Today we visited Voith Siemens, and their enormous machine shop. Voith Siemens is one a few manufacturers of turbines which are used in hydroelectric dams, some of these turbines are up to 40 ft in diameter and weigh in at around 200 tons. After being around machine shops trying to get parts made for various projects during my high school years, I was astonished by the shear size of the equipment used to manufacture the turbines. Most machine shops measure machining tables in inches but at Voith Siemens it is measured in feet. The largest 6 axis mill I saw in the shop could machine a cube 40 ft^2 and 30 ft high. I also thoroughly enjoyed the discussion with the employees of the company. They offered not only engineering insight but some business insight which was a rare edition. This was a very interesting visit.
