The oposite of handmade

[datas_brother]

I just read this:

Bike-EU

I guess it was just a matter of time but it still makes me ill. At least the china made bikes were made by hand even if that hand didn't know why it was doing what it was doing and just following instructions.

Cheers

[crumpton]

i never thought i'd call myself a luddite. damn the machines!

[steve garro]

what if they just named the machine H.A.N.D.? - Garro.

[Eric Estlund]

Not my deal, but I think the robotics and engineering are pretty cool.

[EricKeller]

I suspect this is the future of composite frames. reliability and repeatability are key to lighter weight and safety margins.

[suspectdevice]

I've been dreaming of machines like that for a decade... Toil sucks.
Even a man who makes every mitre with a file uses machines- his head operates his hand which operates the tool. He must vary angle of attack and pressure to suit his needs. A robot is not sentient- it takes a human to program it, a human to maintain it- creativity to design and optimize. Every material has it's optimal method of construction- and BMC has hit the nail on the head for their products and design objectives.

Machines save us labor, increase productivity and improve metrics of reliability and precision. If a bike must be made reliably and precisely- for fucks sake, let the robots do it. Mindless automaton-like toil in a factory isn't something that humans are cut out for- factory work is inherently dehumanizing, even if one uses their hands. Labor saving devices reduce factory work to basic managerial and maintenance functions. That's not just labor savings- to me at least, the purpose of automation is to free workers from toil, increase production density and improve overall quality of life for those who make things in a production environment. Toil sucks.

A craft guild- such as we see here on the Salon is a purposely antiquated way of doing things for those who value their skills and variabilty as craftsmen- that too is an inherently humane method of creation that adds additonal subjective value to an item. Bikes are bikes- and the elimination of toil and exploitation is most certainly one of the main reasons I lust for a Crumpton and a Crown Jewel.

Let's not judge a process based on the process- Intent is most important on the human-level. We live on a planet that could be free of scarcity if more production was regionalized, rationalized and automated. BMC's robot is making the world a better, more just, more human place to live every time it touches the cloth. The pre-existing conditions in Switzerland that allowed that factory to be built has more to do with Swiss culture and resources than it does with globalization or profit. That's fucking badass.