Author Topic: Big Machines, Russia  (Read 5930 times)

Offline Tater

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Big Machines, Russia
« on: December 06, 2014, 07:10:00 PM »
This may be a little off topic, butI though you guys would appreciate these photos.  Back in 1998, I had the great fortune to visit Russia as it was emerging from the Soviet Era, to see and document some of the transformation.  One of the highlights was getting to visit Uralmash, a famous heavy industry manufacturing plant in Yekaterinburg.  It is knows as the "factory of factories" as it produces equipment used in mining, steel production, and heavy equipment of all sorts. They also produced a lot of T-34 and various self propelled guns on the T-34 platform during WWII.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uralmash

The plant had no computer controlled machinery. Virtually all of the design and drafting was still done by hand. They had about 3 computers in the engineering department.

BTW - when I was there, it was December. The temperature outside was -30 Fahrenheit.  Inside the plant it was still well below freezing.




























Offline kev

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2014, 07:38:33 PM »
Wonderful, reminds me of some of the heavy engineering ROF's back in the 70's where they machines heavy tanks and guns

Offline Roger B

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2014, 07:52:35 PM »
Magnificent pictures  :ThumbsUp:  :ThumbsUp: I also spent some time around the various ordinance factories installing and servicing high energy X-ray equipment (4-15 Million Volt  :zap: )
Best regards

Roger

Offline AussieJimG

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #3 on: December 06, 2014, 08:40:51 PM »
Below freezing in the factory? In the worker's paradise?

Jim

Offline Tater

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #4 on: December 06, 2014, 09:20:14 PM »
Below freezing in the factory? In the worker's paradise?

Jim

That was still 60 degrees warmer than outside. Somewhere I have photos of the public bus, with an inch of ice frozen on the seats and handrails inside.

Offline ths

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #5 on: December 06, 2014, 11:10:15 PM »
Superb photos. Hugh.

Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #6 on: December 07, 2014, 12:03:33 AM »
Love the look of the engineering office with all the drafting boards. Damn, I worked in an office just like that for 32 years, and I loved it. Oh yeah, I've moved on and became a 3D kind of guy, and it is better/quicker/faster---all of those things, but I loved my old paper drawings.----Brian

Offline PStechPaul

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #7 on: December 07, 2014, 01:38:33 AM »
Very "cool"  ;) Visibly lacking appear to be OSHA-approved PPE and guards, and the overall appearance is like the factories of the WW2 era and the 1950s in the US. I also have a virtually unheated shop where the temperature may dip below freezing but is usually about 40-50F around this time, and thus I have to forgo the safety admonitions of working on machine tools with short sleeves. I suppose such low temperatures saves on coolant, and just the ambient air might act as a "cold gun". Perhaps that would be a cryological machine shop. With more emphasis on "cry" and less on "logical".  :lolb:

Offline philjoe5

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #8 on: December 07, 2014, 03:23:34 AM »
Fantastic pictures of some major metal working machinery.

I wonder though, if you have a hi-res copy of the 6th picture down from the top?  My tired old eyes can't quite make out the postings on the bulletin board in the break room. :o  I'd like to be able to read the "safety notices" posted there :naughty:

Cheers,
Phil
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.  - Mark Twain

Offline Tater

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #9 on: December 07, 2014, 03:47:19 AM »


I wonder though, if you have a hi-res copy of the 6th picture down from the top?  My tired old eyes can't quite make out the postings on the bulletin board in the break room. :o  I'd like to be able to read the "safety notices" posted there :naughty:

Cheers,
Phil

Heh. Those were everywhere - on the control panels of many of the machines.. They're from cigarette packets. High res version is avilable   :naughty:

Offline philjoe5

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #10 on: December 07, 2014, 03:48:42 AM »
Damn!  Wish I never quit smokin' :smokin2:

Cheers,
Phil
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.  - Mark Twain

Offline Maryak

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #11 on: December 07, 2014, 04:13:19 AM »
That was still 60 degrees warmer than outside. Somewhere I have photos of the public bus, with an inch of ice frozen on the seats and handrails inside.

At the end of a long plane ride from Adelaide to Novosibirsk we arrived there at 0400 and the terminal building was a grey blob in the distance. We were led onto the tarmac by Miss Bulldozer Tractor 1937 and invited??? to board a bus for the terminal. This bus consisted of a box attached to a prime mover.........no seats, just grab bars running down the length of the box. My hands and my gloves were in my coat pocket. Bare handed I reached up and grabbed the grab bar...........no problem! Letting go was another matter entirely as at least half the skin of my palm remained behind on said bar. I have had quite a few rides in Russian buses in the winter as well as trains and basically touch nothing without gloves. At least the trains are nice and warm inside.

Best Regards
Bob.

The Drawing Office Construction Department Siblish Marsh Novosibirsk see how all is covered for my visit with Galina who is centre stage.

Если вы у Тетушки были яйца, она была бы Дядюшкой

Offline Maryak

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #12 on: December 07, 2014, 04:19:24 AM »


I wonder though, if you have a hi-res copy of the 6th picture down from the top?  My tired old eyes can't quite make out the postings on the bulletin board in the break room. :o  I'd like to be able to read the "safety notices" posted there :naughty:

Cheers,
Phil

Heh. Those were everywhere - on the control panels of many of the machines.. They're from cigarette packets. High res version is avilable   :naughty:

Yep, the Russkies like to keep abreast of things  :slap:
Если вы у Тетушки были яйца, она была бы Дядюшкой

Offline mikemill

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #13 on: December 07, 2014, 11:41:53 AM »
What a coincidence I was looking at the NASA site the other day as I am interested in the Orion Program, one of the videos shows building the return capsule using an enormous CNC milling machine, although the video is entitled welding the spacecraft.
The old adage still holds necessity is the mother of invention!!

Mike

Offline Ian S C

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Re: Big Machines, Russia
« Reply #14 on: December 07, 2014, 12:37:44 PM »
When Sir Tim Wallis (collector of fighter aircraft from ww2)couldn't get cash payment for work he was doing in Russia, he took a trade instead, six  Polikarpov I-16 fighters, so they went to the factory where they were built about 70 years ago, turned on the lights, blew off the dust, and it was just the same as it was when production ceased, I think there were still some part built aircraft.  They even found some of the factory workers(no they hadn't been shut in), they had moved to another factory. When one type of aircraft ended production, they built a new factory, and just walked away from the old one.
                                                  Ian S C

 

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