Karagin
04/19/22 06:06 PM
70.118.172.64
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Was giving this a bit of thought, and based on my dealings with mechanics in the military, most "spare parts" don't come all put together for replacing the damaged or worn-out/broken items.
So would the same be true for mechs and their spare parts? Would the techs order a whole new actuator to replace one that is worn out or just the parts of said actuator that need replacing?
This would also apply to other parts of the mech that could break as well. Same for the weapons systems.
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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Requiem
04/19/22 06:50 PM
1.158.152.223
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Isn’t this dependent upon each House’s internal military logistics culture of support as well as being dependent upon the number of forms required to filled out to support any request for military spare parts / signature of CO to authorise said request – also how much pull does your unit have when it comes to requesting military spare parts from the bureaucracy.
Also would it not also be dependent upon the spare parts book you are using (how up to date is it?) – will it match up the spare parts number for the actual part you need.
Warehouse supply, receipt of request, asset management and maintenance support, distribution of request … where is it coming from is there a hub and spoke arrangement or is it something more complex – thus how likely will it get lost in transit?
Draconis Combine culture – will provide exactly what was requested no more and no less, as long as you’re a sword of light unit.
Free Worlds League – who knows even if you get what you asked for or may receive back an additional form to fill out requesting additional information as to the part requested …
Capellan confederation – you would have better luck on the black market
Suns – please send a bottle of alcohol with every request to quartermaster to ensure prompt and accurate distribution of supplies.
Film - Pink Submarine / Sgt Bilko – may be the ‘supply policy’ required – ie an illegal casino … contraband … scheme required to get the part you need.
Get thee to Coventry … Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious by this daughter of Tharkad … Our army shall march through. Well to New Avalon tonight.
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ghostrider
04/19/22 07:42 PM
45.51.181.83
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That question is a bit complicated.
I can see the unit being in pieces if the finished product is not made in one factory. Say an engine has the block made in Germany, while the pistons and such are made in France, it might be easier to have them shipped from the company straight to the mechanic in the field and let them put it together, avoiding sending it all to say the assembly plant is Belgium. It would probably be cheaper as well, since the mechanic in the army would be putting it together, instead of the assembly plant. This could very well be for normal parts, not just specialized parts.
If from the same plant, then I would feel the company is charging the military for work not done. IE someone didn't want to assemble it, so they just sent the parts. But then that may well be the contract signed, in order to save the military some money.
In the game, there are a lot of stories where the government has a priority list of who gets parts. I could well see someone being upset with a unit, and shipping the product in an unassembled state, even maybe having parts missing. That is IF they even get the parts. The IS war industries are well known for shortages of parts.
Oh damn. The belt for the LRM ammo is down again. Guess you won't get your LRMs anytime soon. But if you pay more, we might be able to divert the shipment being sent out to the garrison on (insert peaceful planet's name here).
A few weeks later and the message comes thru that the garrison commander showed up personally to collect his LRM shipment, so we couldn't send it to you. Hopefully, you didn't need it.
Real issues do come up in the game, like a raid taking out equipment, or even the whole factory. Pirates, as well as nobles get involved as well.
So yeah. I would believe more then a few units get the parts of a mech in, and have to put it together themselves. Is it more common then getting the assembled part? Depends on the company.
Quicksell is said to have sent units in pieces, and you would be lucky if it was all there to build yourself.
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Cray
04/19/22 08:23 PM
104.136.113.133
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Yes?
There's regular replacement of smaller line replaceable units during normal maintenance. If the whole thing ain't broke then it doesn't need swapping out. Switch out one worn myomer bundle, not the whole actuator. Campaign Operations' force operation rules reflect this with a steady, modest trickle of money and very small masses of spare parts outside of combat.
But when that actuator takes a critical hit from several AC/20 hypervelocity penetrators then you're probably better off switching out the whole actuator at some clean attachment points on the internal structure.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
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