Re:China's Moon mission sees first seeds sprout
by adrianN on Tuesday January 15, 2019 @07:07AM
(#18910592)
I think you underestimate how complicated even simple machines are. Making lubricated ball bearings for example requires high quality steel, precision manufacturing and chemistry that is not trivial if you don't have access to oil.
Re:China's Moon mission sees first seeds sprout
by hamilyon2 on Tuesday January 15, 2019 @09:07AM
(#18911164)
Yes, that is how we do it now. But what if you only need 3000 ball bearings a month, would other process be more feasible, since the fact it is not economical at scale can be ignored?
Re:China's Moon mission sees first seeds sprout
by adrianN on Tuesday January 15, 2019 @09:26AM
(#18911271)
You still need high quality source materials and low mechanical tolerances even if you make them by hand. You obviously don't want to recreate planet-spanning supply lines, but even getting good steel from ore is highly nontrivial.
It's not as much as you'd think, specially if you can survive on the first couple of decades with regular shipments from earth, mostly for very advanced materials and electronics.
A lot of manufacturing capacity in our society is redundant and focused on non-essential items. In addition, some manufacturing processes are complex because of the scale of our society but could be made simpler for a small colony, especially if you are not worried about details or finishing quality and approach it from a more utilitarian perspective.