American made cartridge anyone?

It seems the US has lost its touch for small fine hands on precision work like we used to do. After quartz watches came out, that seemed to help with the loss of hands on problem. And the US used to make a lot of those fine precision mechanical watches. Robots may be part of the reason too. Maybe its easier to make money doing something else here nowadays.

"Maybe its easier to make money doing something else here nowadays."

Our cost structure (in the US) is usually too high. First the Japanese beat us with more modern plants. They rebuilt plants after WW II due to necessity and adopted robotics sooner and faster than we did. And now you can manufacture even hand made goods MUCH cheaper in places like China and Vietnam. Lots of cheap labor including children in many places. It is tragic what is happening in some places.

Fortunately some big dollar products are still made here such as cars, appliances, and even some high end audio.

We are however in deep doodoo. I will avoid going farther and getting too political.

Y'all be cool,
Robert

Good luck.

Why is this important? Yeah, we "forgot" how to do fine, intricate work. Hello!?!? We invented computers and robotics that can do it much more accurately and faster than any human hand. This has not transferred to cartridge making because there isn't enough money in it to justify the tooling costs.

I hate to burst bubbles but the US is still the #1 manufacturing nation. No politics, just economic fact at present.

From the 20 June 2010 Financial Times: "The US remained the world’s biggest manufacturing nation by output last year, but is poised to relinquish this slot in 2011 to China – thus ending a 110-year run as the number one country in factory production". If we talk in terms of PPP (and discount the pegging of the yuan to the dollar) China would have surpassed us a bit sooner I think.

Prior to 1900, the UK was the largest manufacturer in the world.