Instruments & Innovation

Close-up view of the Charge and Press machine used to fill shells with an explosives charge the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. After the charge was pressed into the bottom of the shells, the…

General view of employee Jim Kennedy operating a press machine used to fill electric blasting caps with an explosive charge at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. The operation was…

General view of employees Harold Struber (left) and Raymond Leahy operating a wire-cutting and stripping machine at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. During the production of electric blasting…

General view of employee Joe Bechtold operating a capsule machine used to punch strips of copper into discs during the production of small shells at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. Formed in…

General view of mix house group leader Benny Williams mixing Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) with graphite for use in the electric blasting caps produced at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York.…

General view of Joseph Maurer pouring ethyl cellulose into the hopper of a plastic extrusion machine at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. In the machine, the ethyl cellulose was heated and then…

Close-up view of a plastic extrusion machine used to coat and insulate wires at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. As visible in the photograph, ethyl cellulose was heated and then extruded as…

Close-up view of an automatic press machine used to fill shells with an explosives charge the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. Formed in 1912 as part of an anti-trust settlement with DuPont, the…

General view of several employees at work on the automatic loading line for the production of detonators and initiators at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. On the left-hand side of the…

General view of an unidentified employee using assorted machinery to test the destructive range and effectiveness of detonators and initiators manufactured at the Hercules Powder Company plant located in Port Ewen, New…

General view of employees at work in a facility used for the production and testing of detonators and initiators manufactured at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. Formed in 1912 as part of an…

Close-up view of an automatic press machine used to fill shells with an explosives charge the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. Formed in 1912 as part of an anti-trust settlement with DuPont, the…

General view of a female employee operating an automatic precision-assembly station used during the manufacture of detonators and initiators at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. The employee…

General view of an unidentified employee operating a Beckman (Berkeley Division) Time Interval Meter at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. Time Interval Meters were commonly used for a range of…

General view of an unidentified employee setting a tray of shells into an apparatus used during the production of blasting caps at Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. The apparatus is likely a press…

General view of employee Kenneth Newell operating a press machine used to fill electric blasting caps with an explosive charge at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. The operation was…

General view of employee Raymond Demskie operating a series of levers to remotely mix explosive powders used in the electric blasting caps produced at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. The levers…

General view of employees Thomas Stauble (left, foreground) and Andrew Tubby (right, foreground) using assorted machinery to test the destructive range and effectiveness of detonators and initiators manufactured at the…