Steel Cannons and Built-Up Artillery in Create Big Cannons

guide

Steel cannons in Create Big Cannons provide the highest pressure tolerance and durability for heavy artillery and autocannons through layered built-up casting and precision machining. While bronze and cast iron cannons can be cast in single blocks, steel artillery requires multi-stage thermal assembly to handle intense propellant charges without catastrophic barrel rupture.

Smelting and Melting Steel

Constructing steel artillery starts with acquiring molten steel in a basin foundry. Feeding solid materials into a heated melting basin liquifies them into fluid charges:

A Block of Steel melts into 810 mb of Molten Steel.
A Steel Ingot melts into 90 mb of Molten Steel.
Pieces of Steel Scrap recovered from damaged or recycled components can also be melted back into the basin.

The molten metal can then be compacted back into solid storage blocks using 810 mb of fluid, or poured through foundry lids into casting molds.

Casting Steel Cannon Layers and Components

Unlike cast iron, big cannon steel cannot be cast as a single solid tube. Instead, players must cast distinct concentric layers and components using specialized casting molds:

Concentric cannon layers cast as Unbored Very Small Steel Cannon Layer, Unbored Small Steel Cannon Layer, Unbored Medium Steel Cannon Layer, Unbored Large Steel Cannon Layer, and Unbored Very Large Steel Cannon Layer.
Autocannon parts cast as Unbored Steel Autocannon Barrel, Unbored Steel Autocannon Breech, and Unbored Steel Autocannon Recoil Spring.
Heavy artillery breeches cast as Unbored Steel Screw Breech and Unbored Steel Sliding Breech.

Once poured, every unbored block must be transferred to a cannon drill where mechanical rotation bores out the inner core into functional working pieces.

Assembling Built-Up Steel Barrels and Chambers

To achieve maximum structural strength, steel big cannons utilize built-up construction where outer layers are heat-expanded and fitted over inner sleeves:

Combining an inner Very Small Steel Cannon Layer with an outer Small Steel Cannon Layer creates a Built-Up Steel Cannon Barrel.
Layering a Very Small Steel Cannon Layer, Small Steel Cannon Layer, Medium Steel Cannon Layer, and Large Steel Cannon Layer produces a Built-Up Steel Cannon Chamber.
Adding the outermost layers forms a Thick Steel Cannon Chamber, providing maximum resistance against heavy powder charges.

These composite sections ensure high muzzle velocity and prevent barrel bursting when firing heavy armor-piercing or high-explosive munitions.

Machining Steel Breeches and Autocannon Parts

After boring the core blocks, the breech mechanisms must be completed with machined locking components:

A Steel Screw Breech requires installing a Steel Screw Lock to seal the rear during firing.
A Steel Sliding Breech requires sliding in a craftable Steel Sliding Breechblock for rapid horizontal action.
A Steel Quick-Firing Breech provides mechanized reloading for field artillery batteries.
For rapid-fire automatic weapons, combining the Steel Autocannon Barrel, Steel Autocannon Breech, Steel Autocannon Recoil Spring, and sequenced Steel Autocannon Breech Extractor creates high-velocity autocannon mounts capable of continuous fire against armored threats.