Fast vs. Effective. There is a Difference!

This post originally appeared on my LinkedIn profile, it proved to be a far more popular post than I could have guessed, so I decided to share it here as a post.  

Lessons of "Fast vs. Efficient". A lesson learned from a new tool, and an old tool

Old school versus new. The speed handle (left),
and the electric screwdriver

While removing and installing inspection panels on an aircraft, I found I love the electric screwdriver for running out the screws.

An example of inspection panels on the wing of a
North American B-25 Mitchel. The quantity required is "P" for plenty.

But I've found for stubborn screws, held in by"Nature's Threadlock" (aka corrosion), or with a boogered up screw-head throws a wrench in the works, you can't beat an old school speed handle.

Why? it has its own advantages.

I have placed the tail end of the speed handle and leaned into a stubborn fastener like a mob enforcer "balancing the books".

I've also have found I prefer the speed handle to install screws.

Why? I can better feel when the screws is run down, and I don't strip out the fasteners

Is the speed handle, with its 100 year old, muscle powered tech as fast as the lithium-ion powered, electric counterpart?

In a word? No.

Do i find that the old speed handle, with its better feel, resulting in fewer stripped screw heads and making quicker work for the next guy?

Arguably. Yes.

The thought it leaves me considering... That job might have been completed fast, to the joy of many who "made the number" this quarter.

But if a year down the road, hours are wasted undoing the minutes saved "getting it done quick".

Was it efficient?

When building a CAD model, there is quick. That means slapping the shape together, and can include:

Under-constraining sketches

Building features on top of features instead of editing the feature (think filling a hole with an extrusion instead of deleting the hole feature)

Creating uber complicated sketches that are difficult to edit. 

Over-complicated sketch. I don't like 'em!

Many times, this can allow us to "spank a shape" quickly. But when that shape needs to change? Oh. The horror. 

What can help make a model easy to edit? Here are some of my thoughts:

Fully constrain features. It makes model updates much more predictable.

Don't create unnecessary features. By that, I mean if a hole is going away, delete the hole. Don't "plug" it with an extrusion. Don't create a new extrusion on top of another if you can edit the feature and make it longer.

Keep sketches simple. I'll take more simple sketches over one that requires 283 constraints.

And finally, try (as much as possible), to build parts and assemblies in ways that mimic how they'll be made. One place I worked at strived (again as much as possible) to dimension their sketches in the same way as the part would be dimensioned on the drawing. 

Are we always able to do this? No. Sometimes, the realities of deadlines force us into a corner. Can we get away with it if it's a "one and done" model that won't change in the future? 

Trying to build models efficiently, may not be fast out of the gate, but as the edits, revisions and updates can become much easier.

Future you might be grateful.