h a l f b a k e r yPoof of concept
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The likes of paper jams and hoola hoops falling into the
gubbins can cause problems with peripherals which
dismantling the devices can then address. However, it's
not always clear whether the problem is mechanical, a
foreign body or something else.
Clearly peripherals do sometimes use potentially
dangerous
light sources such as lasers or scanner beams, and they may
also contain light-sensitive parts such as the selenium on
laser printer drums, so they can't be permanently
transparent and still function safely and effectively.
Consequently I propose an opaque cover which in normal
circumstances is placed around the peripheral to stop light
shining in or out. The rest of the peripheral should, as far
as possible, be made of transparent materials in order that
such problems can be easily observed. If there's trouble,
take off the cover and peer around the interior for a bit to
see if you can spot the problem, then either fix it or try
another approach such as addressing a driver problem or
whatever.
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You're clearly not an engineer. Engineers will remove and discard covers and panels even from new equipment that's working fine, partly to allow easy access for maintainance, but mostly so they can see the works ... |
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If the peripheral is "largely transparent", this implies that
most of its parts are transparent, so if one of those parts
goes wrong, seeing it might be difficult. |
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It would, but it would still be better than not being able to
see any problems at all. |
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No, I'm not an engineer. I break things instead. |
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Actually, breakng things doesn't exclude you from being an engineer. Lots of engineers break things, both accidentally and deliberately - to test things, to try and improve them, or even to see if it will make a pretty noise ... |
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Sometimes, though, engineers can fix - or at least, partly fix - them afterwards. |
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But only sometimes...
Other times, you have to hope that the nearest store still sells that exact same model. |
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Isn't there an old saying to the effect that "an
engineer is someone who can break something for
£10 that someone else can build for £30"? |
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We prefer "Mechanical engineers build weapons. Civil engineers build targets ..." |
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And Quality engineers baby-sit both types. |
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So what's actually needed is an array of tiny digital cameras
and LED's by which I can look into the peripheral and see it
from all angles. |
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OR, a tiny cam-quadcopter that can fly around inside the
peripherals of the peripheral and climb around if needed to get
a closer look. |
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(Ian), you must be thinking of inspection. |
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The QE tries to teach the other engineers how to reliably engage in behaviors such that the wrong location issue will be noticed BEFORE putting it there. |
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Such an uphill task, given the alleged caliber of participants. |
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Provide a set of pictures from a number of angles all around
the device.
Provide a mount stick with tripod-style (1/4-20 thread)
camera attachment that can be placed in a number of
sockets all around the device to replicate the original
pictures.
When you take pictures of the broken device, and
mathematically subtract the original pictures, everything is
completely invisible except those parts which are different -
i.e., broken. |
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// However, it's not always clear whether the problem is
mechanical, a foreign body or something else.// |
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I happen to think that a pair of legs hanging out of the printer
is a clue that some engineers might notice. |
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That's the other engineer. He's still fixing it. |
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