Posted by Sherman in Idaho [108.162.245.23] on Friday, July 08, 2016 at 16:35:34 :
Working on my old D4 and thinking about how it was made compared to things today. Most parts are machined cast iron -- good virgin iron, not random scrap that should only be used for sewer grates. A few pieces are stamped steel or bronze. Aluminum (not pot metal) castings are used in a few no-stress places. The only plastic is electrical insulation. Stressed parts are forged and/or machined steel. Everything is something that a good machinist in a good machine shop could make. There are a great many machined cast-iron surfaces that bolt together with gaskets. Nothing can get bent or warped. It rusts slowly, if at all. Nothing is "permanently lubricated". Oil and grease can be changed as needed. Everything is stronger than it needs to be. The starter pinion assembly alone is twice as big and twice as heavy as the starter motor on a modern vehicle. Mine has been abused a lot over the years, but there's still plenty of metal left. These machines are 60-70 years old and thousands of them (1950s cats) are still in regular service. They will be maintainable pretty much forever even without the original tooling. The diesel engines will burn pretty much anything from a light grade of crude oil up to today's fancy pure stuff. How much that's being produced these days is like that? Who's going to make the microchips 60 years from now or repair plastic parts that are warped and cracked from age and sunlight? When you abuse a part that's been computer-designed to be just barely strong enough everywhere, it breaks. Exotic materials can't be repaired or re-created. Engines that depend on one exact precise fuel chemistry are scrap once you can't get that any more.
I don't really like always trying to work with worn-out old machines, but I'm always impressed that they were built to be maintained. Everything comes apart and most wear items are standard replaceable parts, easy to buy or make even now.
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