How 6 Parts Nearly Delayed World’s Biggest Airliner

Manufacturing can’t always keep pace with new products and ideas, and that is the case for some giant ball bearings, a needed part for major aircraft as well as wind turbines, reports Chana Joffe-Walt for National Public Radio. After calling his supplier in Germany, a US engineer working on the Airbus A380 was surprised to learn that delivery of the custom ball bearings would take 18 months and that speedier delivery would increase the cost fivefold. The reason for delays is competition from another front, not aircraft, but China’s determination to become a leader in wind power. “And the country didn't just set up a couple of puny wind farms – it became the fifth-largest wind producer in the world,” writes Joffe-Walt. “Every wind turbine there uses about four bearings; China's demand for bearings has tripled in the past five years.” The speed and efficiency that comes from specialization in technology can break down when competition spikes for one custom part. – YaleGlobal