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A comment on The N95 mask shortage America can't seem to fix. Parent comment

Re:The N95 mask shortage America can't seem to fix by CydeWeys on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @10:01AM (#24567140)
In WWII we tooled up to make tanks, ships, and planes in less time than we've now failed to tool up just to make masks. Which, needless to say, are less complex than tanks, ships, and planes, and our level of manufacturing technology is now much higher too.
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Re:The N95 mask shortage America can't seem to fix by TylerE on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @10:12AM (#24567271)
Manufacturing has changed. Back then everything was done by hand - vast changeovers were much easier..

Plus the machines already existed. They weren't making tanks in textile mills....they were making them in car plants.

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Re:The N95 mask shortage America can't seem to fix by formerly_proven on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @11:07AM (#24567978)
Making rifles involves literal tons of highly specialized tool machines that are only used for making rifles. Just look at a barrel or action and try to figure out how these were machined accurately in the 1920s.
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Re:The N95 mask shortage America can't seem to fix by Ancapistani on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @12:18PM (#24568699)
Absent those specialized machine tools (like a rifling machine), any machine shop could produce components.
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Re:The N95 mask shortage America can't seem to fix by TylerE on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @11:41AM (#24568332)
And rifles continued to be made by.... armories.
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