Dave Larkman, a mechanical design engineer who spent 25 years at Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering, says vehicles are not "designed to fail" after warranty and explains how durability targets guide design.
He cites a 1,000-hour idle engine test that stresses bearings and camshafts. The pass criteria require bearing faces to remain within the size and surface-finish tolerances of a new part at test completion.
Larkman describes how engineers use Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA) to list potential faults, rate their severity and likelihood, and set durability specifications that components must exceed rather than timetables for failure.
He adds that forum claims about planned obsolescence often misinterpret test durations like 1,000 hours, and his Lotus engineering experience motivates his rebuttal.
This summary is based on coverage by The Autopian.
Read the full article at The Autopian.
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