sudeepa - factory visit

Respected sir,

We had an interesting trip to few small scale factories this last Thursday. Firstly, we visited a metal factory in Sudarshanpura in which aluminum was being processed. The owner Mr. Rajendra Singh gave us a detailed description of the whole process. We saw a air blasted oil fired furnace in which the scrap materials are melted. We came to know how aluminum is cleansed of all impurities by passing chlorine gas through it. Mr. Singh also showed us the book mould casting, rolling of both hot and cold metal and the cutting process. I learned that in rolling the metal sheets increases only in length and not in width. Mr. Singh finally explained us the annulling process in which the metal which becomes hard and compact in the rolling mill, is again made soft and malleable in this process. Thus, aluminum sheets and wires can easily be bended without breaking after this process.

Next we visited a wood processing factory where the owner Mr. Sameer Wheaton explained us all the processes from the seasoning of wood to cutting, planing, shaping and finally assembling the pieces to make the final product. We learned that it tales fifteen days to dry the wooden planks called sleepers. Mr. Wheaton then showed us three kinds of machines namely electrical, pneumatic and mechanical machines. We saw a machine having four sided planer blades, spindle molders, panel saws, scoring blades and groove making machines. The whole process was very systematic and time saving. He had also attached suction pumps to each of the machines to suck in the sawdust in huge sacks. He also showed us his workshop where they make foldable furniture with detachable parts. The whole range was of standard export quality.

Finally, we visited a plastic making factory of Mr. Y. S. Bhati where we saw how the raw material in the form of small plastic granules is melted and put in to moulds of the required shapes. The whole process was mechanical and very simple. We learned that the plastics come in different grades and colours and different grades had different utility.

Overall, we had a learning experience and seeing different kinds of interesting machines was very exciting. The experience has left us craving for more of such kinds of visits. The first hand knowledge that we received in seeing the machines working along with the details provided by the amiable owners have been retained better in my brain as compared to the bookish knowledge.

With regards,

Sudeepa Karmakar.