Did you know that there are more than 58,000 locally owned metal manufacturing shops in the United States of America? Metal manufacturing services are a valuable part of the infrastructure and the economy in the United States and with good reason.
They produce literal tons of industrial products needed for building everything from sewers and bridges to skyscrapers and ships. There are also tons of benefits that you can gain by choosing to do business with a metal manufacturing company near you. Look around you. Nearly everything you see is created through metal manufacturing.
If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about industrial product design and the metal manufacturing industry then you’ve come to the perfect place. Continue reading this article to learn about ten fascinating facts about metal manufacturing today.
1. NASCAR Requires Metal Manufacturing and Fabrication
If you’ve ever watched a NASCAR race then it is easy to forget about all of the work that goes into building the cars that are flying around the track at speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour. Those cars actually require many hours of work when it comes to the metal manufacturing process.
The average NASCAR vehicle has almost 1,000 hours of work and metal manufacturing done on it before it ever hits the pavement. There are hundreds of hours put into metal manufacturing followed by even more time welding everything together to create a lightweight but a safe car for the driver.
The metal manufacturing process extends from the chassis and the roll cage all the way down to the vehicle’s suspension system. It is a huge part of why NASCAR exists and thrives.
2. The First Robot Came from Metal Manufacturing
The first industrial robot was created more than sixty years ago by General Motors. This robot got installed at a General Motors industrial plant to help with the car manufacturing process. This robot was a heavyweight that helped General Motors become an even bigger titan of the industry when it came to automobiles.
This interesting robot was equipped with a robot arm that got used to weld things at the General Motors plant. The engineers that created it found ways to implant commands into the robot so that it knew the steps it should take when fabricating and welding metal. It started the trend of automation when it comes to metal manufacturing.
3. The Sydney Bridge Had No Welders
It seems crazy to think nowadays that you could produce a metal bridge on such a large scale without welding. Welding is such a large part of the metal manufacturing industry that it seems like a no-brainer. That wasn’t the case when this massive bridge was built.
The project was on such a massive scale that it didn’t seem feasible to use welding to keep the bridge together. Instead of welding, steel rivets were used to keep the massive metal components together and produce a durable bridge. Large-scale welding was a huge turning point when it came to metal sales manufacturing.
4. Metal Fabrication Started Around 4,000 BC
Technology has made metal fabrication and metal manufacturing much easier over the past one hundred years, but metal fabrication is nothing new. In fact, your ancestors going back more than 6,000 years were already learning the basics of metal fabrication and manufacturing.
The first recorded people to unlock the heart of metal manufacturing were the Egyptians. They learned how to manipulate gold and shape it into designs for use as jewelry. This was just the beginning of discovering the things that humans could do when it comes to manufacturing and fabricating metal.
Not long after, the ancient people of the Earth started using metal fabrication and metal manufacturing to create weapons, tools, and currency.
5. Over Half of the Products in Society Require Metal Manufacturing
Take a quick look around you at the furniture, buildings, and automobiles that you see. Every single one of those that has metal components is a result of a metal manufacturing company. Metal is vital to the world and society as we know it today. It allows for massive skyscrapers that extend thousands of feet into the air.
It also allows for huge airplanes that carry vast amounts of people and cargo from continent to continent. On a more basic level, it allows for the superstructure of homes and apartment buildings and is perfect for providing the protective structure of automobiles. It is even necessary for the production of smartphones, laptops, and tablets.
All of these things required metal manufacturing at one point or another in order to exist. Knowing that will help you have a great understanding and appreciation for metal fabrication and the role that it plays in everyday life. Be sure to check out Zach Mottl Atlas Tool to learn more about metal manufacturing and its benefits.
6. Welding In Space Occurred in 1969
Welding is prevalent in everyday life on Earth, but what about outside of our precious atmosphere? Did you know that cosmonauts of the USSR experimented with welding in outer space in the year 1969? These experiments and the lessons learned from them went a long way towards helping humans understand the science of outer space.
These lessons were also invaluable to learning how to construct and weld together the Internation Space Station that orbits the Earth. It made it possible to fabricate and manufacture metal in order to build structures in orbit or in outer space. This could change life as we know it in the future.
7. One of the Deepest Welds Was 11,500 Feet Deep
From the beginnings of the heavens to the deepest parts of the earth, welding and metal manufacturing have been everywhere. Did you know that one of the deepest welds in the world was almost 12,000 feet under the ocean’s surface? India conducted a huge project under the surface of the earth to connect an underwater pipeline between them and Oman.
Metal manufacturing and fabrication make it possible to move large amounts of fossil fuels and water through difficult terrain and even under the ocean. Without metal manufacturing, none of this would be possible. It is changing the way that business and trade are done.
8. Metal In Space Fuses Together
Going back to outer space for this interesting fact, two pieces of metal will fuse themselves together when they touch in outer space. This is an event that is unique to outer space. When two pieces of metal touch each other on the earth they stay separate.
This is thanks to the oxidized material that occurs between the two of them thanks to the earth’s atmosphere. This property doesn’t exist in outer space so there is nothing to keep the two pieces of metal from becoming one when they touch.
9. The Eiffel Tower Has 2 Million Rivets
Going back to a world before welding, the Eiffel Tower is a masterpiece in metal manufacturing and fabrication. This massive tower was decades ahead of its time and towered over the Parisian skyline. It was built in 1889 and required more than 18,000 huge pieces of iron to build.
Those 18,000 pieces of wrought iron were fastened and connected together through the use of the 2 million rivets. These rivets still hold strong today and keep the Eiffel Tower as an iconic and unforgettable wonder of the modern world. Without metal manufacturing, the Eiffel Tower would not exist.
10. The Burj Khalifa Used Less Steel Than the Empire State Building
The Burj Khalifa is an engineering marvel in so many ways. This building is over half a mile tall and is by far the tallest structure created by humans in the history of the earth. The official height of the Burj Khalifa is 2,722 feet tall. This means that the Burj Khalifa is a staggering 1,500 feet taller than the Empire State Building.
The advances in technology when it comes to a metal manufacturing company allowed for less steel to get used in creating the tallest building in the world. The metal manufacturing processes have changed over the past one hundred years to allow for stronger and more durable steel for designing and creating buildings that touch the clouds.
Without metal manufacturing to create the advanced forms of steel, it would not be possible to build such impressive buildings. Metal manufacturing and fabrication allow large pieces of steel to get fused together to create a durable superstructure. This allows for buildings that dwarf older skyscrapers like the Empire State Building.
Now You Know More About Metal Manufacturing
Metal manufacturing is everywhere in your daily life. Look around you. There is likely metal furniture within sight. There are also likely to be buildings with steel beams and vehicles with metal exteriors. Even the laptop or the phone that you’re reading this article on is a result of metal manufacturing.
Understanding the role that metal manufacturing plays in your life will help you appreciate its importance. It allows for advancements that improve the quality of life for people around the world.
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