Ironworks

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Ironworks

An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
is smelted

Smelting

Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores....
and where heavy iron and/or steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.14% by weight , depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten....
products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the plural of ironworks is ironworks.

An integrated ironworks in the 19th century usually included one or more blast furnaces and a number of puddling furnaces and/or a foundry with or without other kinds of ironworks.

The processes carried at ironworks are usually described as ferrous metallurgy, but the term siderurgy is also occasionally used.

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An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
is smelted

Smelting

Steel

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
words sideros - iron and ergon or ergos - work. This is an unusual term in English, and it is best regarded as an anglicisation

Anglicisation

Anglicisation or anglicization is a process of conversion of verbal or written elements of any other language into a more comprehensible English language for an English speaker....
of a term used in French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
, Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
, and other Romance languages

Romance languages

The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages comprising all the languages that descend from Latin language, the language of ancient Rome....
.

Varieties of Ironworks

Primary Ironmaking

Ironworks is used as an omnibus term covering works undertaking one or more iron-producing processes. Such processes or species of ironworks where they were undertaken include the following (the detailed articles on each process should be consulted) or alternatively the History of Ferrous Metallurgy

History of ferrous metallurgy

The history of ferrous metallurgy began far back in prehistory, most likely with the use of iron from meteorites. The smelting of iron in bloomery began in the 12th century BC in India, Anatolia or the Caucasus....
:

bloomeries
Bloomery

A bloomery is a type of furnace once widely used for smelting iron from its iron oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron....
- where bar iron
Wrought iron

Wrought iron is commercially pure iron. In contrast to steel, it has a very low carbon content. It is a fibrous material due to the slag Inclusion ....
was produced from iron ore
Iron ore

Iron ores are Rock and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in colour from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red....
by direct reduction;
Blast furnace
Blast furnace

A blast furnace is a type of metallurgy furnace used for smelting to produce metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions take place throughout the furnace as the material moves downward....
s - which made pig iron
Pig iron

Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with coke , usually with limestone as a flux. Pig iron has a very high carbon content, typically 3.5?4.5%, which makes it very brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications....
(or sometimes finished cast iron
Cast iron

Cast iron usually refers to Gray iron, but also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys, which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy....
goods) from iron ore
Iron ore

Iron ores are Rock and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in colour from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red....
;
foundries
Foundry

A foundry is a factory which produces metal castings from either ferrous or non-ferrous metals alloys. Metals are turned into parts by melting the metal into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and then removing the mold material or casting....
- where pig iron
Pig iron

Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with coke , usually with limestone as a flux. Pig iron has a very high carbon content, typically 3.5?4.5%, which makes it very brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications....
was remelted in an air furnace or in a foundry cupola to produce cast iron goods;
finery forge
Finery forge

Iron tapped from the blast furnace is pig iron, and contains significant amounts of carbon and silicon. To produce malleable wrought iron, it needs to undergo a Decarburization....
s - which fined pig iron
Pig iron

Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with coke , usually with limestone as a flux. Pig iron has a very high carbon content, typically 3.5?4.5%, which makes it very brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications....
to produce bar iron
Wrought iron

Wrought iron is commercially pure iron. In contrast to steel, it has a very low carbon content. It is a fibrous material due to the slag Inclusion ....
, using charcoal
Charcoal

Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances....
as fuel
Fuel

Fuel is any material that is burned or altered in order to obtain energy and to heat or to move an object. Fuel releases its energy either through a chemical reaction means, such as combustion, or nuclear means, such as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion....
in a finery (hearth) and coal or charcoal in a chafery (hearth);
potting and stamping forges with melting fineries using the first process in which bar iron
Wrought iron

Wrought iron is commercially pure iron. In contrast to steel, it has a very low carbon content. It is a fibrous material due to the slag Inclusion ....
was made from pig iron
Pig iron

Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with coke , usually with limestone as a flux. Pig iron has a very high carbon content, typically 3.5?4.5%, which makes it very brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications....
with mineral coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
or coke
Coke (fuel)

Cokes are the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous....
, without the use of charcoal
Charcoal

Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances....
;
puddling furnaces - a later process for the same purpose, again with coke
Coke (fuel)

Cokes are the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous....
as fuel. It was usually necessary for there to be a preliminary refining process in a coke refinery (also called running out furnace). After puddling, the puddled ball needed shingling (metallurgy)
Shingling (metallurgy)

Shingling was a stage in the production of wrought iron or steel, in the finery forge and puddling furnace processes. As with many ironmaking terms, this is derived from the French - cinglage...
and then to be drawn out into bar iron
Wrought iron

Wrought iron is commercially pure iron. In contrast to steel, it has a very low carbon content. It is a fibrous material due to the slag Inclusion ....
in a rolling mill
Rolling mill

A rolling mill is a machine or factory for shaping metal by passing it between a pair of work rolls.Rolling mills are often incorporated into integrated steelworks, but also exist as separate plants and can be used for other metals, and other materials....
s.

Modern Steelmaking

From the 1850s, pig iron might be partly decarburised to produce mild steel using one of the following:

The Bessemer process in a Bessemer converter, improved by the Gilchrist-Thomas process
Sidney Gilchrist Thomas

Sidney Gilchrist Thomas was an England inventor. Thomas was born at Canonbury, London and was educated at Dulwich College.. His father, a Welshman, was in the civil service, and his mother was the daughter of the Rev....
;
The Siemens-Martin process in an Open hearth furnace
Open hearth furnace

Open hearth furnaces are one of a number of kinds of furnace where excess carbon and other impurities are burnt out of the pig iron to Steelmaking....
;
Electric arc furnace
Electric arc furnace

An is a furnace that heats charged material by means of an electric arc.Arc furnaces range in size from small units of approximately one ton capacity up to about 400 ton units used for secondary steelmaking....
, introduced in 1907;
Basic oxygen steelmaking
Basic oxygen steelmaking

is a method of primary steelmaking in which carbon-rich molten pig iron is made into steel. The LD-converter is named after the Austrian placenames Linz and Donawitz ....
, introduced in 1952.

For this period see History of the modern steel industry

History of the modern steel industry

The history of the modern steel industry began in the late 1850s, but since then steel has been basic to the world's industrial economy. This article is intended only to address the business, economic and social dimensions of the industry, since the bulk production of steel began as a result of Henry Bessemer's development of the Bessemer co...
and Steelmaking

Steelmaking

Steelmaking is the second step in producing steel from iron ore. In this stage, impurities such as sulfur, phosphorus, and excess carbon are removed from the Pig iron, and alloying elements such as manganese, nickel, chromium and vanadium are added to produce the exact steel required....
.

Further processing

After bar iron had been produced in a finery forge or in the forge train of a rolling mill, it might undergo further processes in one of the following:

A slitting mill
Slitting mill

The slitting mill was a watermill for slitting bars of iron into rods. The rods then were passed to nailers who made the rods into nail , by giving them a point and head....
- which cut a flat bar into rod iron suitable for making into nail
Nail (engineering)

In engineering, woodworking and construction, a nail is a Pin -shaped, sharp object of hard metal, typically steel, used as a fastener. Nails for specialized purposes may also be made of stainless steel, brass or aluminium....
s.
A tinplate
Tinplate

Tinplate is sheet carbon steel covered with a thin layer of tin. Before the advent of cheap mild steel the backing metal was wrought iron. While once more widely used, the primary use of tinplate now is the manufacture of tin cans....
works - where rolling mills made sheets of iron (later of steel
Steel

Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.14% by weight , depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten....
), which were coated with tin
Tin

Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. Tin is obtained chiefly from the mineral cassiterite, where it occurs as an oxide, SnO2....
.
A plating forge with a tilt hammer, a lighter hammer with a rapid stroke rate, enabling the production of thinner iron, suitable for the manufacture of knives
Knife

A knife is a handheld sharp-edged instrument consisting of a handle attached to a blade that is used for cutting. Knives were used at least Stone Age, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools....
, other cutlery
Cutlery

Cutlery refers to any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. It is more usually known as Silver or flatware in the United States, where cutlery can have the more specific meaning of knives and other cutting instruments....
, and so on.
A cementation furnace might be used to convert the bar iron
Wrought iron

Wrought iron is commercially pure iron. In contrast to steel, it has a very low carbon content. It is a fibrous material due to the slag Inclusion ....
(if it was pure enough) into blister steel by the cementation process
Cementation process

The cementation process is an obsolete technique for making steel by carburization of iron. Unlike modern steelmaking it increased the amount of carbon in the iron....
, either as an end in itself or as the raw material for crucible steel
Crucible steel

Crucible steel describes a number of different techniques for making steel alloy by slowly heating and cooling pure iron and carbon in a crucible....
.

Manufacture

Most of these processes did not produce finished goods. Further processes were often manual, including

Manufacturing by blacksmiths or more specialist kind of smith.
It might be used in shipbuilding
Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding is the construction of ships. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, originally called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history....
.

In the context of the iron industry, the term manufacture is best reserved for this final stage.

Particularly notable ironworks

Great Britain

Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale

Coalbrookdale is a side valley of the Ironbridge Gorge in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and Ceremonial counties of England of Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of ferrous metallurgy....
Ironworks
Blaenavon
Blaenavon

Blaenavon is a town and World Heritage Site in south eastern Wales, lying at the source of the Afon Llwyd north of Pontypool, within the Historic counties of Wales of Monmouthshire ....
Ironworks Heritage Site. Blaenavon (Blaenafon) South Wales
Cyfarthfa Ironworks
Cyfarthfa Ironworks

The Cyfarthfa Ironworks was a major 18th century and 19th century ironworks located in Cyfarthfa, on the north-western edge of Merthyr Tydfil, in South Wales....
at Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil is a town and county borough in Wales, with a population of about 55,000. It was formerly in the historic county of Glamorgan. It is often referred to simply as 'Merthyr'....
, Glamorgan
Glamorgan

Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen Historic counties of Wales and a former Administrative divisions of Wales of Wales. It was originally an early medieval monarchy of varying names and boundaries until taken over by the Anglo-Norman as a lordship....
, south Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
Dowlais Ironworks
Dowlais Ironworks

The Dowlais Ironworks was a major ironworks and steelworks located at Dowlais near Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. Founded in the eighteenth century, it operated until the end of the twentieth century, at one time in the nineteenth century being the largest steel producer in the world....
also at Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil is a town and county borough in Wales, with a population of about 55,000. It was formerly in the historic county of Glamorgan. It is often referred to simply as 'Merthyr'....
Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, a shipbuilding firm on the banks of the River Thames
River Thames

The Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and Windsor, Berkshire....
, England

United States of America

Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works

Bath Iron Works is a shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine. Since its foundation in 1884 by Thomas W. Hyde, Bath Iron Works has built private, commercial and warship....
in Maine
Maine

The State of Maine is a U.S. state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast....
Burden Iron Works in Troy, New York
Troy, New York

Troy is a city in New York, United States, and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York. As of the United States Census 2000, the population was 49,170....
Cambria Iron Company
Cambria Iron Company

Cambria Iron Company is a National Historic Landmark located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1852 and made many important contributions to the iron and steel industry....
in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, United States, miles east of Pittsburgh and west-south west of Altoona, Pennsylvania....
Tredegar Iron Works
Tredegar Iron Works

Tredegar Iron Works is a historic iron foundry in Richmond, Virginia, United States of America. The site is now the location of a museum called The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar....
at Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....

Czech Republic

Trinec Iron and Steel Works
Trinec Iron and Steel Works

Trinec Iron and Steel Works is a producer of long rolled steel products in Trinec, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. T? produces over a third of all steel produced in the Czech Republic ....
in Trinec
Trinec

Trinec is a town in Fr?dek-M?stek District, Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It lies on the Olza River, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia....
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic

The Czech Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east....

Germany

Völklingen Ironworks Heritage Site

Spain

Altos Hornos de Vizcaya
Altos Hornos de Vizcaya

Altos Hornos de Vizcaya was a ironworks business that began in 1902 in Bilbao with the merger of three iron and steel businesses: Altos Hornos de Bilbao, La Vizcaya, and La Iberia....
in Bilbao
Bilbao

Bilbao, is the largest city in the Basque Country in northern Spain and the capital of the province of Biscay .The city has 354,145 inhabitants and is the most financially and industrially active part of Greater Bilbao, the zone in which almost half of the Basque Country?s population lives....

Ironworks in Popular Culture

In the computer game Civilization IV
Civilization IV

Sid Meier's Civilization IV is a turn-based strategy Personal computer game released in 2005 and developed by game designer Soren Johnson under the direction of Sid Meier and Meier's video game developer Firaxis Games....
, the ironworks is a national wonder that greatly increases the production of the city that it is built in which has access to coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
and iron
Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
.

Ironworks is also the name of a live music venue in Inverness
Inverness

Inverness is a City status in the United Kingdom in northern Scotland. The city is the administrative centre for the Highland Council areas of Scotland, and it is promoted as the capital of the Scottish Highlands....
, Scotland