought about changing tack? From today’s post in a couple of lines you’ve gone from engineering to your (second) favourite subject, food. When I saw engineer’s and then nut manufacturers I immediately thought of the type that attaches to a bolt. Foolishly I’d made the mistake of applying logic. Anyway, I always thought that edible nuts weren’t so much manufactured as grown 😉
Steam doesn’t do it with Mac nuts.
Quite a powerful mechanism is required.
When I was a kid there was a show on TV called “How?” with a sage chap called Jack Hargreaves who used to smoke a pipe whilst presenting the programme. Paul would have loved that show. Old Jack explained all sorts of things, although there was a strong bias towards angling. Smoking a pipe whilst presenting TV has gone sadly out of fashion.
The best bit was at the end of each segment they said “How” in a deep voice with a faux Native American hand sign. They even occasionally put on headdresses. Today they’d be accused of cultural appropriation or some form of racism.
They would indeed Steven
Hi Steven and Alanjett
Howbeit unwitting. Enlightenment brings change
It seems to me that this site is influenced by Gordon Ramsay more and more lately.
Maybe one day Paul McGowan will be on “Masterchef USA” as a home cook, with the “I’m an audiophile” cap.
I wouldn’t be surprised.
jb4 – you gave me an idea for a new reality show. We would pit an array of obsessive enthusiasts against each other in a series of challenges. A perfectionist chef, a meticulous car collector, and yes, a pretentious audiophile! Each episode, the contestants rotate to one another’s space – testing their ability to accept novices meddling in their perfect kitchen, garage, soundroom, etc…
Blood pressure and heart rates will be monitored. 🙂
hmmm – what do we name it?
djB-O-B,
‘Job Swap’
Like that show, ‘Wife Swap’ only…
or…’WTF!!’
‘I’m an audiophile, get me outta here!’ Perhaps
jb4,
How about a red, “Make Audiophiles Great Again” cap!
I wouldn’t want it to be mistaken for the other one.
OK! I will watch that show and where can I get the HAT!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 I find myself watching Super Factories and Animal Shows. A lot!
Has anyone else seen that McIntosh has partnered with Jeep for the new Grand Wagoneer? I don’t know the details yet, but apparently it is still in concept stage. But talk about a process! For a company that specializes in home audio to cross over to automobiles raises alot of questions. Are they actually manufacturing the components including 23 speakers! – or is it a private label arrangement?
Hopefully they will offer an “audiophile” option which has the driver seat centered in the sweet spot up front 🙂
Grab this-
They are using tube gear in the Jeep!
Tubes!
Larry
I can only imagine the cost of one of those bad boys! 🙂
djB-O-B,
– Sennheiser and Karma Automotive
– Dynaudio and Volvo
– B&W and Volvo
– B&W and Maserati
– Naim and Pininfarina
– B&O and Ford
– B&O and Audio
– B&O and BMW
– Devialet and Renault
– JBL and Toyota
– Levinson and Lexus
Nothing new under the sun.
And the list is probably longer.
We’re just waiting for PS Audio and …(Tesla ?)
jb4,
Then PS Audio will finally have to go DC.
I have a Levinson in my Lexus. It’s awful. Truly awful.
I have a McIntosh in my OB as a sub amp and it’s wonderful, given the acoustics of a car.
I feel the same, I never liked Lexus.
But, I do have a Levinson in my room. It’s wonderful.
Anyway, what we learned today : never buy a Lexus with a Levinson.
Just the Levinson. Saves a lot of petrol.
The car, like all Lexuses….Lexai?…is wonderful. It’s just the Levinson that’s terrible.
I had a Lexus and I remember doing 180km/h driving down from the Alps and the sound system was very good.
If you want to save petrol, buy a Nissan Leaf with a nice Bose system. My wife loves hers.
I had a 98 LS with the base sound system that was excellent.
The Tesla Model 3 already has an excellent audio system. From Teslarati.com: “Fun fact from a guy (very) in the know at @Tesla. Why is the sound system in Model 3 the best we’ve ever tested fitted to a car? They hired ex-B&O engineers that were tasked with designing and sourcing the best speakers and amplifiers on the market. The end result is a sound system that sounds better than the $12,000 Bang and Olufsen option on an Audi A8.”
VW and Fender
After seeing your list, I was curious to see who Bentley uses.
NAIM that tune!
🙂
I love sports cars, but I must admit if I could choose one cost no object dream car, I’d pick one of the models from Bentley!
djB-O-B,
If I buy one I’ll invite you for a ride.
In fact I invite all of you for a ride.
IF I buy one… 😐
Jeep Cherokee and McIntosh .. . … .. .. . .
Oh – PS Audio and Apple Car!
Mercedes and Burmester
This is why I like the tv show “How It’s Made”. I am more enamored with the machines and processes making the products than the products themselves.
The twist is that Biden who did not trust Trump’s vaccination was quick to roll up his sleeve!
IIRC, he said he would trust it if it was scientifically validated and FDA approved. My only problem with it is that the government has been very negligent in providing for means of distribution. I’m in an eligible age group (75+ for those wondering) and I can’t get on a schedule.
And the most famous napkin-to-production is Stonehenge recreation in Spinal Tap. That was required viewing for all of my production employees. “F#%& the napkin!” A great YouTube clip if you haven’t seen the movie. But no reason not to watch the movie, again!
I love watching how things are made and get sucked in easily to manufacturing videos. Luckily, there are many sites that feature these. It has always been fascinating to me. When I was about 12, my father, who was a lawyer, took me on a business trip from the NYC area to Springfield, VT (but there were no standard two letter state abbreviations then-or ZIP codes) to see the Jones and Lamson manufacturing company. They made comparators (I think that is the right name) which were gigantic magnifying systems for comparing one object, such as a screw, to another or to a drawing. They probably had other uses as well. I really enjoyed watching what went on as well as the smells, such as the oil used in the cutting.
As someone who has been in many hundreds of manufacturing plants over the last 50 years, so many I lost count decades ago, I can say with confidence that most manufacturing processes are very complicated and as technology has advanced the complexity has correspondingly increased. What’s more, as safety, environmental, and performance standards have increased, so have the restrictions and complexities of complying with them along with the paper work of course. If you think that things you take for granted every day are simple to make, you are badly mistaken. For example every device that has a semiconductor chip of any kind in it was very complex to make. I’ve built and worked in many semiconductor wafer fabrication plants decades ago so I know first hand. You can watch the TV series Modern Marvels to see many examples of how complex things are. For example, an automobile manufacturing plant is a very different place today than it was 25 years ago. It’s run for the most part by hundreds of robots working together each one in itself very complex to build and program. Several years ago I worked on an ice cream plant south of Baltimore Maryland. The single line diagram outlining the basics of how the electrical power distribution system of the plant was built was 18 pages long. That was not much different in complexity from most large manufacturing plants in any industry. A typical American supermarket has well over 40,000 different products for sale. Just managing the inventory is so complex it takes computers to keep track of it and know when and what to reorder. When you go through the checkout aisle and the bar code of what you buy is registered, a computer knows exactly what the store’s inventory has been depleted of.
Perhaps among the simpler things is much hi end hi fi audio equipment. Ironically the complexity of the average AV low end receiver is much greater than the complexity of a high end audio amplifier. Even the testing of products before they are approved for packaging and shipment from a factory is often automated looking for unacceptable defects. Eventually products will become so complex it will take AI computers just to design them as well as manufacture them and also design the machines to manufacture them. Humans are rapidly becoming obsolete as machines are faster, more accurate, never tire, but so far at least stupid. That will also change. Sociologists are already working on what society will do with its time when all work done by humans is done by machines instead.
I see Pauls book is now on Amazon when I first got it up it was £14 GBP and when I looked again and ordered it it was down to £7 GBP what a January sale bargain Lol. Has anyone else got it on Kindle yet?
I’m waiting for the paperback version, my Kindle had semiconductor datasheets on it and lives in the workshop, I don’t have a Kindle account.
C’mon Paul, get that publisher rocking!
Paperback is available on Amazon right now.
https://www.amazon.com/Audiophiles-Guide-Stereo-Paul-McGowan/dp/B08STSRW49/
I’m waiting for the cartoon version on Kids channel. 🙂
Methods for splitting pistachio nuts
The present invention discloses methods for artificially splitting nuts in a manner that ensures that the nuts split in the same manner as naturally split nuts. The methods include placing a batch of closed-shell nuts into a water filled vessel, sealing it, and reducing the pressure inside the vessel by removing air. This also causes air to be removed from inside the nuts. The air pressure in the vessel is then normalized, causing the air removed from the nuts to be replaced with water from the vessel. The nuts are then promptly transferred from the vessel and exposed to forces that cause the water inside the nuts to rapidly expand, creating internal pressure that forces the shells to split open along the longitudinal suture of the nut. The internal pressure can be created by the application of microwave radiation on the nut, thereby turning the water within the nut into water vapor, or by subjecting the nuts to a rapid decrease in temperature, thereby causing the water within the nuts to freeze and creating the internal pressure required to split open the shell of the nut.
I like pistachios and eat them often. I always wondered why the casing was open. I put it down to the roasting process. Now I know that it is a natural process. Makes perfect sense. The shell opens up naturally to expose the seed which then would fall to the ground and germinate. Thanks for the information. Regards.