History
Tour of Western Electric

This tour created by Christian Magee of Electron Valve.

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Electron Valve is proud to offer a first look at the inside workings of the Western Electric - Kansas City manufacturing plant. We will start with initial processes for tube manufacture setup and end with the final product. Sit back, get a fresh cup of joe and take the 5 page tour of Western Electric. You can click on each picture for an enlargement.

It all started here a long time ago. These are some of the original Western Electric Drawings from the Western Electric engineers. These date back to the early 1940's when they made the 300A!

 


 

Today, many of the processes are the same and many have been updated. All parts are cleaned, heat treated and stored until needed. In the case where very low conductive water is needed for cleaning, de-ionized water is used. Click here to see a picture of the polishing pumps under the Kansas City Works. These pumps effectively remove all conductivity from the water.

Some of the parts require cleaning at very high temperatures in the "Hydrogen Atmosphere Furnace".

The process of assembling the many parts of the tube then begins. The grid is wound using one of the original winders built in 1943. This particular unit was made by RCA for Western Electric.

Here the grid is cut into three separate grids. Each one, if it passes inspection, will go into the 300B tube.

Each grid is hand inspected before being placed into the grid tray. Immense experience is necessary for precise and reliable grids. The man operating this grid winder has over 30 years with Western Electric grid windings.

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5