Series: Mining & Materials • Part 10 of 14
Factories as Lego Blocks
We don’t just build factories — we compose them. Power pods, water pods, heat pods, controls pods, and line pods snap together with standard ports. The result: fast builds, easy upgrades, and clean industry that behaves like a friendly neighbor.
Today’s mission
Show the Lego kit that assembles mills, smelters, solar lines & more.
Publish pre‑calculated footprints, ship lists, and hookup times.
Prove upgrades are a pod swap — not a shutdown.
Why Lego factories (and why they win)
Expertise is scarce; time is precious. We package both into repeatable blocks: pods you can ship, scan, bolt, and run. Same physics in every country; fewer surprises in every build.
- Speed: pods pre‑tested at the seed shop (Part 3); on‑site time is hookup, not invention.
- Quality: QA concentrates where it’s strongest, then travels by forklift.
- Flexibility: products change → swap a line pod, not a campus.
The block set (pods you’ll see everywhere)
Power Pod (PP)
- MV switchgear • inverters • transformers • site BESS
- Ratings: 5 • 20 • 50 MW blocks
- Footprint: ~250 • 600 • 1,800 m²
- Port: MEC‑96‑E
Water Pod (WP)
- UF/RO/DI • recycle loops • solids handling
- Ratings: 100 • 500 • 2,000 m³/day
- Port: MEC‑48‑M
Heat Pod (HP)
- E‑boilers • heat pumps • thermal storage
- Ratings: 5 • 20 • 80 MWth
- Port: MEC‑48‑H
Controls Pod (CP)
- SCADA • PLCs • time‑sync • digital twin
- Port: MEC‑48‑C
Line Pods (LP)
- Process skids: casters (Parts 4–5), ER racks (Part 6), kilns (Part 9), laminators (Part 3)
- Ship wired; plug utility spines on arrival
People Pods (PPe)
- Halls • labs • lockers • QA bays
- Heat pump HVAC on HP loop
These pods repeat across: steel (Part 5), aluminum & copper (Part 6), mega vans (Part 7), transport hubs (Part 8), and glass & silicon (Part 9).
Ports & standards (MEC)
MEC quick table
| Port | Service | Design point |
|---|---|---|
| MEC‑96‑E | Medium‑voltage ring | 33 kV • up to 50 MVA |
| MEC‑48‑E | Low/Mid power AC | 400/690 V • up to 2 MVA |
| MEC‑48‑H | Thermal loop | 10–25 bar • 140–250 °C |
| MEC‑48‑M | Process water | ISO camlocks • DN50–DN200 |
| MEC‑48‑C | Controls | Dual fiber ring + PoE |
Ports are keyed & color‑coded. Scan → lock → energize. No spaghetti.
Layout pattern
- MV ring bus around campus; pods tap in.
- Utility spine trench: water/steam/fiber in parallel.
- Clear 12 m grid bays; 10–12 m clear height.
Assembly choreography (from bare pad to first product)
Timeline (greenfield)
| Phase | Weeks | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations & trench spine | 8–12 | Parallel with pod builds |
| Shells & cranes | 8–10 | Standard frames |
| Pod set & align | 3–5 | Roll‑off, bolt‑down |
| Hook‑up (MEC) | 4–6 | Color‑coded ports |
| Commission (cold → hot) | 4–7 | Serial‑numbered tests |
Brownfield: subtract 4–8 weeks if pads/utilities exist.
On‑site crew (peak)
- Electricians 40–60%, pipefitters 15–25%, riggers 10–15%
- Pods pre‑wired: ~70–85% of terminations done at the seed shop
- Field welds cut by ~50–70% vs bespoke builds
Shipping & bill of lading (it ships like Lego too)
Typical loads per pod
| Pod | TEU (20’ eq.) | Heaviest piece | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PP‑20 (power) | 8–12 | ~22 t skid | MV gear split in 2 |
| WP‑500 (water) | 4–6 | ~12 t skid | UF/RO frames |
| HP‑20 (heat) | 5–7 | ~18 t drum | E‑boiler core |
| LP (typical line) | 10–20 | ~24 t | Depends on industry |
| CP + PPe | 2–4 | ~8 t rack | Control + office |
Over‑dimensional pieces go on modular trailers; everything else stacks.
Dock‑to‑dock choreography
- Scan & stage by pod type; pre‑route to bay.
- Rig, set on grout pads, torque & tag.
- Plug MEC ports → SCADA handshake → energize.
Pre‑calculated clone scenarios
“Micro PV” starter — 200 MWp/yr module line
| Item | Count / Value |
|---|---|
| Pods | PP‑5×1 • WP‑100×1 • HP‑5×1 • LP×3 • CP×1 • PPe×1 |
| Avg load | ~10–12 MW |
| PV min to self‑power | ~52–62 MWp |
| 12 h storage | ~120–140 MWh |
| Shell area | ~12–18k m² |
| Dock→first product | ~14–20 weeks |
“City Finisher” — coil→galv→paint hub
| Item | Count / Value |
|---|---|
| Pods | PP‑20×1 • HP‑20×1 • WP‑500×1 • LP×4 • CP×1 • PPe×2 |
| Avg load | ~18–28 MW |
| PV min | ~92–144 MWp |
| 12 h storage | ~220–340 MWh |
| Shell area | ~20–30k m² |
| Dock→first product | ~16–24 weeks |
“Mill‑in‑a‑Box” — billets/sections 0.5 Mt/yr (scrap→EAF→roll)
| Item | Count / Value |
|---|---|
| Pods | PP‑50×1 • PP‑20×1 • HP‑80×1 • WP‑2000×1 • LP(caster)×1 • LP(rolling)×2 • CP×1 • PPe×4 |
| Avg load | ~40–50 MW (beyond melt spikes) |
| PV min | ~205–257 MWp |
| 12 h storage | ~480–600 MWh |
| Shell area | ~25–40k m² |
| Dock→first product | ~22–32 weeks |
Numbers align with earlier parts; no calculators, just pre‑done math.
Upgrades & repairs (swap, not shutdown)
Upgrade playbook
- Cold‑stage new pod in a parallel bay.
- Cutover during a planned 8–16 h window.
- Old pod returns to the seed shop (Part 3) for rebuild.
Spare strategy
- 1 PP‑5, 1 WP‑100, and 1 CP pod per campus as floaters.
- Critical LP spares for bottlenecks (e.g., laminators, casters).
- Shared regional pod pool reduces capex and downtime.
How we keep it safe
Ports are dead‑front until mated & latched. Interlocks verify pressure/ground/fiber before energizing. Every swap is a checklist; every checklist is boring — by design.
Q&A
“Isn’t every region different?”
The pods stay the same; the count changes. Climate affects HVAC and water loops, not the idea of a power pod or a caster skid.
“What if the product mix changes?”
Swap a line pod — add a galvanizing pod, change an anneal, replace an ER rack. Your campus is a sentence written with the same alphabet.
“How do we avoid vendor lock‑in?”
The standards (MEC ports, footprints, control protocols) are open. Any vendor who respects the port can ship a pod. The customer owns the grammar of the factory.
Up next — Products: From Beams to Supercomputers (Part 11 of 14). We’ll follow atoms from ore to objects — from rails and panels to racks and AI clusters.