lesson 59 信息时代的机械工程.docVIP

第59课 信息时代的机械工程 Mechanical Engineering in the Information Age In the early 1980s ,engineers thought that massive research would be needed to speed up product development .As it turns out ,less research is actually needed because shortened product development cycles encourage engineers to use available technology .Development a revolutionary革命性的 technology for use in a new product is risky and prone to failure .Taking short steps is a safer and usually more successful approach to product development . 在80年代初期,工程师们曾经认为要加快产品的研制开发,必须进行大量的研究工作。结果是实际上只进行了较少的研究工作,这是因为产品开发周期的缩短,促使工程师们尽可能地利用现有的技术。研制开发一种创新性的技术并将其应用在新产品上,是有风险的,并且易于招致失败。在产品开发过程中采用较少的步骤是一种安全的和易于成功的方法。 Shorter product development cycles are also beneficial in an engineering world in which both capital and labor are global .People who can design and manufacture various products can be found anywhere in the world ,but containing a new idea is hard .Geographic distance is no longer不再 a barrier to other finding out about your development six months into the process .If you’ve got a short development cycle, the situation is not catastrophic[,k?t?‘str?f?k]灾难的?— as long as只要 you maintain your lead .But if you’re in the midst of在。。。中途 a six year development process and a competitor gets wind of 得到风声your work ,the project could be in more serious trouble . 对于资金和人力都处于全球性环境中的工程界而言,缩短产品研制开发周期也是有益的。能够设计和制造各种产品的人可以在世界各地找到。但是,具有创新思想的人则比较难找。对于你已经进行了6个月的研制开发工作,地理上的距离已经不再是其他人发现它的障碍。如果你的研制周期较短,只要你仍然保持领先,这种情况并不会造成严重后果。但是如果你正处于一个长达6年的研制开发过程的中期,一个竞争对手了解到你的研究工作的一些信息,这个项目将面临比较大的麻烦。 The idea that engineers need to create a new design to solve every problem is quickly becoming obsolete .The first step in the modern design process is to browse the Internet or other information systems to see if someone else has already designed a transmission ,or a heat exchanger that is close to what you need .Through these information systems ,you may discover that someone already has manufacture drawings ,numerical control tapes ,and everything else req