StringGrrl sees the World

Site map of mammoth location, This shaft was only for the extraction of the coal. Miners entered and exited from other shafts  For a recent company outing we toured the "Cokerie" at the  Zollverein Coal Mine  in Essen. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a stop on the European Route of Industrial Heritage . It is reputed to be the most Beautiful Coal Mine in the World. It is certainly impressive and worth the visit if you are in the Ruhrgebiet (or Kohlpott as some know the area for the very same reason of mines like this). The building directly behind is the Coal storage area, conveyors passed the coal directly from mine to this building Germany has done an admirable job of recognizing the importance of their industrial history, unlike most of the USA which prefers to think of Carnegie, Vanderbilt, and Guggenheim as cultural institutions that just sprung into existence fully formed rather than acknowledge the industrial history of those family names and the i...

StringGirl made her way over to Livonia for the "Great Designs in Steel" conference along with the Self-proclaimed-die-expert. At the conference she learned more than most imaginary characters will ever know about High strength steel and it's impact on design, manufacture and performance. Presentations on the Chevy Sonic illustrated how HSS and AHSS are taking new vehicles to unparalleled performance in crash and structural integrity of cars. She saw how Ford is using hydroforming of HSS to reinvent vehicle architecture and safety. Other presentations demonstrated how safer vehicles is making the job of emergency first responders more difficult. As HSS and AHSS content make crash intrusion more avoidable, passenger extrication is made near impossible for many fire departments. There is little support for the emergency responders  in their job if they find a victim trapped in a late model vehicle built from these advanced materials. It proved a very enlightening day on ...