The photos below are what we saw.
At
the top of the In-Ko-Pah grade there is an old structure called
"Desert Tower". This is a for-pay view point that was built
in the 1930s.
At
the base of the grade there were new windmills since our last
passage through this area.
Outside
of Gila Bend, AZ we drove past a very large solar thermal
generating station. The facility was many hundreds of acres
along side of I-8.
While
we were in Tucson, we visited the (ex) family business, Caid
Industries. The business is being run by Bill Assenmacher
and he is doing a first rate job.
The
business is growing well and they have built several new buildings
including this large shop.
They
have amassed some impressive capital equipment and tools including
this hydraulic press brake for bending metal.
This
is an example of some of the detailed work that can be performed
with the laser cutter, water jet and machine shop tools.
This
is a fixture used in the assembly of solar reflector panels.
I
took a photo of myself in the reflective surface of one of the
solar panels. These are bent to the correct curvature and
reflect the sun to a heat collection plumbing system that connects
with the power plant.
This
fixture is also used as part of the solar collector assembly
process.
A
team of workers are running a press brake bending large sheets of
stainless steel.
This
device is the water jet cutting machine. This machine uses
garnet grains transported by very high pressure water to eat holes
in material. The machine can cut steel several inches thick.
This
is the water jet control unit. Note that the operating
pressure is 87,000 psi.
Some
large plumbing being fabricated for a job in South America.
Bill
is leading Kathleen to one of the newer buildings of the facility.
The
device with the red bar is a track welding robot and can weld
material with great precision.
Another
track welding machine used as part of fabricating large tanks.
These
are large stainless steel tanks.
This
is another type of welding robot from Fanuc and can weld complex
geometries.
A
good-sized radial mill.
The
large collection of welders, cutters and machine tools uses plenty
of power. This is one of the distribution panels.
This
odd structure is part of a packing crate for a very large
telescope mirror. The mirror is attached to the frame and
then encased in a bullet-proof case for transport from the
fabrication facility to the observatory.
More
of the mirror transport frame.
Another
large track welder.
These
robot welders can produce precision beads many feet long.
These
super-thick stainless steel plates were welded together using a
many-pass process to weld the entire thickness of the material.
Above,
more thick plates are assembled using the multi-pass welding
process.
These
are pump barges used at copper mines. A large pump is
installed on the top of the barge to skim concentrated copper off
the flotation ponds. The square pontoons at the bottom are
filled with concrete for ballast.
Bill
and Bill with some of Caid's past projects on the wall.
One
our way back to the parent's home, we got a nice view of Pusch
Ridge on the west end of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The
desert plants were reasonably happy due to recent rains.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2013,
all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.