How PC Case Panels Are Made: Raw Metal Factory Tour in Taiwan, ft. Lian Li
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Date: 2020-05-06
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Comments and reviews: 10
Dustin
I worked for a steel company doing IT work at their various mills and HQ for a few months, and that place looks very familiar. They didn't do the fabrication of anything, though, they just produced the giant rolls of different grades of steel and shipped them out in that form. Those places are LOUD, and all the gigahuge equipment that manipulates rolls of material that weighs more than most buildings is amazing. I was always excited when I got to see them just move stuff around using those gigantic cranes built into the ceiling. I never did get to see them pouring molten steel out of the gigantic blast furnaces, though, just didn't happen to be there when they were doing it. One interesting tidbit about those things, they never turn them off. If something happens and they need to turn it off and actually let the furnace cool down, it does a lot of damage and has to be repaired, then it takes DAYS to get it back up to temperature. So it would run continuously for years and years.
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I worked for a steel company doing IT work at their various mills and HQ for a few months, and that place looks very familiar. They didn't do the fabrication of anything, though, they just produced the giant rolls of different grades of steel and shipped them out in that form. Those places are LOUD, and all the gigahuge equipment that manipulates rolls of material that weighs more than most buildings is amazing. I was always excited when I got to see them just move stuff around using those gigantic cranes built into the ceiling. I never did get to see them pouring molten steel out of the gigantic blast furnaces, though, just didn't happen to be there when they were doing it. One interesting tidbit about those things, they never turn them off. If something happens and they need to turn it off and actually let the furnace cool down, it does a lot of damage and has to be repaired, then it takes DAYS to get it back up to temperature. So it would run continuously for years and years.
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Tyler
As I machinist I can give some insight into the whole highest quality metals thing. For the aluminum parts that I make they are usually either 6061-T651 or 7075 with 7075 being the stronger of the two standards. But the T651 is such a wide standard that the best is very specific to use yet they are all T651. At one point the best machining material was sourced from Russia with a few months later the same supply was super gummy and full of stress. The most consistent source I've found has all been just standard Kaiser, American made aluminum. On the other hand the actual price has not significantly moved in almost 30 years, Regardless of country of origin. It's been basically a little under 2 a pound. My point is that unless you run the forge making this stuff there is no way to tell if it's high quality unless you work it or cut it. You can only be sure that the said material meets the associated UNS, ASTM etc standards
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As I machinist I can give some insight into the whole highest quality metals thing. For the aluminum parts that I make they are usually either 6061-T651 or 7075 with 7075 being the stronger of the two standards. But the T651 is such a wide standard that the best is very specific to use yet they are all T651. At one point the best machining material was sourced from Russia with a few months later the same supply was super gummy and full of stress. The most consistent source I've found has all been just standard Kaiser, American made aluminum. On the other hand the actual price has not significantly moved in almost 30 years, Regardless of country of origin. It's been basically a little under 2 a pound. My point is that unless you run the forge making this stuff there is no way to tell if it's high quality unless you work it or cut it. You can only be sure that the said material meets the associated UNS, ASTM etc standards
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Alliana
Oh man, working in a manufacturing environment seeing you hit on the sources of the materials that often get used, ergo from a supplier, and the bending, cutting processes. I personally weld for an agricultural/industrial equipment manufacturer, but it's amazing to see how similar many industries can be. Buying steel and not using an on-site foundry is definitely VERY common. And those overhead cranes are very common, and it is definitely heavily emphasized to remain with the load for safety. Ha, D face pieces. another thing that is common. If it's not gonna be readily seen, appearance is often not considered paramount. Those benders and lasers. Okay, yes, I am nerding out a bit. So sue me.
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Oh man, working in a manufacturing environment seeing you hit on the sources of the materials that often get used, ergo from a supplier, and the bending, cutting processes. I personally weld for an agricultural/industrial equipment manufacturer, but it's amazing to see how similar many industries can be. Buying steel and not using an on-site foundry is definitely VERY common. And those overhead cranes are very common, and it is definitely heavily emphasized to remain with the load for safety. Ha, D face pieces. another thing that is common. If it's not gonna be readily seen, appearance is often not considered paramount. Those benders and lasers. Okay, yes, I am nerding out a bit. So sue me.
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NickPicker
AskGN: You have said before, when talking about best design practices for cases, we have those numbers. I think this is in response to fan distance from a front panel, and the gap/grid/holes meant for airflow. Do you have these to publish? Any other case design advice? I'm sure a lot of modders and people wanting to design their own cases (like me) would be interested on your take and ideas for a perfect design. It would be really neat if you built/designed your own, and stepped through why you designed it in the way you did. Your experience having things made, and seeing how these things are made firsthand, would be invaluable for us.
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AskGN: You have said before, when talking about best design practices for cases, we have those numbers. I think this is in response to fan distance from a front panel, and the gap/grid/holes meant for airflow. Do you have these to publish? Any other case design advice? I'm sure a lot of modders and people wanting to design their own cases (like me) would be interested on your take and ideas for a perfect design. It would be really neat if you built/designed your own, and stepped through why you designed it in the way you did. Your experience having things made, and seeing how these things are made firsthand, would be invaluable for us.
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Gryphen
I would suggest in the future when you guys do the videos like this at least call the equipment by its correct naming. I. E. its not a bending machine, it is a CNC Press Brake. The rubbing machine is a deburring machine. ect. ect. As someone with 20+ years in Sheetmetal work I understand that its easier to call a machine by what it does, but this also dumbs down the work that these highly skilled operators do, I mean you wouldn't call a PCB a layered board thingy. Just show a little more respect by learning the proper names of the positions, and or machines, so you show a little more respect for the profession.
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I would suggest in the future when you guys do the videos like this at least call the equipment by its correct naming. I. E. its not a bending machine, it is a CNC Press Brake. The rubbing machine is a deburring machine. ect. ect. As someone with 20+ years in Sheetmetal work I understand that its easier to call a machine by what it does, but this also dumbs down the work that these highly skilled operators do, I mean you wouldn't call a PCB a layered board thingy. Just show a little more respect by learning the proper names of the positions, and or machines, so you show a little more respect for the profession.
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Joe
You know all of this can be done with human effort. Let s eliminate global unemployment and put workers back to work! Lifting 20 ton rolls of metal? Easy just get a few hundred strong workers ready to go! How may you ask can you replace a 500-ton press? Easy just get enough people to jump up and down at the same time. Laser cutting? Wow what a waste of electricity and Ln2, simply get people to use a 50-foot-long scissors and use the power of leverage to cut any design you please. The boss says to increase production to 500 tons a day? done! Hire more people!
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You know all of this can be done with human effort. Let s eliminate global unemployment and put workers back to work! Lifting 20 ton rolls of metal? Easy just get a few hundred strong workers ready to go! How may you ask can you replace a 500-ton press? Easy just get enough people to jump up and down at the same time. Laser cutting? Wow what a waste of electricity and Ln2, simply get people to use a 50-foot-long scissors and use the power of leverage to cut any design you please. The boss says to increase production to 500 tons a day? done! Hire more people!
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AKAtheA
the LN2 does NOT cool the laser, (it's watercooled by it's own chiller) it's evaporated and blown through the nozzle at a fair bit of pressure to clear molten material, keeping it liquid is just a more practical way of storing and transporting when you need so much of it. And as for the bending machine (break press really) - it IS automated. The operator is just pressing a pedal and feeding in the sheet to be bent as he's being told by the machine. the machine sets the backstops, position and pressure being exerted on the dies automatically.
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the LN2 does NOT cool the laser, (it's watercooled by it's own chiller) it's evaporated and blown through the nozzle at a fair bit of pressure to clear molten material, keeping it liquid is just a more practical way of storing and transporting when you need so much of it. And as for the bending machine (break press really) - it IS automated. The operator is just pressing a pedal and feeding in the sheet to be bent as he's being told by the machine. the machine sets the backstops, position and pressure being exerted on the dies automatically.
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Erik
This is great, love to see it. As an electrical engineer who's spent a whole bunch of time doing automation though, whoof, those factories could use some safety upgrades. The number of ways you could kill someone is kind of staggering. There's all sorts of issues with access to emergency stops and the overhead crane + everyone wearing hard hats (reducing upwards visibility) is kind of hilarious, since getting beaned by one of those rolls of metal or stacks of completed product would NOT be helped by you wearing the hard hat whatsoever.
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This is great, love to see it. As an electrical engineer who's spent a whole bunch of time doing automation though, whoof, those factories could use some safety upgrades. The number of ways you could kill someone is kind of staggering. There's all sorts of issues with access to emergency stops and the overhead crane + everyone wearing hard hats (reducing upwards visibility) is kind of hilarious, since getting beaned by one of those rolls of metal or stacks of completed product would NOT be helped by you wearing the hard hat whatsoever.
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Greg
It's amazing to watch all the crazy steps that go into products and design elements I don't normally give a moment's thought to. Steve/GN: you're way better at this than the How It's Made TV series or its clones, which always left me feeling like I'd not really understood much of what I was shown. I guess this comes down to domain-specific knowledge & probably also effort expended in the writing and editing. Regardless, really impressive work, thank you!
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It's amazing to watch all the crazy steps that go into products and design elements I don't normally give a moment's thought to. Steve/GN: you're way better at this than the How It's Made TV series or its clones, which always left me feeling like I'd not really understood much of what I was shown. I guess this comes down to domain-specific knowledge & probably also effort expended in the writing and editing. Regardless, really impressive work, thank you!
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william
Liquid nitrogen is not used to cool the laser its converted to gas for the cutting gas shielding gas in short. In other words it's better for lower Oxydization of the metal like mild steel. O2 makes a black oxide layer on the cut side of the metal. nitrogen Is cheaper than o2 and is preferred on thin steel. It also is the only gas most places use on stainless and aluminum. I may be missing a few things but it bugged me.
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Liquid nitrogen is not used to cool the laser its converted to gas for the cutting gas shielding gas in short. In other words it's better for lower Oxydization of the metal like mild steel. O2 makes a black oxide layer on the cut side of the metal. nitrogen Is cheaper than o2 and is preferred on thin steel. It also is the only gas most places use on stainless and aluminum. I may be missing a few things but it bugged me.
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