The Incredible Scale Of Machines Used On Earth's Biggest Construction Sites | Mega Mechanics | Spark
Across Australia, the wheels of industry turn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These machines are tough and the teams of people running them are even tougher. From deep underground, to high in the sky, these heavy metal marvels are essential to our daily lives. But, what happens when these massive machines break down? Teams of mechanics, engineers, fitters, and boilermakers step up to battle against tight deadlines, in some of the harshest working environments on the planet.
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Episode I: Coal Extractor - Gear Box change: 0:00 Part I 19:52 Part II 31:20 - Part III 42:08 - Part IV - Final Excavator - oil leak issue: 6:32 Part I 23:56 - Part II 32:58 - Part III - Final Mining Roof support legs: 10:39 Part I 25:52 - Part II 35:20 - Part III 40:02 - Part IV - Final Dam 14:46 Part I 28:28 - Part II 37:56 - Part III - Final
😊😊nin😊😊nnininnininnn😊nn😊nn😊😊n😊😊nn😊😊nin😊😊n😊😊
What the fuck? why are you stealing my comment?
😊😊
If they find something broken, better send it to Curtis at Cutting Edge Engineering Austrailia. :)
Was thinking that earlier on. Great comment.
Love all the Aussie nicknames for people in serious positions. “Here is the leader of operations, Wazza”
That's just a normal thing here mate. In one of my jobs when I was a young fella, I was able to lift much heavier loads than the older fella's I worked with, and my name is Ryan, so they call me R Bucket, and ordered me a bucket hat through the company with it emblazoned on it. And thats how I got my name, That's just how it goes here haha. I head a large cyber security firm now, but I'm still called R bucket, and I still wear my hat 😀
Why, I she your girlfriend?
"With such a straightforward task, what could possibly go wrong?" the segways between the segments are the most dramatic and ominous narration in any documentary I've ever seen
A follow-up series showing the insurance adjusters, physiotherapists and orthopedic surgeons treating these fellows as they age would be interesting.
Work is a four letter Word
@@brucesorensen3252 a word the rich can't understand.
not to mention the radiologists considering all the coal they are constantly around
Lol! Yeah, the work done here wasn't optional, but with an excellently designed machine, the process could have required a smaller amount of troubleshooting. But the RICH would rather pay these guys than pay for an excellent design. It's cost effective. They keep more of their money.
The mental health to
Hats off to all the Men who keep society running smoothly and take pride in Their work. They do it for Their families.
They make really good money though and the jobs seem very fun.
"Weren't planned for removal." Yes, they were, which is why they're there. No matter how well-designed, all machinery breaks down on occasion, which is why things like removable gearboxes and motors are used. The owner of the machine might keep spares on hand as well. Then there is PM, and preventative shutdowns, where things are removed and rebuilt, to keep the machine running. Things, such as bearing housings in the large weldments, if they're worn out, are welded up, on site, and bored out by portable boring mills, where new bearings are then installed. Everything is designed to be repairable, especially on these multi-million dollar machines.
P of
Obviously not designed (or poorly designed) to be repairable in the case of the coal scoop! Maybe repairable for non-gravity situations but that's not what we have here. But it was probably advertised as being easy to maintain long term.
@oidbio2565 its one thing to spend $1k on a device you can't repair but this isnt toloerated in the $1m+ range wtf
@@cybyrd9615 Well, that's the thing, isn't it. It IS repairable. The question is, how well designed is it for a reasonably smooth repair process. That's what I'm talking about here.
I hope they brought along a good assortment of o-rings.
Astounding heavy machinery innovations push the boundaries of possibility.
The most intimate description of outback lovemaking 25:23 - 25:28 Absolutely epic.
Even more nasty..... 25:23-25:51 Nice.
it was always relaxing watching those semi robotic welders
When you literally just need to smell the oil to be able to tell which oil it is 😁
I used to work on heavy machinery, there was always something going wrong when working on them, something siezed needing cutting, something needing a sledgehammer or something breaking while demontaging it. It was always under time constraint, and everyone shouting about how much it costed them that I took an hour extra when shit was stuck. I was going to work long into the night on a machine, and the owner of the machine saw me cutting a row of rusty clamps that costed $5 each, and he told me they were reusable, so I packed up, went home in time, and restarted where I left off the next morning, unscrewing the clamps by heating them with a torch, wirewheeling them and repainting them, taking a good hour to save the last 5 clamps, at the end of the day, I had about an hours work left on the machine, I walked by the owner and said "Time to clock out, it should be done within an hour tomorrow morning" He then had to pay me cash in the hand to stay an hour extra and finish his machine, and I wasn't cheap. But it was always the same, and I had enough and quit soon after that incident.
Рэдхг эш😊😅😅😅 Э 😊😅
2 hours of pure heavy machinery heaven.
I used to do this type of work. I miss it badly, loved working with a good crew and chain falls and ener-pacs to remove and repair broken equipment. But once your health changes your heart breaks 💔
Man I felt this in my soul. I was a pipefitter but broke my back. I miss it badly every thing I used to complain about I remember fondly now lol. I don’t know if it was the mental or physical challenges or have a great group of people around constantly but life’s not the same stuck at home.
Was a millwright for a few years in a press shop. Do miss the guys and the pride of getting some heavy stuff back in working order. Makes me smile every time I hear someone say “we don’t need men” and remember that’s all I saw keeping their BMW’s rolling to the lots lol.
@@booyeah his came first bruh
ino
nkíjií injííiiiiii jin8iií íií iin
finally a documentary on this topic and a nice fat juicy one too spark always delivers good content
Shoutout to the mechanics and helpers who repair and maintain the Giant Machinery
Enjoyable film, shame it keeps jumping from one project to another then back, I would prefer to see a single project from start to finish. Very interesting all the same.
this is a TV show what do you expect.
@@PBMS123 the KZheadr that uploaded it could do us all a favor and save us from a Mitchell and Webb "I'm looking for a gift for my aunt" experience
I chuckled at 1:22:20 when he said “as this heavy weight rolls off the scales”. I was like if that A320 is a heavy weight then I’m built like the rock.
Big Muskie has joined the conversation. I was at the bucket last weekend and it’s absolutely monstrous.
I wish it could have been saved. It was a beast to see swing and dig.
To think some of us feel like this while working on your car at home and live in the rust belt lol
This guy really enjoyed his time being able to say Dam over and over again. 😂
I worked as a machinist for LeTourneau. This is super cool.
Good Ole Doug, Tha absolute best dam Operator I have ever seen!!!!
Wivenhoe dam. My backyard. My dad and two uncles worked on the building the dam and mum and dad bough a big property beside the dam.
Awesome job
I just love all the work these men . I think I never stop learning Thanks so mycu for this video...Granny U S A
As someone said "We learn till we die. Gibbon Amazon Forest
I worked with one of these in Denmark. We use em for unloading the coal out of the ships aswell.
Longwall mining systems are VERY cool, the miners that run them have balls of titanium, no way I'd ever go under one of them!!!
As a hydro guy, I feel the digger mechanics' pain. You go through a arduous task only to find it to be a simpler fix later.
Thats every diagnostic profession 😅
i love smoking hydro too!
Shout out to Spark TV for keeping me entertained in county!
Amazing, keep it up!
Was a rigger for 10 years and now I'm old and in poor health, but I miss building and moving big iron
I've built the reclaimer buckets for the wheel
Nice one. As a popular rally driver once told me in private (after he crashed and became a spectator) that he would rather race and come last than to stand on the side and watch the boys have all the fun.
Too many Ads! Really spoils the watching experience.
Premium chief...
@@Oneover_137 not everybody wants to pay for literally all their services at this point
A trick I learned, 1. Start video, 2. Advance to the last 1 or 2 minutes, 3. Let the video play to the end, 4. Press replay symbol. Video will replay with NO ads. Note: If you want to support the creators, let the ads at the beginning play, advance to the end, let the ads at the end play, press the replay symbol.
@@suhail8704 nah supporting the creators is the way to go. You work for free too i presume?
@@D3nn1sthen shut up and watch
Just dropped a part of the big excavator off in AZ pretty cool seeing the site and the actual size of the equipment
“The dam wall” “As a dam operator” “Dam safety engineer”
That pentle pin bushing bore-out fix was a rare barbed-wire wild-west moment that would probably cause most FAA materials & manufacturing engineers to swallow their tongues.
looks like they over-torqued the spindle router.
I would have thought that they could have Frozen the pen to shrink it or something instead of for the whole
@@clown134if it don't fit don't force it. As to aircraft precision perfect is the rule. Poor maintenance or lack of same has caused many plane crashes. I'd say the landing pintle needed to fit perfectly out of the box. A master Machinist honed out the bush. For me that would work on a motorcyle or car but not certain about an aircraft at all. That procedure would have to be recorded as it modified a part. Also - 40° is not an unusual temperature for an aircraft. That also must be factored into parts by the manufacturer. No mistakes is the rule I'd say.
@@mooglemy3813 good point
These men are amazing. Ian is worth his weight in dark matter.
I'm over here trying to figure out why farm sim 19 music is playing in my room and its this video lol
Scaffolding is key..! To all my high flying scaffold brothers..who have families to feed 🤘🏽
Teamwork makes the dream work
Coal makes the life and environment go down... Clean energy makes the global heat go down...
Don't say that ever again please
@@Jdalio5 hahahahahahaha
@@robert1589 cringy af right?
@@Jdalio5 You're right. I should support black-lung.
“If you can’t fix it with a hammer . . . . you have an electrical problem” 💪😜👍🏻
If you have an electrical issue, call me I'm a Master Electrician 😜
@@GuiltyOne red seal pipefitter 🙋🏼♂️
@@markwentz8332 I have wanted to be a pipefitter for awhile now but working outside in -30°c weather made me decide to be an electrician instead..... you probably make 3 or 4x what I make I bet
AAAH😎....!!, YEAH.......!!, YO.................!!, ℹ️ THINK💭......!!, YOU NEED A MACHINIST & FABRICATOR & WELDERS ON MAJOR JOB SIGHT LOCATIONS, BECAUSE MECHANICAL ⚙️ MACHINES BREAKDOWN ALL THE TIME, BECAUSE OF STRESSES OF THE CONTINUES WORK PAY💰LOAD WHICH IS ALWAYS STRETCHER-IOUS & DAUNTING PEOPLE😎🇺🇸
Electrical faults are fun though! Hat's off to the fitters, mechanics & boiler makers that do the hard yards!
He knows the dam damn well and is damn good at his dam job!
dammit.
Dam operator.
@@rustythecrown9317 definitely should've ended that sentence with a "dammit"!
..em..
Good stuff.
My dad would’ve loved this he was always watching things like this
Now I can repair my Tonka trucks, great tutorial.
I’m so high rn, I learned more off this than I have in school✌️
He's a damn engineer... Sounds Epic
Right on. Smart girl. Never to young to learn gun safety she's definitely a talented shooter for her age. Awesome
Wow Very interesting !!! Question. Thousand or so years ago what was the process used to separate the silver/gold. Was Borax and zinc used ? Thank you
Just like they still separate gold in the Amazon jungle. They use mercury. It sticks to the gold and sinks because it is very heavy. Then it is put in a pan over a fire and the mercury evaporates leaving the gold behind. All the gold melts and runs together to form larger nuggets. Not very safe breathing in mercury fumes.
2:19:08 I wish my company has group warmup activities like this.
Hey hey y'all doing Happy New Years anyway anything to do with big mechanical machine you work like this or anything that nature I'm all for big trucks muscle cars anything that nature all for it you guys are awesome I like this kind of stuff thank you again for the content God bless you have a blessed day
Why is there a TV show on KZhead… it’s amazing😂
Educational purposes
You must be confusing youtube with something else, youtube has always been tv shows. It's what 'tube' refers to in the name. Boobtube, for you... youtube.
0:37 Ooo, down under got baby Baggers!
Excelente video!
weld lifting lugs on the base .much love and respect
Some skilled mechanics freeze the bolt and heat up the whole piece and is way easier to change the bolts
it's always doug and his team showing up
All this heavy repair is like dancing with a clumsy giant.
Realy I like this video so so much
"With such a straight forward task, what could possibly go wrong?" C'mon man! You NEVER say something like that before any kind of project! (Yes, I know it was sarcasm)
Only way to fix this.....stop buying cars. BTW, the 4xe comments you made were entirely wrong!!!!! The batter never goes dead. It's always a hybrid and it's by far the fastest jeep sans 392. Fun as hell to drive.
I didn't know there's a wive'nhoe reservoir 🤷♂
Thanks, Don and team. Next time I want to blow my kid's mind, I'll point out that they're moving at the speed of light.
Damn boilermakers!
Do those hydraulic roof supports not have a mechanical locking system in case of a hydraulic failure?
I would imagine
Wow. I felt good about working on my old John Deer.
You never had a John deer
Deere that's the one I had. lol
This video is many 7 year old autistic boy's dream. Even the editing. It's adorable. I'm 40, and I do really like all the detail shots on the work. But yeah, I really respect this production. It is like a two hour and twenty minute version of Mr. Rodgers going to the crayon factory. Great stuff.
Very interesting. It just goes to show that engineers don't know everything. Great video.
I worked for a Japanese company and the engineers valued experience. We had to report a problem and basically teach them about it with all pertinent info and root cause if we could define it. They told us we were the experts until they could grasp the problem. Completly different I'd say to North American engineers in their approach and being humble. It took time to gain their full confidence, but one you did you could say I think or believe and they would listen. I would only give solid facts and any question I could think of I answered before sending a report.
We won't see adoption of this technology in my lifetime. Or, given that I'm 70, most everyone else as well.
LOL at "Engineers repair and maintain". I've never seen an engineer get his hands dirty
I like the pronunciation of schedule lol. Sedual
Pays for Premium to remove ads... content creators: "Not on my watch!"
Is Tedious watching Constant switching videos from 1 project to another, increases length by 1/3 as each is reintroduced, just for more $.
Love the “one bolt one shift” bullshit.
BIG DEAL !
45 min in day shift says "it's raining so we are going to go home and leave it to night shift" yep get use to that boys, plus do be surprised when day shift gets the only celebration party if you do anything right...
Very lucrative business development
He is the Dam operator, And he knows the gates Dam well
All machinery is meant to be disassembled for maintenance, tight bolts are meant to be tigntend and loosened in a particular order especially when under exstreamly high torque, usually heating up the bolt or nut with OXY aceterlin torch helps,and making sure they are properly greased, and you need one or two qualified mechanics overseeing the job so that everything is done right ,Its only hard if you make it hard ,a job is a job ,
Rattle gun I always have called it impact
Why didn't you guys use heat or even heat and wax to get the large bolts out? Also, why didn't yall loosen the hydraulic hose retention clamps when you stretched the hoses apart? Couldn't what you did cause stresses and possibly premature failure? Just wondering.
it, hard to tell just from the videos, in my experience when ever I come along to see what everyones struggling with and ask the obvious questions like that there's always a reason why on that specific job its not possible... so who knows is guess. but I'm curious to know as well.
Even the most conscientious repairman take shortcuts. You hope they really don't short -cut the safety...and their unions can hopefully protect them from the toe -tappeing- clock- watchers profit motivated bean counters.
I don't think the bolts were seized, it was just the side load and pressure I believe. Wax might help but heat would only expand them and make it worse IMO
Nope heat would cause everything to grow. A heavy wall sleeve over the bolts and hollow ram then the nut for ram to push against and grease the other end as jacking against the other end would even cause bolt to mushroom before entering the bore. Fitted bolts are a gentle exercise and metal no matter how high tensile can deform.
As well as something to support the weight of gearbox.
It was always under time constraint, and everyone shouting about how much it costed them that I took an hour extra when shit was stuck.
I like technology and science
Jumpscared me with the blasting loud intro lol
With that telescoping lifter, jack up the front of it, pop the pivots out of the hydraulic cylinders (the bracers), and swing them out of the way. Roll the sucker out. Hydraulic pressure should be dead, if lines have been cut. If they haven't bleed the lines. Hell, that might solve the bracing issue as well.
I know right!
Exactly what I was thinking and they eventually did pop the pivots out but only after craning it out. I would have bled the lines immediately.
At 24:50 worker has a lapse in judgement that could cost him a hand. Can tell his hand is a bit to the side, but absolutely no reason to put it there since it is his brain tricking him to think he is doing something relevant. This type of work only takes seconds of poor judgement to have devastating consequences!
Airbus Landing Gear Pintle Pin R&R. I love the way they over dramatize the pintle pin nut problem. Nuts refusing to go on even new parts isn't really that big a deal. In this case checking the threads on the new pin is the first step in solving the issue. Threads on new parts can have small pieces of metal from the machining process stuck in the threads. Cleaning the threads is fairly straight forward using a thread file. This will also repair the threads themselves (if) the threaded are was bumped on a solid piece of metal creating a slight dent and burr. This could happen if the machinist was a bit distracted while removing the finished part from the mill. Yep they presented the nut stopping due to dirty or damaged threads as more complicated than it really was. That's reality TV for you, if they hit a boring part of the video, create some drama by making mountain out of a mole hill.
Better they do that than not make the show at all because the execs say its too boring
I couldn't believe it took two shifts for someone to figure out to clean the threads, that was the first thing I thought of, and those guys are supposed to be at the top of their field, they probably make great money. I wonder if it really took to shifts or did they just say that for drama?
@@bigredc222 All for drama to "fill" time, plain and simple. When I was in the AF and we ran into this problem alot. First thing look at 5he threads and if they're not messed up, just spray WD-40 and clean with a wire brush. If the threads were damaged, then reach for the thread file to fix the threads, then follow that with WD-40 and a wire brush to make sure the threads were clean, and our shop did not work on the planes or any part that could potentially be attached to a plane. There is very little reality in Reality TV.
@@cynicalrabbit915 I collect antique tools, I got this little dead blow jeweler's mallet with a brass head, it was made in 1888. It had threaded 1" dia. caps that held leather under them. The caps had super fine threads maybe 40 tpi, and both caps had been cross threaded. There's no thread file that small, so I found a tap with the correct tpi and used the cutting edge of the tap to scrape the threads clean. They showed them doing something similar with a thread gauge in the video. It took a silly amount of time but I saved that 135 year old little mallet.
@@bigredc222 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 Except for a few small screws most of the messed up threads weren't more than 20 tpi. Plus brass is very soft and easy to cross thread. I too have used tap and die kits to repair threads but wanted to keep comment to a small wall. Besides i thought that thread file might get a Q or 2 from newbies or uneducated.
Nice
Steel mill maint. Planner..here !
I am lost from the first few words. What are 'tuuhn', 'dyye', and 'toff'?
mechspeak.......
Words men use who do men jobs. Keep worrying about papercuts, zoom meetings and ironing your shirt while men keep the world turning. Your wifes boyfriend must be proud of you after this comment. I hope he let you play his xbox in the basement.
I am proud of you all
At least they're not working in their flip flops sandals.
Like the Chineses Osha' officials.
Why didn't they weld the lifting point back on the long wall jack?
That stand looks inadequate for that load.
Worked in a mine for 10 years the executives act like they're going to go broke if a machine isn't operating they just want their hundreds of millions of dollars every single day anything breaks they want it fixed fast fast fast even though it's brutally hard
You'd feel that way too if you invested hundreds of millions of dollars in something
@@UserNameAnonymous well the way of the world is huge profits. But look at the machinery the mine has to deliver coal. Millions of dollars invested. High wages for all the mine staff not to mention training the same. I'm no fan of coal. But those workers are for living. My two grandfather's were coal miners in County Dunham England. They busted their ass for meager pay. My mom's dad was a pioneer for The Durham Miners Association 1869. Got his 50th anniversary cert on the wall. Lost an eye and his pension was a Big Brit Penny per month. Both grand fathers died of mining complications abd they could really only put food on the table Rambling a bit but mining and mining support is a hard job to this day. Good luck Aussie coal .ine employees.
Cool to have a look behind the scenes of the country and the companies that lead the fight against the fight against climate change :D
Is there a specific reason why the aircraft mechanics are using hand tools only? I'm a diesel mechanic and I have cordless drivers and impacts. I haven't used a speed handle since school, and I thought it was interesting that one of the techs in this video was removing screws with one.
Aircraft mechanics working under FARs provided by the Admin are not permitted to use impacts/power tools on aircraft. I’m in A&P school currently and we do everything with hand tools
@@vincentmckinnon9152 Thanks! I wondered if that was the case.
@@tanyaerskine7657 not exactly. Plenty of use of power tools. A lot of aircraft parts are designed with much slimmer load margins than other stuff, to save weight, and a lot of aviation applications frown up on impacts or explicitly ban power tools entirely. But for the most part it's pretty common and it would be pretty stupid to regulate that out entirely. Electric ratchets and bit drivers are by far the most common as most aviation torque isn't very high. And when it gets high you get a torque multiplier and a 5 foot torque wrench or breaker bar.
I would imagine that there is too much risk in overtorquing or damaging the more delicate and thinner aircraft materials made from lightweight stretchy alloys and composites.
dang look at all those over sized Tonka toys lol 🤣