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I'm assuming you mean a metal foundry and not a semiconductor foundry? Still, the fact that they build their engines in-house is pretty impressive. I believe t
by Cyph0n 10y ago
I'm assuming you mean a metal foundry and not a semiconductor foundry?
Still, the fact that they build their engines in-house is pretty impressive. I believe that many auto makers purchase their engines instead of designing then in-house because they are so complex to get right.
- weberc2 10y agoBoth. They've operated their own foundries for longer than I've been alive; probably closer to a century. They've since purchased at least one semiconductor company to design and manufacture some of their electronics. And yes, John Deere has built its own engines for a long time; the division is called Power Systems or JDPS, and they build engines in factories all over the world, and they sell their engines to other equipment manufacturers as well.
- throwaway40483 10y agoI highly doubt that John Deere operates any semiconductor foundries. Those foundries aren't your normal run of the mill factories. They are $10B monsters just to get started.
- Cyph0n 10y agoThey could have a fab operating at a lower process node for manufacturing microcontrollers, but I also think that it's not likely.
- weberc2 10y agohttp://www.manta.com/c/mm3k9t4/phoenix-international-a-john-deere-company http://www.manta.com/c/mm3k9t4/phoenix-international-a-john-...
- Cyph0n 10y agoLooks like standard electronics manufacturing; nothing state-of-the-art. It's still interesting that they chose to design and manufacture it all in-house.
- weberc2 10y agoI didn't mean to imply that it was in some way non-standard or state-of-the-art; only that they do, in fact, manufacture some of their electronics in-house.
- Arizhel 10y agoI don't see any evidence there that they manufacture semiconductors, only electronics. Manufacturing electronics isn't that hard, depending on what exactly you're doing. Assembling printed circuit boards from components is something you can even do by hand in most cases, and automated assembly equipment isn't really that expensive to set up a small factory, depending on the volume required (small-volume stuff isn't that expensive, high-volume high-speed stuff is more so). Manufacturing semiconductors is something else altogether, and isn't something you can do in a small warehouse with a few hundred $K of equipment; it requires very specialized buildings and equipment.
- weberc2 10y agoFair enough, I probably misspoke.
- weberc2 10y agoTo be clear, I never said anything about "semiconductor foundries" (I can only hazard a guess as to what this might mean), I said "semiconductor company".
- linksnapzz 10y agoJohn Deere may not, but General Motors actually does: http://kokomogmch.com/kokomo-semiconductors/about-kokomo-semiconductors/our-history/ http://kokomogmch.com/kokomo-semiconductors/about-kokomo-sem...
- Arizhel 10y ago>I believe that many auto makers purchase their engines instead of designing then in-house because they are so complex to get right. Citation needed. Engines are one thing the automakers tend to hold onto and not outsource often. There are exceptions, and there's cases of them licensing specific engine tech from each other (like with Toyota's Prius drivetrain). For instance, Mazda has a prototype car where they paired their 2.0L "SkyActiv" gas engine with Toyota's hybrid transmission/motor from the Prius. There's also cases of them doing joint ventures, like when Mitsubishi and Chrysler formed "Diamond Star Motors" back in the 80s/90s, or with the more recent Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S where Subaru makes the engine/drivetrain/suspension and Toyota makes the body (I think). The only cases I can think of offhand where automakers simply drop in a purchased engine are with diesel pickups, such as Dodge using Cummins engines. Oh, there was also the Ford Taurus SHO with a Yamaha engine, but that was way back in the late 80s and Yamaha isn't exactly known as a serious engine-builder these days.