Sinomach (II)

choi

Dinny McMahon, Under Pressure: The 10-Story Machine China Hopes Will Boost Its Aviation Industry. China Real Time, Dec 3, 2014.
blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/12/03/under-pressure-the-10-story-machine-china-hopes-will-boost-its-aviation-industry/

Quote:

"I managed to catch a glimpse of two floors’ worth of the 10-story-tall machine * * * an 80,000-ton closed-die hydraulic press forge.

"The machine is the biggest of its kind in the world. The biggest forge in the US can exert only 50,000 tons of pressure, and is operated by Alcoa in Ohio. France has a 65,000-ton machine, and Russia has a machine capable of exerting 75,000 tons of pressure. But the technology China is using is nothing new. It is based on modifications of Russian designs from the 80s, according to a person involved in the development process. More sensitive is was China can potentially do with it.

"Greater pressure results in stronger components. The Erzhong forge can exert up to 80,000 tons of downward pressure using five columns.

"The technology was pioneered during WWII by Germany, which didn’t have a sufficient supply of steel and so had to mold its air force out of more brittle, but lighter metals, according to Tim Heffernan, a writer who has researched the U.S. forge program.


"The first component produced by the forge at its official launch in April last year was the landing gear for the C919 * * * Since then, though, the forge hasn’t gotten much use. People at the company say that there haven’t been many orders.


My comment: On Dec 3, 2014 I had a posting titled "Sinomach"--about
Dinny McMahon, 打造中国版 '通用电气' 困难重重. 华尔街日报, Dec 3, 2014.