dingbat I have designed HMI systems for decades. Simply because it is what someone wanted. not because it was better. Im the last person to be afraid of anything. however i have also spent weeks in the field repairing stuff after it fails as well. I was involved with the first touch screens in mobile equipment in the early 90's, yet I prefer a bank of analog gauges.
big push years ago to put PLC's in hydraulic power units on yachts.... the only function needed was a timer relay 2 diodes and a relay. to date most of the PLC's have failed as the tail end of a yacht can see 4 G's of shock in a sea-state 4. i re-designed out HPU controls with a simplistic mebrane switch on the front, a PIC on chip (with a spare in the panel), and standard 12 volt VF4 relays for the I/O so our service department can pull relays from the rental car if needed to get the equipment back up and running. do date, no failures by simplifying the controls
our gangways have momentary switches and diodes for controls and are the most robust pieces of equipment on todays HMI heavy yachts.
I grew up buying cars with 100k miles on them, many with rusty bodies.... use them for a daily driver and after another 100k-150k on the clock, they were scrapped
Most required a timing chain, carb rebuild and new hoses and belts upon purchase. $200 in parts and an afternoon. the same work is required today at 70-100k, however the whole front clip must be removed, and in many cases the engine removed for timing chain or belt service. I now have a few thousand dollars in specialty tools for multiple manufacturers for the sake of holding the crank still and 4 cam sprockets in place while standing on ones head to thread a timing belt. Dealer cost to to a timing service on an Audi is $2700, parts alone is $400 plus a weekend
Not knocking todays cars, however a 1962 T-bird with a 390-4V got 17mpg on average, (15mpg city 21mpg on the highway). fast forward 40-50 years and todays full size cars do not get significantly better mileage, look like a melted bar of soap and everything electronic is failing and everything plastic breaking within 10 years
My last daily whip was 225k and had a good 100k plus left in it prior to the insurance company totaling it vs spending $300 to fix it.
from my perspective, the vehicles are not lasting any longer, they simply cost more initially, have more plastic and electronic stuff in them and cost signifcantly more to fix to get them to 250k/300k. it was mandated that all 2019 vehicles have a backup camera in them because todays drivers cant use mirrors or turn their head. all vehicles after 2008 must have TPMS, and that simply means that your tire changes now incur an extra $150-$600 in sensor replacement. that is simply tech for the sake of tech
i miss the good old days.
