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There a millions of human world each very distinct from one another however the imperium is in a state of technological stagnation, so the catalogue of tech is fixed. But we also know that it’s is different in quality an appearance, the ruling houses have better stuff than the street gangs of necromunda.

So who’s making it? Surely not the ad mech? Are the making tractors of agri worlds? Coolers for peoples houses? And who makes the posh stuff for the upper classes?

I’d have thought the ad mech we’re just making stuff for themselves and the imperial armies and so it feels like some civilians must be able to manufacture and maintain stuff... but that feels like heresy..... or maybe a toaster does not have a machine spirit

Hive Worlds can manufacture basic stuff themselves. Basically the less complicated things are made by Hive Worlds en masse and Forge Worlds make the complex stuff like Titans.

Basically what pm713 mentionned, the Forge Worlds produce only the really high tech and/or massively produced goods. An enormous quantity of basic military and civilian tools and materials are produced on Hive Worlds and others even down to agri-world which still have a very small industrial sector. Armageddon, famously, is a ive World that is producing Chimera and Leman Russ tanks for the entire sector.

I would imagine that depending on the tech level of a planet, they make most of their civie stuff themselves on world. Anything exotic may be imported, but your average person on the street (in the hive?) is not going to be able to afford much of that either way.

Most basic things like road transportation, home air conditioning, tools, machinery; pretty much all made on world I would think. Lower tech worlds living with lower tech stuff - or at least less of it. The more manufacturing oriented worlds are going to have the capability to produce higher level tech, for both export and home use. I mean so long as the tithe is paid to the Imperium, then any excess, I imagine, is available for sale locally - either on world, in system, or in the sector. Possibly to traders with starships, who will take it further and trade it elsewhere.

doesn't the original necromunda book mention tech guilds that make stuff under "licence" to the Ad mech

goundry wrote:
doesn't the original necromunda book mention tech guilds that make stuff under "licence" to the Ad mech

Yes, and the Genestealer Cults book mentions that their vehicles (Atalan Jackals, Achilles Ridgerunner, etc.) are build by Mining Guilds.

The Cain books mention civilian artisans that do simple domestic plumbing etc. The major houses and imperial leaders will get personalised stuff made by higher class artisans or have a personal contract with relevant admech bonds.

goundry wrote:
doesn't the original necromunda book mention tech guilds that make stuff under "licence" to the Ad mech

Could you develop ?

So if there are civilian manufacturers are they using STCs and are they required to follow rituals like the ad mech in the production of the tech

Even the admech aren't really using STCs. Just the random bits and bibs and printouts of those systems. Civilian artisans will be using whatever construction and manufacturing techniques taught to them by the Admech, or that they have managed to keep.secret from them.

 Flinty wrote:
Even the admech aren't really using STCs. Just the random bits and bibs and printouts of those systems. Civilian artisans will be using whatever construction and manufacturing techniques taught to them by the Admech, or that they have managed to keep.secret from them.

What?? Everything comes from the STC, anything else is heresy (unless cawl made it)

Yes, the designs used by he Imperium come from STCs, but STCs themselves aren't used to do the manufacturing any more because of their general lack of existence.

mrFickle wrote:
So if there are civilian manufacturers are they using STCs and are they required to follow rituals like the ad mech in the production of the tech

I would assume they're using 'approved' plans, and that the AdMech inspect them every now and again.

mrFickle wrote:


What?? Everything comes from the STC, anything else is heresy (unless cawl made it)

...no, not really. The things the Emperor built, pretty much anything to do with marines, aren’t STC. Titans and other Mechanicus projects like tone travel aren’t STC. At the other end of the spectrum local technology isn’t always STC. The noble houses of Vervunhive have specialities for which they develop novel parts, processes, and applications. These can be as sophisticated as cogitators and surveyor/auspex technology.

The Ad Mechanicus supplies and controls all technological expertise to the Imperium. That means the interstellar Administratum, guard, navy, church, etc. A local Imperial planet might be many billions of people and largely self sufficient. Of course tech priests don’t come all the way from a forge world to oversee every tweak to something like vehicle suspensions in a production run of 20,000 units in one hemisphere of one planet.

No, the AM control all the technology of the Imperial institutions, and a local guild wouldn’t be able to start teaching its science off world without going through the mechanicus, and the guilds themselves obviously have to be approved by the AM who could punish them with the cooperation of other imperial institutions. That’s the AM control of technology, not making sure everything is STC and everything is directly run by a Martian priest.

IIRC even with so much being derived from STC fragments there is a limited amount of independent design and creativity. I'm pretty sure that DaOT humans weren't so into SKULLS EVERYWHERE.

Manufacturing in 40k is closer to middle ages guild than modern engineering. Except for the high-ranking magi in the AdMech, no one really understands what they're doing so they just apply whatever techniques they were taught by their trainers. In that sense, you could say that everything is derived from STCs since that's where almost every piece of tech comes from.

The Calpurnia novels show a weapon smithing guild. They talk about how they're basically only allowed to make their products at the discretion of the mechanicus. However, they're a midling political power in the system in which they operate meaning they could probably leverage some clout to keep their standing if push came to shove.

The face of the guild in the novel briefly discusses details about the weapon creation process that implies that at least some of the people behind those weapons' creation understand the benefits of, for instance, manufacturing the weapons in a 0G environment.

So if there are people outside of AM making tech you would have thought through simple curiosity and even accident some technology advancements would have been discovered

mrFickle wrote:
So if there are people outside of AM making tech you would have thought through simple curiosity and even accident some technology advancements would have been discovered

No, because you get executed as a heretic for it (and that goes back to pre-Heresy times as well - look at Dalia Cythera for an example).