Machines and mechanical structures

April 29, 2020

I have always had an affinity for machines: large industrial machines, generators, electric motors, aircraft engines, turbines, diesel engines, power generation equipment, and various mechanical structures found in large industrial facilities, mines and military applications. I find related visual material from a variety of sources: books websites about tanks and military vehicles, missile silos, battleships and submarines, aircraft, mines, clocks, blast furnaces, mills, production facilities, factories, power plants and research facilities. Occasionally, I have take advantage of opportunities to visit some of these places and photo document many interesting things that I see.Examples of some of the places that I have visited where I have found interesting mechanical devices and structures:The Sloss Furnace in Birmingham, The USS Alabama Battleship and USS Drum submarine in Mobile, Alabama, The North Carolina Battleship in Wilmington NC, abandoned mines in Colorado, the Mayflower Mill in Silverton, Colorado, The Deutsche Museum in Munich, Germany, various central office telecom facilities and laboratories, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and the abandoned mining relics in Butte, Montana. I have collected from these sources an extensive photo library that serves as a reference for design concepts and technical details. All my mechanical drawings contain elements from these sources.

A turbine from the Sloss Furnace in Birmingham, Alabama

Power substation in Butte, Montana

Electric motor or dynamo in the Deutsche Museum in Munich, Germany

Radial aircraft engine in the World War Two Museum in New Orleans

Deep sea diving suit in the Deutsche Museum in Munich, Germany

Superstructure on the USS Alabama in Mobile, Alabama

Engine room machinery from the USS Alabama

Mechanical ballistics computer in the USS Alabama

Cable routing configuration from the USS Alabama

Diving control from the navigation deck of the WW2 submarine USS Drum located in Mobile, Alabama

Navigation deck on the USS Drum

Rear view of an M60 main battle tank showing tracks and suspension. From the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park.

LVTP5A1 Vietnam era armored personnel carrier showing tracks and hull design. From the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park.

These are just a few of my personal photographic collection containing hundreds of similar images photographed with my cell phone or ipad. I use bits and pieces of these images as reference material: cable systems, valves, instrumentation, gears, bolts and fasteners, clamps, flanges, lights and indicators, plumbing, axles, spindles, shafts, pulleys, armatures, suspensions, and hull structures.

Here are some examples of my mechanical drawings with detail:

Machine: 1983