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Will our engineering resources become dominated by Chinese design?
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coppice:

--- Quote from: asmi on November 18, 2023, 10:26:30 pm ---More than one HW person told me that if you want to design hardware, Shenzhen is by far the best place on the Earth to do it. The kind of turnarounds and access to all kinds of tech you get there are simply impossible anywhere else. Everything you ever need for hardware design can be found within a short reach, so you don't ever need to wait for anything. This allows for such quick iterations which are unachievable elsewhere.

--- End quote ---
I think the value of this can be overstated. There are certainly times when finishing a PCB layout today, and having a fully assembled prototype on my desk 24 hours later is a big boon, but how often? People in many countries have quite fast access to parts these days, as Digikey and others have developed. Being a short walk from, say, the people tooling the case for your product can be a big benefit when you can just go over and talk to them about issues, with a prototype in hand, but most people don't even take full advantage of what they can achieve with a good camera and a zoom call.
tautech:

--- Quote from: nctnico on November 18, 2023, 10:45:27 pm ---After WW2 Japan was with coming up with better products after copying western products for a while within 2 decades or so.

--- End quote ---
With significant US help with the sharing of old IP to help them get back on the feet from defeat.
asmi:

--- Quote from: coppice on November 18, 2023, 10:54:32 pm ---I think the value of this can be overstated. There are certainly times when finishing a PCB layout today, and having a fully assembled prototype on my desk 24 hours later is a big boon, but how often?

--- End quote ---
It is impossible to overstate the value of fast iterations. This gives you freedom to experiment, try many approaches and see which one works best. And - did I mention that it's also very cheap compared to the rest of the world?


--- Quote from: coppice on November 18, 2023, 10:54:32 pm ---People in many countries have quite fast access to parts these days, as Digikey and others have developed.
--- End quote ---
"Quite fast" in Shenzhen means "an hour later", not in a couple of days as it is the best case elsewhere in the world. So - again, not even close.


--- Quote from: coppice on November 18, 2023, 10:54:32 pm ---Being a short walk from, say, the people tooling the case for your product can be a big benefit when you can just go over and talk to them about issues, with a prototype in hand, but most people don't even take full advantage of what they can achieve with a good camera and a zoom call.

--- End quote ---
Nothing can replace a face-to-face contact, especially in Asia where knowing the right people can mean the world of difference as in that part of the world personal relationships matter a lot more than in the west where people are taught talking to "positions" and not people who fill those positions (this is a bit of an exaggeration as in reality personal connections are still important, but that's not what they teach in schools and universities). Of course than means learning the language, but that also it not nearly as hard as many people believe, especially if you focus your learning on topics which will be needed for professional conversations, and leave small talk to later stages. This by itself will predispose your contacts to treat you better because people in this part of the world do appreciate the fact that you've made the effort to learn their language.
coppice:

--- Quote from: asmi on November 19, 2023, 12:22:42 am ---
--- Quote from: coppice on November 18, 2023, 10:54:32 pm ---I think the value of this can be overstated. There are certainly times when finishing a PCB layout today, and having a fully assembled prototype on my desk 24 hours later is a big boon, but how often?

--- End quote ---
It is impossible to overstate the value of fast iterations. This gives you freedom to experiment, try many approaches and see which one works best. And - did I mention that it's also very cheap compared to the rest of the world?


--- Quote from: coppice on November 18, 2023, 10:54:32 pm ---People in many countries have quite fast access to parts these days, as Digikey and others have developed.
--- End quote ---
"Quite fast" in Shenzhen means "an hour later", not in a couple of days as it is the best case elsewhere in the world. So - again, not even close.


--- Quote from: coppice on November 18, 2023, 10:54:32 pm ---Being a short walk from, say, the people tooling the case for your product can be a big benefit when you can just go over and talk to them about issues, with a prototype in hand, but most people don't even take full advantage of what they can achieve with a good camera and a zoom call.

--- End quote ---
Nothing can replace a face-to-face contact, especially in Asia where knowing the right people can mean the world of difference as it that part of the world personal relationships matter a lot more than in the west where people are taught talking to "positions" and not people who fill those positions (this is a bit of an exaggeration as in reality personal connections are still important, but that's not what they teach in schools and universities). Of course than means learning the language, but that also it not nearly as hard as many people believe, especially if you focus your learning on topics which will be needed for professional conversations, and leave small talk to later stages. This by itself will predispose your contacts to treat you better because people in this part of the world do appreciate the fact that you've made the effort to learn their language.

--- End quote ---
Have you tried working in Shenzhen? I've spend an enormous amount of time there. You sound like a lot of people who see a few YouTube videos about engineering in Shenzhen, and think its the answer to all the frustration they've ever felt trying to get things done.

asmi:

--- Quote from: coppice on November 19, 2023, 12:45:03 am ---Have you tried working in Shenzhen?
--- End quote ---
I haven't (I'm mostly a software dev, only part-time HW dev), but I know several people who did, and all of them told me similar things to what I said above.


--- Quote from: coppice on November 19, 2023, 12:45:03 am ---I've spend an enormous amount of time there. You sound like a lot of people who see a few YouTube videos about engineering in Shenzhen, and think its the answer to all the frustration they've ever felt trying to get things done.

--- End quote ---
Tell us then if anything I said is not true? I sense a lot of frustration in your post, but little in the way of facts.
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