Metal fabrication is the creation of metal structures by cutting, bending and assembling processes. It is a value-added process involving the creation of machines, parts, and structures from various raw materials.
110-555: The General Bronze Corporation (also known as General Bronze or GBC) was an American metals fabricator , primarily of bronze and aluminum , and the most recognized company in the architectural bronze and aluminum industry during the first half of the 20th century. It was known for New York City's Seagram Building on Park Avenue designed by Mies van der Rohe , the Atlas and Prometheus bronze sculptures in Rockefeller Center ,
220-593: A Vinča culture site in Pločnik ( Serbia ), and believed to have been smelted from a natural tin-copper ore, stannite . Other early examples date to the late 4th millennium BC in Egypt , Susa (Iran) and some ancient sites in China, Luristan (Iran), Tepe Sialk (Iran), Mundigak (Afghanistan), and Mesopotamia (Iraq). Tin bronze was superior to arsenic bronze in that the alloying process could be more easily controlled, and
330-538: A lawsuit , originally for $ 1.2 million but was settled for $ 10,000 because "the defense in a court trial would cost far more than the $ 10,000 for which the case was settled," and accordingly, on April 11, 1975, Doundoulakis v. U.S. (Case 412–72) had been ruled in plaintiff's favor by the United States Court of Federal Claims , that "(a) a judgment has been entered in favor of the plaintiffs Helias Doundoulakis , William J. Casey , and Constantine Michalos against
440-479: A 133 m (435 ft) single tower centered in a 305 m (1,000 ft) reflector to support an antenna feed . He proposed that this antenna would "be fed from a horn on a high tower." Gordon also suggested a tripod or four-legged design similar to the arches of the St. Louis Gateway Arch to suspend the antenna feed. Subsequently, Cornell University and Zachary Sears published a request for proposal (RFP) requesting
550-399: A brighter future. The Chase Manhattan Bank Building, once known as One Chase Manhattan Plaza, at 28 Liberty Street , is a "sheer, 60-story, 813-foot-tall aluminum-and-glass-sheathed tower which contains 1.8 million square feet." "The General Bronze Corporation engineered and manufactured the ¼ inch-thick aluminum panels — some as tall as 13 feet — which enclose the perimeter piers, as well as
660-518: A copper oxide (eventually becoming copper carbonate) layer is formed, the underlying metal is protected from further corrosion . This can be seen on statues from the Hellenistic period. If copper chlorides are formed, a corrosion-mode called " bronze disease " will eventually completely destroy it. Bronze, or bronze-like alloys and mixtures, were used for coins over a longer period. Bronze was especially suitable for use in boat and ship fittings prior to
770-544: A design to support an antenna feed moving along a spherical surface 133 metres (435 ft) above a stationary reflector. The RFP recommended to those chosen antenna companies that a tripod or a tower in the center to support an antenna feed was conceptualised by Gordon . The RFP was mailed out to all major antenna companies/researchers in the field. George Doundoulakis received the RFP from Aaron Saphier, CEO of General Bronze Corporation. GBC had previously submitted proposals for
880-417: A doughnut or torus -type truss attached to the antenna feed." Doundoulakis informed Professors Gordon and Gold that the tower/tripod/four-legged designs, compared to his towers/suspension bridge idea, were major engineering challenges with high construction costs. Helias Doundoulakis designed the cable suspension system – with assignees William J. Casey and Constantine Michalos – that was finally adopted. It
990-471: A low-temperature oven to relieve residual stresses . Such weldments, particularly those for engine blocks, may be line-bored after heat treatment. After the weldment has cooled, seams are usually ground clean, and the assembly can be sandblasted , primed and painted. Any additional manufacturing is then performed, and the finished product is inspected and shipped. Many fabrication shops offer specialty processes, including : Bronze Bronze
1100-655: A major influence on the development of cultures. In Europe, a major source of tin was the British deposits of ore in Cornwall , which were traded as far as Phoenicia in the eastern Mediterranean . In many parts of the world, large hoards of bronze artifacts are found, suggesting that bronze also represented a store of value and an indicator of social status. In Europe, large hoards of bronze tools, typically socketed axes (illustrated above), are found, which mostly show no signs of wear. With Chinese ritual bronzes , which are documented in
1210-442: A matte texture, as does the narrow black-anodized aluminum sill panel. Each bay is subdivided by five extruded aluminum mullions which are spaced 4 feet, 10 inches on center concerning each other and to the structural columns." Skidmore, Owings & Merrill built the present structure, where the "shining, anodized-aluminum skin stood out among the dark towers of Wall Street like a newly minted coin." The Chase Manhattan Bank Building
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#17328483362531320-562: A metamorphosis of name changes, beginning with the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company, in 1892. Arthur J. Nash, apparently became Tiffany's partner, as Nash applied the favrile glass technique learned from his hometown of Stourbridge, England to the glassworks produced by Tiffany. Thereafter, its name evolved from being called the Stourbridge Glass Company in 1893 (in deference to the technique learned from Nash's hometown), to
1430-526: A physicist, had gained a solid foothold in the field of electronics and was encouraged by Kamen to also teach at the RCA Institutes . Subsequently, in 1956, both Doundoulakis and Kamen filed their first US patent. Later, Doundoulakis and Kamen co-authored a book on "Scatter Propagation." Doundoulakis hired Stanley Gethen, and together, both filed patents for antenna designs and radar-related projects for General Bronze. Brach Electronics had developed antennas for
1540-476: A repeatable form that can be used to create products for many industries, including jewelry, aerospace, automotive, construction, civil and architectural. Machining is a specialized trade of removing material from a block of metal to make it a desired shape. Fab shops generally have some machining capability, using metal lathes , mills , drills , and other portable machining tools. Most solid components, such as gears, bolts, screws and nuts, are machined. Welding
1650-546: A sharper edge longer. Bronze was still used during the Iron Age, and has continued in use for many purposes to the modern day. There are many different bronze alloys, but typically modern bronze is 88% copper and 12% tin. Alpha bronze consists of the alpha solid solution of tin in copper. Alpha bronze alloys of 4–5% tin are used to make coins, springs, turbines and blades. Historical "bronzes" are highly variable in composition, as most metalworkers probably used whatever scrap
1760-592: A supervisor overseeing bronze manufacturing at the Tiffany Glass Studios in Corona, Queens New York, which served as the basis for his future enterprise in bronze fabrication. Tiffany Glass Studios, made famous by Louis C. Tiffany commonly referred to his product as favrile glass or " Tiffany glass ," and used bronze in their artisan work for his Tiffany lamps . In 1910, Polachek left Tiffany Glass Studios and opened his own bronze architectural company called
1870-480: Is shearing . Special band saws for cutting metal have hardened blades and feed mechanisms for even cutting. Abrasive cut-off saws, also known as chop saws, are similar to miter saws but have a steel-cutting abrasive disks. Cutting torches can cut large sections of steel with little effort. Burn tables are CNC (computer-operated) cutting torches, usually powered by natural gas. Plasma and laser cutting tables, and water jet cutters , are also common. Plate steel
1980-473: Is "forced through dies by pressure produced the bronze mullions — vertical lines between windows," set the Seagram Building apart from all other buildings worldwide. The effect Mies van der Rohe obtained was the "sharp edges" between the glass and the bronze. "One is as much aware of the metal as of the glass that forms most of the building's walls." This produced the desired design by Mies van der Rohe. It
2090-416: Is a better conductor of heat and electricity than most steels. The cost of copper-base alloys is generally higher than that of steels but lower than that of nickel -base alloys. Bronzes are typically ductile alloys, considerably less brittle than cast iron. Copper and its alloys have a huge variety of uses that reflect their versatile physical, mechanical, and chemical properties . Some common examples are
2200-493: Is an alloy consisting primarily of copper , commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium , manganese , nickel , or zinc ) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus , or metalloids , such as arsenic or silicon . These additions produce a range of alloys that may be harder than copper alone, or have other useful properties, such as strength , ductility , or machinability . The archaeological period in which bronze
2310-528: Is essentially the same design as in the original drawings by Doundoulakis – although configured with three towers rather than four towers in Doundoulakis , Michalos, and Casey's patent. Controversy arose after Helias Doundoulakis , Constantine Michalos, and William J. Casey ( CIA director under President Ronald Reagan ) discovered the suspension design was used by Cornell University without their permission as exclusive patent holders. They subsequently filed
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#17328483362532420-418: Is in modern times. Because historical artworks were often made of brasses (copper and zinc) and bronzes of different metallic compositions, modern museum and scholarly descriptions of older artworks increasingly use the generalized term "copper alloy" instead of the names of individual alloys. This is done (at least in part) to prevent database searches from failing merely because of errors or disagreements in
2530-513: Is likely that 'nehoshet' refers to copper and its alloys with tin, now called bronze. In the King James Version, there is no use of the word 'bronze' and 'nehoshet' was translated as 'brass'. Modern translations use 'bronze'. Bronze (nehoshet) was used widely in the Tabernacle for items such as the bronze altar (Exodus Ch.27), bronze laver (Exodus Ch.30), utensils, and mirror (Exodus Ch.38). It
2640-525: Is loaded on the table and the parts are cut out as programmed. The support table consists of a grid of bars that can be replaced when worn. Higher-end burn tables may include CNC punch capability using a carousel of punches and taps. In fabrication of structural steel by plasma and laser cutting , robots move the cutting head in three dimensions around the cut material. Forming converts flat sheet metal into 3-D parts by applying force without adding or removing material. The force must be great enough to change
2750-834: Is strictly under the administration of the U.N. and extraterritorial by a treaty with the U.S. Government . The Secretariat Building dwarfs the General Assembly Building and contains executive offices for the Secretary General , the Deputy Secretary General and the Under-Secretary-General of the U.N.; offices for the major U. N. Councils; many general business offices: legal department, public information, transportation, translators, interpreters, typing pools, dining rooms, places of worship, etc. The vast aluminum windows manufactured by General Bronze on
2860-510: Is the main focus of steel fabrication. Formed and machined parts are assembled and tack-welded in place, then rechecked for accuracy. If multiple weldments have been ordered, a fixture may be used to locate parts for welding. A welder then finishes the work according to engineering drawings (for detailed welding) or by their own experience and judgement (if no details are provided). Special measures may be needed to prevent or correct warping of weldments due to heat. These may include redesigning
2970-453: Is used to make hammers , mallets , wrenches and other durable tools to be used in explosive atmospheres or in the presence of flammable vapors. Bronze is used to make bronze wool for woodworking applications where steel wool would discolor oak . Phosphor bronze is used for ships' propellers, musical instruments, and electrical contacts. Bearings are often made of bronze for its friction properties. It can be impregnated with oil to make
3080-541: Is used to make the tone rings of many professional model banjos . The tone ring is a heavy (usually 3 lb; 1.4 kg) folded or arched metal ring attached to a thick wood rim, over which a skin, or most often, a plastic membrane (or head) is stretched – it is the bell bronze that gives the banjo a crisp powerful lower register and clear bell-like treble register. Bronze has also been used in coins; most "copper" coins are actually bronze, with about 4 percent tin and 1 percent zinc. As with coins, bronze has been used in
3190-577: The Bureau of Standards . Since General Bronze has enormous access to the aluminum industry, it pursued the acquisition of L.S. Brach Manufacturing Corporation in 1948 to gain a foothold in the field of radio technology and Brach's patents. Ira Kamen became the director of the Brach Manufacturing Corporation, while George Doundoulakis became the Director of Research. Kamen had hired Doundoulakis at
3300-547: The Etruscans were making bronze mirrors in the sixth century BC, and Greek and Roman mirrors followed the same pattern. Although other materials such as speculum metal had come into use, and Western glass mirrors had largely taken over, bronze mirrors were still being made in Japan and elsewhere in the eighteenth century, and are still made on a small scale in Kerala , India. Bronze is
3410-555: The Golden Age , when men lived among the gods; the Silver age , where youth lasted a hundred years; and the Bronze Age , the era of heroes. It was first adopted for a sports event at the 1904 Summer Olympics . At the 1896 event, silver was awarded to winners and bronze to runners-up, while at 1900 other prizes were given rather than medals. Bronze is the normal material for the related form of
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3520-743: The Kingdom of Benin ; in Europe, Grecian bronzes typically of figures from Greek mythology ; in east Asia , Chinese ritual bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasty —more often ceremonial vessels but including some figurine examples. Bronze continues into modern times as one of the materials of choice for monumental statuary. Tiffany Glass Studios, made famous by Louis C. Tiffany commonly referred to his product as favrile glass or " Tiffany glass ," and used bronze in their artisan work for his Tiffany lamps . The largest and most ornate bronze fountain known to be cast in
3630-569: The Tripler Army Base Hospital in Hawaii. Although General Bronze's division for manufacturing aluminum windows for the American construction industry climbed after World War II , they suffered enormous financial losses and other failed projects including the loss of existing contracts with metal fabrication partners. This occurred simultaneously with the waning use of architectural bronze and
3740-460: The W.P.A , in addition to its usual complement of private commissions." The Roman Bronze works excelled in the lost-wax casting method and permitted large works to be cast in one piece. Most of the sculptures at Rockefeller Center, like the statues of Prometheus and Atlas, were cast at the Corona, Queens building. Early on, the Roman Bronze Works’ use of the lost-wax casting technique,
3850-674: The automobile industry. General Bronze's Brach Manufacturing subdivision offered electronics to the early radio telescope field, such as the Green Bank Telescope of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia and the Arecibo Radio Telescope . Overextending their resources by diverting capital from bronze manufacturing to antenna and radio telescope research, concomitant with
3960-539: The plaquette , normally a rectangular work of art with a scene in relief , for a collectors' market. Bronze is also associated with eighth wedding anniversaries. There are over 125 references to bronze ('nehoshet'), which appears to be the Hebrew word used for copper and any of its alloys. However, the Old Testament era Hebrews are not thought to have had the capability to manufacture zinc (needed to make brass) and so it
4070-651: The radio telescope at Green Bank, WV under the auspices of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory from GBC's Brach subdivision. General Bronze presented their proposal in the final round in December 1959, in Ithaca, New York at Cornell for their antenna suspension design RFPs. Doundoulakis had studied the idea of suspending the feed with his brother, Helias Doundoulakis , a civil engineer who received his master's thesis in bridge suspension from Brooklyn Polytechnic . George Doundoulakis recognised that Gordon's idea of supporting
4180-676: The 12th-century Romanesque Baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège is sometimes described as bronze and sometimes as brass . In the Bronze Age, two forms of bronze were commonly used: "classic bronze", about 10% tin, was used in casting; and "mild bronze", about 6% tin, was hammered from ingots to make sheets. Bladed weapons were mostly cast from classic bronze, while helmets and armor were hammered from mild bronze. Modern commercial bronze (90% copper and 10% zinc) and architectural bronze (57% copper, 3% lead , 40% zinc) are more properly regarded as brass alloys because they contain zinc as
4290-496: The 1920s a foundry had been installed for a separate bronze company. In 1932 Tiffany Studios filed for bankruptcy. Ownership of the complex passed back to the Roman Bronze Works, which had served as a subcontractor to Tiffany in prior years.” In 1948, General Bronze relinquished ownership of the Roman Bronze Works foundry and was brought back under family control rather than remaining corporate. General Bronze Corporation sold off
4400-471: The Brach Manufacturing Company of Newark, New Jersey , as one of its subsidiaries in the 1950s. General Bronze (GBC) intended to become a pioneer in the development of TV antennas . During this period, GBC was closely identified with the leadership of Aaron Saphier. He became general manager after the company's founding, and served as president from 1931 to 1959, remaining active as chairman of
4510-708: The John Polachek Bronze Company. In 1912 he purchased a 1.75 acre site in Long Island City, Queens at 34–19 Tenth Street and grew it into one of the most important bronze fabricators in the field. In 1927, Polachek merged his new company with another metals fabricator, the Renaissance Bronze and Iron Works located in Long Island City, Queens . The new company became known as the General Bronze Corporation. In 1934, General Bronze Corporation
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4620-566: The RCA Institutes in New York City. Doundoulakis had experience working on the DEW Line system earlier. Kamen believed that with his expertise and Doundoulakis' energy, they both would forge ahead and seek to gain contracts in the expanding field of radio telescopes. Doundoulakis had been tutored by Kamen, an electrical engineer , in New York City who taught at the RCA Institutes . Doundoulakis,
4730-480: The RFP meetings on 14 December 1959 "General Bronze Corporation proposes a radical departure from the other companies: two suspension bridges perpendicular to one another which will double for an antenna." He presented this proposal to Cornell University for his idea for three-and-a-half hours, while other companies were given 45 minutes. They explained how the antenna feed would hang at the intersection of two suspension bridges — in turn, supported by four towers — by
4840-558: The Seagram Building was "the first metal-and-glass skyscraper consciously designed to age as masonry buildings age—as appropriate for Seagram 's whisky , as sheen to Lever's soap." It was remarked early on that the United Nations Secretariat Building was the world's largest window. It was 287 feet wide and 544 feet tall, described as "two great windows (front, or western exposure, and back, or eastern sides of
4950-592: The Tiffany Glass Furnaces, and finally to the Tiffany Studios. Stourbridge Glass Company was absorbed by Tiffany into the Tiffany Furnaces in 1902. "Within this complex, Tiffany carried out experiments in glass colors and pottery glazing, perfected techniques of assembling stained glass windows." “By 1901, Tiffany was at the peak of his profession. But Tiffany's glass fell out of favor in the 1910s, and by
5060-596: The UN Plaza was the UN Secretariat Building, overshadowing the UN General Assembly Building . The group of architects, overseen by a lead architect, was Wallace Harrison . He coordinated an international group of designers which included Sven Markelius , Le Corbusier , and Oscar Niemeyer . The East River site for the U.N , extending some 1500 feet from 42nd to 48th Streets, from First Avenue to
5170-555: The United States and (b) in consideration of the sum of $ 10,000 to be paid by the United States Government to the plaintiff, the plaintiffs grants to the United States Government an irrevocable, fully-paid, non-exclusive license under the aforesaid U.S. Patent No. 3, 273, 156 to Cornell University." Metal fabrication Typically, a fabrication shop bids on a job, usually based on engineering drawings , and if awarded
5280-559: The acquisition of the Roman Bronze Works, became the primary company behind many of America's most famous buildings and sculptures. Early man has used bronze throughout history. In the ancient Mayan , Egyptian , Greek , and Roman ruins, bronze tools , instruments , statues , and weapons has always been found in an almost perfect state of preservation. "Centuries hence there will undoubtedly be many fine works of bronze that will bear eloquent testimony to craftsmanship of our day." The world's most acclaimed sculptors produced some of
5390-399: The area was large enough for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to accommodate the building. The political method employed was a "demapping" (literally, removing a street from the city plan) of Lower Manhattan." The building sits on a two-and-a-half-acre plot after Cedar Street was removed, "to form a superblock, bordered by Pine, Liberty, William, and Nassau Streets. The Chase Manhattan Building,
5500-494: The automobile industry, which included motorized antennas. General Bronze Corporation's (GBC) Brach subsidiary had been interested in radio telescope research in addition to automobile and boat antennas. GBC was requested, and then bid for the construction of the 90-foot and the 140-foot radio telescopes in Green Bank, VA, for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) . The plans submitted from General Bronze include details of
5610-452: The barrel. It is still widely used today for springs, bearings, bushings, automobile transmission pilot bearings, and similar fittings, and is particularly common in the bearings of small electric motors . Phosphor bronze is particularly suited to precision-grade bearings and springs. It is also used in guitar and piano strings. Unlike steel, bronze struck against a hard surface will not generate sparks, so it (along with beryllium copper )
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#17328483362535720-565: The bid. The Green Bank, WV, antennas were managed by the Associated Universities Incorporated (AUI) , a consortium of scientists, initially from nine northeastern universities, dedicated to developing and building scientific tools for the community. GBC submitted design proposals for both the 85-foot and 140-foot radio telescopes. Ira Kamen, as director of the Brach subdivision was in direct communication with Richard Emberson , who
5830-691: The board until the end of 1960. During the 1930s through 1950s, the General Bronze Corporation's leadership as one of America's leaders in metals and especially the architectural bronze industry began to weaken as General Bronze expanded beyond their main focus with their developing interest in marketing consumer communications with antennas , as well as aluminum-manufactured products. As General Bronze began to face increasing domestic competition from international electronics firms like RCA , Sony , Philips , Matsushita and Mitsubishi , they continued primarily manufacturing aluminum windows, that which they were known for on prior construction projects, such as
5940-619: The bronze doors for the United States Supreme Court , Commerce , and Department of Justice Buildings in Washington, DC, the aluminum windows for the United Nations Secretariat Building and Chase Manhattan Bank Building, and for the design of the Arecibo Radio Telescope suspension system. As American cities evolved, the need for architectural and sculptural bronze increased. An innovative and progressive company, General Bronze Corporation stepped up to supply that demand. It became
6050-657: The building), framed in Vermont marble ." General Bronze Corporation manufactured and supplied the building with 5400 individual windows, spandrel frames, louvers, and architectural metalwork since at that time it was the world's largest fabricator of aluminum and other non-ferrous metals. The land had been donated by the Rockefeller family , the old slaughterhouse district along the East River bordered by First Avenue between East 41st and East 47th Streets. The most important building in
6160-527: The construction industry by artists, architects, and construction companies respectively. As General Bronze gained notoriety, the company quickly became the forerunner. General Bronze's most acclaimed entry to the construction industry was the bronze mullion I-beams for the Seagram Building , the no- set-back windows clad in aluminum for the United Nations Secretariat Building , and the Chase Manhattan Bank Building . The company purchased
6270-513: The construction, the General Bronze Corporation fabricated 3,200,000 pounds (1,600 tons) at its plant in Garden City, New York . The building "exuded transparency, as an expression of Mies van der Rohe's near-mystic faith in structure as the foundation of architecture." The Seagram Building is a 38-story, 516-foot bronze -and- topaz -tinted glass slab, in the purest expression of Mies van der Rohe style , where 27-foot bays or recessed areas offer
6380-775: The contract, builds the product. Large fab shops employ a multitude of value-added processes, including welding, cutting, forming and machining. As with other manufacturing processes, both human labor and automation are commonly used. A fabricated product may be called a fabrication , and shops specializing in this type of work are called fab shops . The end products of other common types of metalworking, such as machining , metal stamping , forging , and casting , may be similar in shape and function, but those processes are not classified as fabrication. Fabrication comprises or overlaps with various metalworking specialties: Standard metal fabrication materials are: A variety of tools are used to cut raw material. The most common cutting method
6490-490: The declining use of bronze in the construction industry due to changes in architectural style, eclipsed General Bronze's main focus leading to their ultimate demise. In 1967, they were acquired by Allied Products of Chicago, IL, and ceased to exist. General Bronze Corporation was founded as a reorganization of the John Polachek Bronze and Iron Company, founded in 1910 by John Polachek , a Hungarian immigrant. He became
6600-408: The dominant leader in the architectural bronze industry for both bronze fabrication and bronze sculpture , and aluminum fabrication in the United States for over three decades. In the early 1950s, General Bronze was also at the forefront of the fledgling television radio industry as a major manufacturer of radio antennas , and one of the first to introduce automatic motorized antennas for
6710-441: The east and west building walls are cantilevered beyond the structural steel columns and are supported within the light aluminum framework on double-hung aluminum sashes and fitted with blue-green heat-absorbing plate glass. The iconic building sits as a testament to world unity. Wallace Harrison "insisted that air-conditioning was its cornerstone, unlike Le Corbusier, who wanted windows that could be opened. General Bronze manufactured
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#17328483362536820-453: The edge of the East River, had a "sufficient scale for applying the fundamental elements of modern urbanism, sunlight, and verdure. Protected, yet given spaciousness by the wide expanse of the East River, the site has breadth enough to be made a living unit of strength, dignity, and harmony, befitting a building which embodied the world." Although located in New York City, the land the U.N. rents
6930-413: The extruded H-shaped aluminum mullions that flank the windows. General Bronze assured that the "aluminum panels would be recessed flush with the inside faces of the huge (2-foot, 10-inch by 4-foot, 11-inch) aluminum-sheathed columns." The curtain wall consists of a 4-foot 7-inch-high, two-tone aluminum spandrel and sill panel and an 8-foot-high window of clear glass. All of the natural-finished aluminum has
7040-440: The eye a perfect Cartesian grid . The building looks like a "squarish 38-story tower clad in a restrained curtain wall of metal and glass." Structural columns form bays that are divided by "extruded bronze-covered I-beam mullions , which run the entire length of the façade." The most interesting fact about the Seagram Building is that it was the first time that an entire building was sheathed in bronze. Another interesting fact
7150-454: The failed attempts to secure a bid for both the Arecibo Radio Telescope and the Green Bank Telescope in Green Bank, WV . The company slowly rebounded by the early 1960s, but never regained its former status. General Bronze was eventually acquired by Allied Products Corporation of Chicago in 1967, a company which was once owned by Jay Pritzker , the uncle of present Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker . The General Bronze Corporation, with
7260-500: The finest works seen in the United States by General Bronze. "Many visitors to Rockefeller Center have always admired the bronze statuary which helped make it one of the wonders of the modern world, such as the art deco Atlas by Lee Lawrie , and the Prometheus by Paul Manship ." Other well-known and exceptional Rockefeller Center sculptures admired worldwide are on display for visitors to marvel and take photographs. These include
7370-545: The high electrical conductivity of pure copper, low-friction properties of bearing bronze (bronze that has a high lead content— 6–8%), resonant qualities of bell bronze (20% tin, 80% copper), and resistance to corrosion by seawater of several bronze alloys. The melting point of bronze varies depending on the ratio of the alloy components and is about 950 °C (1,742 °F). Bronze is usually nonmagnetic, but certain alloys containing iron or nickel may have magnetic properties. Typically bronze oxidizes only superficially; once
7480-681: The highest form of sculpture in Ancient Greek art , though survivals are few, as bronze was a valuable material in short supply in the Late Antique and medieval periods. Many of the most famous Greek bronze sculptures are known through Roman copies in marble, which were more likely to survive. In India, bronze sculptures from the Kushana ( Chausa hoard ) and Gupta periods ( Brahma from Mirpur-Khas , Akota Hoard, Sultanganj Buddha ) and later periods ( Hansi Hoard) have been found. Indian Hindu artisans from
7590-479: The inscriptions they carry and from other sources, the case is clear. These were made in enormous quantities for elite burials, and also used by the living for ritual offerings. Though bronze is generally harder than wrought iron , with Vickers hardness of 60–258 vs. 30–80, the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age after a serious disruption of the tin trade: the population migrations of around 1200–1100 BC reduced
7700-540: The largest total investment in a building of its type, and detail for detail, in overall quality as well as outright size, one of the most remarkable planning, architectural, and engineering accomplishments," at the time it was built. The radio industry had been making technical advances, particularly in the area of antenna technology, and instituted antenna design/model production for the MIT Lincoln Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology , NASA , and
7810-824: The main alloying ingredient. They are commonly used in architectural applications. Plastic bronze contains a significant quantity of lead, which makes for improved plasticity, and was possibly used by the ancient Greeks in ship construction. Silicon bronze has a composition of Si: 2.80–3.80%, Mn: 0.50–1.30%, Fe: 0.80% max., Zn: 1.50% max., Pb: 0.05% max., Cu: balance. Other bronze alloys include aluminium bronze , phosphor bronze , manganese bronze, bell metal , arsenical bronze , speculum metal , bismuth bronze , and cymbal alloys . Copper-based alloys have lower melting points than steel or iron and are more readily produced from their constituent metals. They are generally about 10 percent denser than steel, although alloys using aluminum or silicon may be slightly less dense. Bronze
7920-458: The manufacture of various types of medals for centuries, and " bronze medals " are known in contemporary times for being awarded for third place in sporting competitions and other events. The term is now often used for third place even when no actual bronze medal is awarded. The usage in part arose from the trio of gold , silver and bronze to represent the first three Ages of Man in Greek mythology:
8030-433: The manufacture of weapons, such as machine gun emplacements . General Bronze became a major manufacturer to the American war effort. Upon its founding, General Bronze Corporation was one of the largest metal fabricators in New York City. The Seagram Building on New York City 's Park Avenue remains the "iconic glass box sheathed in bronze , designed by Mies van der Rohe ." To supply the demand for bronze required for
8140-590: The massive bronze doors to the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC. Before it became possible to produce glass with acceptably flat surfaces, bronze was a standard material for mirrors. Bronze was used for this purpose in many parts of the world, probably based on independent discoveries. Bronze mirrors survive from the Egyptian Middle Kingdom (2040–1750 BC), and China from at least c. 550 BC . In Europe,
8250-531: The metal's initial shape. Forming can be controlled with tools such as punches and dies. Machinery can regulate force magnitude and direction. Machine-based forming can combine forming and welding to produce lengths of fabricated sheeting (e.g. linear grating for water drainage). Most metallic materials, being at least somewhat ductile and capable of considerable permanent deformation without cracking or breaking, lend themselves particularly well to these techniques. Proper design and use of tools with machinery creates
8360-542: The most famous bronze sculptures of the 20th Century, most notably after its acquisition of the Roman Bronze Works . The Roman Bronze Works "had seen many of America's greatest sculptors." The General Bronze Corporation purchased the Roman Bronze Works in 1928. This ownership lasted for twenty years, up until 1948. General Bronze's newly purchased foundry produced “virtually all of the sculpture for Rockefeller Center , numerous national monuments, and many sculptures for
8470-643: The naming of historic copper alloys. The word bronze (1730–1740) is borrowed from Middle French bronze (1511), itself borrowed from Italian bronzo ' bell metal, brass ' (13th century, transcribed in Medieval Latin as bronzium ) from either: The discovery of bronze enabled people to create metal objects that were harder and more durable than previously possible. Bronze tools , weapons , armor , and building materials such as decorative tiles were harder and more durable than their stone and copper (" Chalcolithic ") predecessors. Initially, bronze
8580-523: The outset of the design and construction of the Green Bank Telescopes are referenced. However, GBC's bid was not accepted as a contractor for either the 85-foot or the 140-foot radio projects. On the day the project for the design and construction of the Arecibo Radio telescope was announced at Cornell University , Professor William Gordon of the electrical engineering department envisioned
8690-567: The period of the Chola empire in Tamil Nadu used bronze to create intricate statues via the lost-wax casting method with ornate detailing depicting the deities of Hinduism . The art form survives to this day, with many silpis, craftsmen, working in the areas of Swamimalai and Chennai . In antiquity other cultures also produced works of high art using bronze. For example: in Africa, the bronze heads of
8800-524: The piece to require less welding, employing staggered welding, using a stout fixture, covering the weldment in sand as it cools, and post-weld straightening. Straightening of warped steel weldments is done with an oxyacetylene torch . In this highly specialized work, heat is selectively applied to the steel in a slow, linear sweep, causing the steel to contract in the direction of the sweep as it cools. A highly skilled welder can remove significant warpage this way. Steel weldments are occasionally annealed in
8910-424: The preferred metal for bells in the form of a high tin bronze alloy known as bell metal , which is typically about 23% tin. Nearly all professional cymbals are made from bronze, which gives a desirable balance of durability and timbre . Several types of bronze are used, commonly B20 bronze , which is roughly 20% tin, 80% copper, with traces of silver, or the tougher B8 bronze made from 8% tin and 92% copper. As
9020-479: The proposed radio telescope's antenna feed from a tower , tripod , or four-legged structure around the center, (the most crucial area of the reflector), would severely limit the reception of radio waves. George Doundoulakis thought of a more practical way of suspending the antenna feed — by cables from four towers – thereby eliminating the problem of a "high" tower in the center of the reflector. Both George and Helias Doundoulakis told professors Gordon and Gold at
9130-452: The proprietary Oilite and similar material for bearings. Aluminum bronze is hard and wear-resistant, and is used for bearings and machine tool ways. The Doehler Die Casting Co. of Toledo, Ohio were known for the production of Brastil , a high tensile corrosion resistant bronze alloy. The Seagram Building on New York City 's Park Avenue is the "iconic glass box sheathed in bronze, designed by Mies van der Rohe ." The Seagram Building
9240-454: The ready availability of silicon bronze brazing rod, which allows color-matched repair of defects in castings. Aluminum is also used for the structural metal aluminum bronze. Bronze parts are tough and typically used for bearings , clips, electrical connectors and springs . Bronze also has low friction against dissimilar metals, making it important for cannons prior to modern tolerancing , where iron cannonballs would otherwise stick in
9350-674: The resulting alloy was stronger and easier to cast. Also, unlike those of arsenic , metallic tin and the fumes from tin refining are not toxic . Tin became the major non-copper ingredient of bronze in the late 3rd millennium BC. Ores of copper and the far rarer tin are not often found together (exceptions include Cornwall in the United Kingdom, one ancient site in Thailand and one in Iran), so serious bronze work has always involved trade with other regions. Tin sources and trade in ancient times had
9460-471: The shipping of tin around the Mediterranean and from Britain, limiting supplies and raising prices. As the art of working in iron improved, iron became cheaper and improved in quality. As later cultures advanced from hand- wrought iron to machine- forged iron (typically made with trip hammers powered by water), blacksmiths also learned how to make steel . Steel is stronger and harder than bronze and holds
9570-618: The sizable physical plant in Corona, Queens . It was then purchased by General Bronze Corporation and became a subsidiary. Under General Bronze's leadership, Roman Bronze Works produced America's finest patriotic monuments, statues, and most ornate public doors. The factory was the old Tiffany Studios in Corona, Queens , at the southwest corner of 43rd Avenue and 97th place, where it was used to cast art sculptures of bronze designs for sculptors, and bronze architectural elements such as floor registers, door jambs, window casings, lamps, and sconces, most notably for Tiffany. The building had undergone
9680-517: The subsidiary to a family member of a prior employee of the Roman Bronze Works to the Schiavo family, who had once been employed by Roman Bronze Works. The largest and most ornate bronze fountain known to be cast in the world was by the Roman Bronze Works and General Bronze Corporation in 1952. The material used for the fountain, known as statuary bronze, is a quaternary alloy made of copper, zinc, tin, and lead, and traditionally golden brown in color. This
9790-469: The tin content in a bell or cymbal rises, the timbre drops. Bronze is also used for the windings of steel and nylon strings of various stringed instruments such as the double bass , piano, harpsichord , and guitar. Bronze strings are commonly reserved on pianoforte for the lower pitch tones, as they possess a superior sustain quality to that of high-tensile steel. Bronzes of various metallurgical properties are widely used in struck idiophones around
9900-535: The trademark for David Rockefeller and the empire forged by his grandfather John D. Rockefeller , rise "60 steel-ribbed stories out of the dark canyons of the financial district, the great glass and aluminum slab of the Chase Manhattan Bank stands at 813 feet, the sixth tallest building in the city and the world," in 1961. There are 2,239,530 square feet of gross floor area, and "is the largest banking operation ever assembled under one roof, costing $ 813 million,
10010-439: The unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mould. Then, as the bronze cools, it shrinks a little, making it easier to separate from the mould. The Assyrian king Sennacherib (704–681 BC) claims to have been the first to cast monumental bronze statues (of up to 30 tonnes) using two-part moulds instead of the lost-wax method . Bronze statues were regarded as
10120-448: The whimsical fountain figures by Rene Chambellan adorning the fountain flanking Manship's Prometheus statue; Lawrie's Atlas sculpture in the plaza of Rockefeller Center's International Building at its 5th Avenue entrance; and the aluminum "Spirit of the Dance" of William Zorach at Rockefeller Center's Radio City Music Hall , New York. The General Bronze Corporation became the leader of
10230-419: The wide employment of stainless steel owing to its combination of toughness and resistance to salt water corrosion. Bronze is still commonly used in ship propellers and submerged bearings. In the 20th century, silicon was introduced as the primary alloying element, creating an alloy with wide application in industry and the major form used in contemporary statuary . Sculptors may prefer silicon bronze because of
10340-442: The windows from Harrison's innovative design, "a curtain wall catilevered two feet, nine inches, in front of the steel structure so that it formed a flush skin of blue-green Thermopane heat-absorbing glass, painted black on the inner face." The International Style design, much like the Seagram Building , "represented postwar ( World War II ) prosperity; for Europe it was a chance to rebuild; and for developing countries it stood for
10450-577: The world was by the Roman Bronze Works and General Bronze Corporation in 1952. The material used for the fountain, known as statuary bronze, is a quaternary alloy made of copper, zinc, tin, and lead, and traditionally golden brown in color. This was made for the Andrew W. Mellon Memorial Fountain in Federal Triangle in Washington, DC. Another example of the massive, ornate design projects of bronze, and attributed to General Bronze/Roman Bronze Works were
10560-705: The world, notably bells, singing bowls, gongs , cymbals, and other idiophones from Asia. Examples include Tibetan singing bowls , temple bells of many sizes and shapes, Javanese gamelan , and other bronze musical instruments . The earliest bronze archeological finds in Indonesia date from 1–2 BC, including flat plates probably suspended and struck by a wooden or bone mallet. Ancient bronze drums from Thailand and Vietnam date back 2,000 years. Bronze bells from Thailand and Cambodia date back to 3600 BC. Some companies are now making saxophones from phosphor bronze (3.5 to 10% tin and up to 1% phosphorus content). Bell bronze/B20
10670-591: Was built on the first commercial "superblock" in New York ever since John D. Rockefeller Jr. developed Rockefeller Center . It was Rockefeller's money that "revitalized New York's financial district and paved the way for other Lower Manhattan projects like the World Trade Center and the South Street Seaport ." The building was constructed after a change in New York City's building and zoning laws so that
10780-494: Was due to a rise in the use of bronze in the architectural and art world, and Polachek leaped at the opportunity. The sought-after metal coincided with the timing of the Art Deco , Art Nouveau , and international art movements, in which it became popular to use bronze. Polachek's intuition paid off, as he cornered the bronze fabrication market. Bronze and aluminum became popular to use and were implemented in art, architecture, and
10890-400: Was eyed by Polachek as he once worked there. Begun in 1899 by Riccardo Bertelli, an immigrant who attained technical knowledge of European methods of casting bronze in wax from his native Genoa, Italy, flourished under his management while casting primarily art sculpture. In 1928, the prized foundry was purchased by John Polachek of General Bronze, not only for its workers and workmanship but for
11000-454: Was made for the Andrew W. Mellon Memorial in Federal Triangle in Washington, DC. Another example of the massive, ornate design projects attributed to General Bronze/Roman Bronze Works were the massive doors to the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC. When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, the federal government required metal for use in the war effort. General Bronze Corporation began assisting in
11110-520: Was made out of copper and arsenic or from naturally or artificially mixed ores of those metals, forming arsenic bronze . The earliest known arsenic-copper-alloy artifacts come from a Yahya Culture (Period V 3800-3400 BCE) site, at Tal-i-Iblis on the Iranian plateau , and were smelted from native arsenical copper and copper-arsenides, such as algodonite and domeykite . The earliest tin-copper-alloy artifact has been dated to c. 4650 BC , in
11220-468: Was mentioned in the account of Moses holding up a bronze snake on a pole in Numbers Ch.21. In First Kings, it is mentioned that Hiram was very skilled in working with bronze, and he made many furnishings for Solomon's Temple including pillars, capitals, stands, wheels, bowls, and plates, some of which were highly decorative (see I Kings 7:13-47). Bronze was also widely used as battle armor and helmet, as in
11330-424: Was not only the most expensive building of its time — $ 36 million — but it was the first building in the world with floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Mies van der Rohe achieved the crisp edges that were custom-made with specific detailing by General Bronze and "even the screws that hold in the fixed glass-plate windows were made of brass." Bronze is widely used for casting bronze sculptures . Common bronze alloys have
11440-402: Was not only the most expensive building of its time — $ 36 million — but it was the first building in the world with floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Mies van der Rohe achieved the crips edges that were custom-made with specific detailing by General Bronze and "even the screws that hold in the fixed glass-plate windows are made of brass." William Jordy , an acclaimed architectural historian, said that
11550-476: Was on hand; the metal of the 12th-century English Gloucester Candlestick is bronze containing a mixture of copper, zinc, tin, lead, nickel, iron, antimony, arsenic and an unusually large amount of silver – between 22.5% in the base and 5.76% in the pan below the candle. The proportions of this mixture suggest that the candlestick was made from a hoard of old coins. The 13th-century Benin Bronzes are in fact brass, and
11660-445: Was that New York City's zoning laws were reconfigured for the Seagram Building, so that setbacks were no longer required. "This proved to be a no-setback building but a building all set back," since the entire building was set back 100 feet from Park Avenue. "Bronze was selected because of its color, both before and after aging, its corrosion resistance, and its extrusion properties." The extrusion process, where malleable metal
11770-659: Was the assistant to the president of AUI at the founding of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. In 1957, he became the project manager for the development of Green Bank, West Virginia radio telescopes. Kamen worked with the AUI, the overseeing entity between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the NRAO at Green Bank . General Bronze's technical drawings, photographs, and correspondence in 1957–58, at
11880-534: Was the first time that an entire building was sheathed in bronze. The General Bronze Corporation fabricated 3,200,000 pounds (1,600 tons) of bronze at its plant in Garden City, New York . The Seagram Building is a 38-story, 516-foot bronze-and- topaz -tinted glass building. The building looks like a "squarish 38-story tower clad in a restrained curtain wall of metal and glass." "Bronze was selected because of its color, both before and after aging, its corrosion resistance, and its extrusion properties. In 1958, it
11990-468: Was the hardest metal in widespread use is known as the Bronze Age . The beginning of the Bronze Age in western Eurasia and India is conventionally dated to the mid-4th millennium BC (~3500 BC), and to the early 2nd millennium BC in China; elsewhere it gradually spread across regions. The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age starting about 1300 BC and reaching most of Eurasia by about 500 BC, although bronze continued to be much more widely used than it
12100-411: Was the largest company in the architectural bronze industry in the United States, employing a combined total of 1,200 workers from General Bronze, Renaissance Bronze and Iron Works, and Tiffany Studios with assets over $ 5 million. Polachek's grand idea was to become the leader in the use of bronze for metal fabrication as he foresaw the worldwide demand for the metal alloy would only increase. This
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