This just in: Many OEM system builders, e.g. boilers, automobiles & trucks, copier/printers, residential & commercial appliances etc., use components from other manufacturers, e.g. EBM Pabst, one of a couple of blower/fan specialists. True Babel would be every manufacturer trying to reinvent the wheel.
Speaking of OBDII, if your tech is just swapping parts to address OBD codes you need to find a tech who better understands OBDII and how the various systems & components interact; while remarkably effective as engine control systems, (like modern ultra high efficiency boiler systems) they're not trivial systems! The CEL/MIL code(s) is/are only a starting point, systematic diagnosis is also required.
For those interested in OBDII -- MA RMV publishes a quarterly newsletter for inspection stations & OBDII emissions techs w/ some interesting case studies of particularly difficult OBDII cases. http://www.vehicletest.state.ma.us/inspection_newsletter.html
Jacob, well at least all the countries involved use the same alphabet. Imagine if there were Asian parts there as well. This is not a hit on Asian parts, just a comment on languages.
Letting an Italian company do the control system seems a little suspect. Oh, well.
In reality, your automobile is very similar to this setup. Most of the major subassemblies are made by different manufacturers. That is why there are so many microprocessors in a car. Since microcontrollers are so inexpensive, each vendor uses their own rather than trying to integrate a software routine into a central control computer, which would be feasible. Thus, even the temperature guage in your car probably has its own microcontroller.
The issue, as you have pointed out is integration. That includes specification as well as testing. Seems it was not done well in this case.
Seems as the world grows more and more digital, the way to diagnose problems is to read a code and check the manual. Which is OK if the manual is useful and/or detailed. It seems that in this instance it was not. I wonder if the control manufacturer was vague on purpose so that the customer has to rely on their service. Or they just like to cut costs and leave the manual writing to a non-technical employee.
As a car guy, the OBD2 diagnostics is useful, but I find the service techs start replacing parts until the error code goes away. In some instances, the error code is unrelated to the actual problem. Change enough parts and the problem is then "fixed".
As energy efficiency becomes more and more a concern for makers of electronics devices, researchers are coming up with new ways to harvest energy from sound vibration, footsteps, and even electromagnetic fields in the air.
The government wants to study your brain, and DARPA wants to use similar information to give robots true autonomy beyond any artificial intelligence developed to date. Sound like science fiction? It's not.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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