Le Marteau-Pilon du Creusot, France - Engineering Landmarks on Waymarking.com

Les Usines du Creusot dès cette époque fabriquent des marteaux-pilons de différentes puissances tant pour leurs ateliers que pour d'autres entreprises. Il y a alors une course à la puissance. En 1876 le Creusot, bien après le départ de François Bourdon et sa mort en 1865, construit un marteau-pilon de 80 t, porté peu après à 100 t.
Le premier coup de pilon est donné le 23 septembre 1877 et lorsqu'il était en action, on entendait le choc sur la pièce à 10 km à la ronde. Il était le plus puissant du monde et le seul de son espèce pendant des années. Le marteau-pilon symbolisa longtemps la suprématie de l'industrie creusotine et fut imité par les grandes forges comme Saint-Chamond, Terni (Italie), Bethlehem (États-Unis). Il a été démonté en 1930 et est classé Monument Industriel International par « The American Society of Mechanical Engineers ».
Le marteau-pilon est l'emblème de la ville du Creusot. Il a été remonté en 1969 à l'entrée sud de la ville, place du 8 mai 1945.

The most powerful steam hammer in the world for many years.
The introduction of steam-powered forging hammers by French and British engineers of the 1830s led to the building of this impressive hammer at Creusot that delivered blows to shape and strengthen iron and steel objects before forging. It was for years the most powerful steam hammer in the world. Yet in 1878 a writer observed that "this formidable mass is capable of... corking a bottle without breakage."
With a striking capacity of 100 tons and a stroke of 5 meters, it worked massive iron and steel shafts, piston rods, and other forgings for fifty-four years, until its retirement in 1930. M.M. Schneider & Co., designers of the Creusot Hammers, joined an international family of pioneers in steam hammer building, including Nasmyth of England, Krupp of Germany, and Sellers of the United States. Steam hammers helped to increase industrial capacity while decreasing the burden on industrial workers throughout the world.
Creusot Steam Hammer The hammer is composed of four distinct parts — the foundation including the anvil, the legs, the steam cylinder and its valves and linkages, and finally, the active mass itself — the piston, piston rod, hammerhead and die.

Location: Entrée sud de la ville du Creusot South entrance Le Creusot Town Type of structure/site: Marteau-Pilon à vapeur, steam hammer Date of Construction: 1876 Engineer/Architect/Builder etc.: François Bourdon Engineering Organization Listing: American Society of Mechanical Engineers Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Web Site: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/14/2017 RakeInTheCache visited it

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