Motovilikha Plant is one of the oldest in Russia. It saw the daylight in 1736. At that time it was a big copper-smelting plant. In the end of the XIXth century it was rebuilt into machine-building. That was the beginning of the artillery production. Just in time. During the First World War one fifth of all the artillery was produced here as well as during the Second World War. Nowadays it produces modern artillery mounts, mortar launchers and other “useful” things.
This building has a great security. “Normal position of the doors – closed”.
Modern missile launchers are made of simple scrap metal. It is delivered here in wagons, then unloaded, weighted, and if there is still not enough – the wagons are also taken to pieces.
With help of this magnetic crane metal pieces are loaded to the container.
Then it is put into a big scoop. For the present, it doesn’t matter how much scrap is inside. It’ll be counted later.
A special man is doing usual scheduled works.
Full of pieces of metal scrap, the scoop is going to the furnace.
The electrical furnace is already ready to the new portion of the metal scrap.
The scoop is hovering in the starting position.
The bottom of the scoop opens and the scrap falls into the boiler of the furnace.
Then sparks are diminishing on the floor and it seems like it’s the end. There is complete silence.
Then the very process begins. According to the sounds, something enormous is happening inside.
Impact, bright flash and new sounds. The floor is shivering.
The scoop is going away and the boiler is getting closed. Electrodes are put into the boiler and the second act begins.
This flame gun helps the furnace to smelt the metal.
Everything is controlled from this place. Here is all the information and the remote-control of the furnace.
But people here don’t trust the computer so much. Through a special window a specialist is putting a probe with sensors.
This how it looks before.
And this is after.
Here they are – electrodes. The same concept as in electric welding.
New electrodes not far from that place. They will replace the old ones when they completely burn.
The process lasts about 2 hours.
When the metal is done, the boiler goes to the next workshop.
Here one more sample is taken and new additional ingredients are added.
The boiler goes further and loaded to the cart.
Another boiler is waiting for the metal. Here the metal will be boiled.
Сhemical admixtures will influence the type and the quality of the alloy.
Add some, according to the recipe.
And put a lid.
That what is happening inside the boiler is on the screen.
Taking a sample by hand. This job isn’t easy at all. The temperature is 1500 C.
It looks like they Photoshopped demons into the fiery furnace photos!
This is a fascinating process, dangerous too.
The femen girls should be put to work there as punishment for their media exposure
hooooooooooooooooooooottttt!!!!
Engineering and Machinists PORN!
excellent tour and very well explained, lucky this place didn’t get completely destroyed during the war.
Job only for tough men!
These arc furnaces consume a few dozens of megawatt electric power, as much as a small city! Each electrode delivers current of about 50000Amp, while average house consumption is usually no more than 20A! And transformer to supply such enormous power has the size of a small railway car.
I liked that this plant is quite neat and uses modern technologies, somehow out of the stereotype that all Russian industry dates to Brezniev time.
OMG, I was on the edge of my seat with anxiety while scrolling through the photos because I just knew some of the hot melted metal was going to splash onto a worker’s testicles and rob him of his chance to procreate.
Now I can relax.
You don’t really want to boil your iron. Crucibles and ladles are the proper terms where they’ve been referred to as boilers. Nice plant tour for an operation with an amazing history. Makes a large portion of the American Rust Belt look like a flash in the pan.
Great pictures of the Arc Furnace. I’m from San Manuel where they had Flash Furnace. The whole thing was torn down and moved out of the country. Anyway, my father worked for the company for over 30 years and worked everywhere until they upgraded the furnace to a Flash. Then help build the O2 plant and was the Manager there.
Other then that you got the machining labels wrong as I’m a machinist and have been on for over 17 years.
Starting from the seventh picture is 1960′s lathe controls. Very much still great at doing the job it was design for. Eight:Starting to machine off the rust and to get to a ruff OD. 9th: Can’t tell if he is measuring the OD or using a ultra-sound machine measurement. 10th: A guy bolting the Steady rest. 11th: The Chuck and Saddle..He is machining down the OD on the blank. 12: Another view to his work. 12: Cooling mixture while it looks to be machining the ID of the blank. The rest is pretty much easy to guess.