MIM did not exist 60 years ago. Neither did CNC and a host of other technologies today that have gotten us into outer space. To claim that we have
nothing today in this world that can beat 100-year old technology is a bit presumptuous...kind of like katana fanboys that claim nothing in the universe can beat the sharpness of a 400 year old sword made by hammering a lump of iron.
Old-world craftsmanship is one thing (and something I respect), but claiming every new innovation is somehow the downfall of society sounds alarmist. As mentioned, without innovation, we'd have no parts interchangeability. We'd still be hand-fitting each individual part on an individual gun and costs would be astronomical with today's union-driven labor prices. If you look at the history of firearms, parts interchangeability played a huge role in making firearms more practical to manufacture on a large scale and dropped price to make it more affordable. I like the security of forged and billet parts too, but on low-stress items, it does not really matter much...not to mention the manufacturing industry base in the US has been vanishing for decades so we are loosing the machinery and skill to manufacture efficiently. Most of the cutting-edge manufacturing technology comes out of Japan now.
There are plenty of cost-cutting measures, but it doesn't necessarily mean you're dropping quality because you pump up quantity. Some costs are associated to inefficiency and fat that can be trimmed. If you're simply axing corners to save a buck without maintaining or improving the product quality,
then you're guilty of creating a bad product and your argument comes into play. Poorly, cheaply made products are worthless.
If you're going to argue we're better off having people in machine shops run Bridgeports and engine lathes instead of multi-axis swiss machines and palletized machining centers, then I'm going to have to disagree.
Anyhow I work in aerospace manufacturing but that doesn't mean I'm some tech geek that hates "old stuff". I know how to hand scrape, something perfected over 100 years ago and rarely practice today. I doubt you'll find any machinist today that knows, let alone heard of the process. There are few people capable of creating bearing surfaces flat to .00005" (50 millionths) with nothing more than three plates of iron, and old file, and knowhow. Not even modern machines can fit precision metal surfaces together like that, especially rebuilding machinery. A time and place for every process.
If MIM and casting are so great why aren't springs made that way?
If springs are so great, why aren't engine blocks made of spring steel instead of castings?
Its easy to jump to baseless "arguments". Every manufacturing process has it's place. Sometimes doing things the "old way" is too labor intensive and not practical because the market won't support it. I see so many threads on THR about how ammo is so expensive and guns are so expensive. If we made everything with 50-year old technology and methods with today's labor rates and economy, boy 80% of the THR posts would be complaints about why a forged Lorcin costs $600 even if they might be superior to stamped Lorcins coming out the parts bin into a delivery truck for $149. The commercial plane you fly in has lots of titanium and stainless steels sourced directly from China; I've seen the material certifications myself, and those jumbo jets are full of cast parts too. Food for thought.
