An 8,000 Ton Giant Made the Jet Age Possible

Hugh Pickens writes "Tim Heffernan writes that when 'The Fifty,' as it's known in company circles, broke down three years ago, there was talk of retiring it for good. Instead, Alcoa decided to overhaul their 50,000-ton, 6-story high forging press, now scheduled to resume service early this year. 'What sets the Fifty apart is its extraordinary scale,' writes Heffernan. 'Its 14 major structural components, cast in ductile iron, weigh as much as 250 tons each; those yard-thick steel bolts are also 78 feet long; all told, the machine weighs 16 million pounds, and when activated its eight main hydraulic cylinders deliver up to 50,000 tons of compressive force.' The Fifty could bench-press the battleship Iowa, with 860 tons to spare, but it's the Fifty's amazing precision — its tolerances are measured in thousandths of an inch—that gives it such far-reaching utility. Every manned US military aircraft now flying uses parts forged by the Fifty, as does every commercial aircraft made by Airbus and Boeing making the Jet Age possible. 'On a plane, a pound of weight saved is a pound of thrust gained—or a pound of lift, or a pound of cargo,' writes Heffernan. 'Without the ultra-strong, ultra-light components that only forging can produce, they'd all be pushing much smaller envelopes.' The now-forgotten Heavy Press Program (PDF), inaugurated in 1950 and completed in 1957, resulted in four presses (including the Fifty) and six extruders — giant toothpaste tubes squeezing out long, complex metal structures such as wing ribs and missile bodies. 'Today, America lacks the ability to make anything like the Heavy Press Program machines,' concludes Heffernan, adding that 'The Fifty' will be supplying bulkheads through 2034 for the Joint Strike Fighter. 'Big machines are the product of big visions, and they make big visions real. How about a Heavy Fusion Program?'"

Wow!

[Kell Bengal]

That's something completely fascinating that I never knew before! It's days like this that remind me what it was like to be young - when everything was new and exciting. Thanks, internet!

I find it's

[JustOK]

I find it's really depressing

Re:"On a plane, ...

[Barbara, not Barbie]

Really? So if I throw two snakes out of the window, the engines will provide one pound more of thrust?

You're doing it wrong - you have to throw the snakes INTO the plane ... the thrust is from all the H1Bs then jumping out.

Re:Additive manufacturing?

[PeterP]

How long until I can buy one at Harbor Freight?

Re:Score 1 moe for the government.

[sunderland56]

This is another score for the government and a blow to the idea that provate industry always does everything best.

There is an entire political party that disagrees with you.

Re:Additive manufacturing?

[beltsbear]

How long till harbor freight uses one (of any size) to make it's tools?

Of COURSE we lack the ability to make a new one

[Troyusrex]

The 400 yard long wrench needed to tighten the 10 foot wide bolts was lost when someone (I think we all know who...) used it and never put it back.

giant machines, all the way up

[Thud457]

If you think that's big, you should see the machine they built it on.

Re:The future will be printed, not forged.

[camperdave]

No. Russian subs use Magnetohydrodynamic 'caterpillar' drives. They're so silent that you can hear the crew singing the national anthem as they slip away from you.