A
posting in slashdot.org today brought to my attention
an interesting article by Tim Hefferman that
appeared in "The Atlantic" in March this year entitled "Iron Giant. One of One of America’s great machines comes back to life".
The article discusses a gigantic 50,000 ton forging press at Alcoa in Cleveland, known as "The Fifty".
It began operation in 1955, broke down three years ago but has been overhauled
and expected to be put back in service this year.
This is one seriously large piece of industrial machinery.
To give some feel for the force it can exert, its hydraulic cylinders could in theory
lift the battleship Iowa with 860 tons to spare.
In the article, Hefferman points out the machines precision which is in the order
of thousands of an inch.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Tim Hefferman, The Atlantic
"It has made essential parts for industrial gas turbines, helicopters, and spacecraft. Every manned U.S. military aircraft now flying uses parts
forged by the Fifty. So does every commercial aircraft made by Airbus and Boeing."
...
"The Fifty will soon be supplying bulkheads for the Joint Strike Fighter, the U.S. military’s next-generation workhorse."
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Tim Hefferman article on "The Fifty" here -
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...on-giant/8886/
A nice companion piece by Tim Hefferman entitled "The machines that made the Jet Age" appears here -
http://boingboing.net/2012/02/13/machines.html
A Wikipedia entry on the Cold-war "Heavy Press Program" appears here -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Press_Program
Meantime, the Chinese reported that they began work in Dec 2007 on a 80,000-ton (800MN) press forge which they say would be the world's largest.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by China Tech Gadget, Oct 27 2011
After this project is completed, it will tremendously increase production capacity in the fields of aviation, electrical power and petrochemical industry, and will also meet the requirement of heavy die & open forgings used for aviation, national defense and civil industries, especially for the large commercial aircrafts in China."
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http://aciers.free.fr/index.php/2012...ress-forge-us/
"The Fifty" and the Machines that made the Jet Age
