DeLorean Restoration
Bison Fibre
Shuffleboard Tables
Friction Forged Knives

Today on "how it's made"...

The delorean sports car was manufactured in northern ireland in the early 1980s.

With gull-wing doors and brushed stainless steel panels, the delorean was known for its flashy style.

Today, many of these cars are in rough shape, but a restoration can make a delorean look like new.

This delorean is a rare relic from the '80s.

Only 9,080 of these iconic cars were manufactured.

No longer operational, this delorean might have been destined for the junk yard.

But with professional restoration, this company has the spare parts to get it up and running.

The process starts with the diagnostics.

The technician examines the suspension, the steering rack, and brakes.

He finds significant deterioration and documents his findings.

He scrutinizes every part of the old delorean and produces an 11-page report on its condition.

Once all the problems have been identified, the mechanic gets to work, removing plugs to drain some of the coolant.

He disassembles many pipes and hoses that run coolant from the radiator to the rear engine.

Many of the coolant pipes will need to be cleaned in order to be re-used.

The rubber hoses can't be salvaged and will need replacement.

The mechanic disassembles the brakes.

The calipers are in bad shape but can be rebuilt.

The rusty rotors are still thick enough that they can be resurfaced.

After mounting new tires and refinishing the cast alloy wheels, another technician bolts them to the hubs.

He lowers the hoist and sets the car on the floor.

He tightens the lug nuts to the final torque setting.

A technician begins disassembling the rear drive engine.

In order to know what needs to be replaced, the technician must take the engine apart.

He removes the air filter box in order to access the intake manifold.

Then he unbolts the "w"-shaped manifold pipe that splits the air flow to the engine.

Once it's off, he removes the air-mixture control unit, which needs restored to work.

With the unit out of the way, he can easily get to other parts that need replacing or fixing.

Those include spark plugs, wires, vacuum lines, the distributor cap, and rotor.

Under the front hood, the mechanic pulls the fuel pump out of the gas tank to check for deterioration.

It's beyond repair.

He drains any fuel the remains in the tank.

After the gas tank has been emptied and cleaned, he inserts a new, modern-style pump module.

Another technician holds the top of the pump down as the module is clamped into place.

Next, the technician removes the interior door panels and uses a central tester to operate the power windows.

He confirms the power windows are functional.

He also checks the power locks and mirrors to verify that they're working properly.

He pulls off exterior rubber trim.

He shaves off any remaining rubber bits.

This allows room to repair a dent in the stainless steel body.

He files the area around the dent to remove some scratches.

He places a special tool over the dent.

It has a rod with a fine steel tip that welds to the body, providing a solid grip, as he manually pulls out the dent.

Meanwhile, another mechanic applies tape to various sections of the car to establish borders for the refinishing of the steel body panels.

He sands out any imperfections or tool marks from the repairs and restores the brushed finish bumper to bumper.

Since no paint can be used to cover up repairs on bare stainless steel, the body work must be done perfectly.

Inside, technicians reupholster the seats and treat any discoloration in the vinyl panels and dashboard.

Finally, the entire car gets an extensive exterior cleaning.

It's taken months to restore this delorean, but the question remains, will it run like a new car?

Once tested in various driving conditions, mechanics confirm that this 1980s throwback is ready for its comeback.

The bison is blessed with the perfect winter coat, and now bison fibers are helping people to endure the cold, too.

Processed with polyester strands, the fibers are made into insulation for winter coats, allowing people to hunker down in frigid winter temperatures.

These winter coats have been insulated with bison fiber fill.

It's a by-product of bison ranching and a garment insulation that's no longer going to waste.

Bison fiber fill is a combination of the animal's coarse guard hairs, bison down, recycled and low-melt polyester.

Technicians load the four fibers separately into spiked conveyors.

The fibers were compressed for shipping.

So as they're loaded, the fibers are loosened by hand.

Once loading is complete, an operator turns on the conveyors.

The conveyors' protruding pins snag the bison-and-polyester strands and transport them upward.

The strands travel under rotating spiked cylinders.

The cylinders comb the fibers to open them up and detangle them.

The four different fibers flow into scales, which weigh equal portions and are released.

The fibers drop onto a conveyor and move into a blender for mixing.

Another vertical conveyor with pins picks up the fibers and takes them upward, past revolving bars that knock off the excess.

This ensures an even mass, as the bison-and-polyester fibers move between a series of different wire-covered rollers.

This process arranges the fibers in a parallel orientation and gets rid of any clumps.

A comb further aligns the bison-and-polyester fibers.

The fibers cling together in a web.

The web transfers to a wooden slat conveyor.

A vacuum suctions up loose fibers to be recycled back into production.

An oscillating conveyor layers the fibers in a zigzag pattern called "cross lapping".

Cross lapping produces a substantial mat, and it also mixes the fibers.

Next, the web lands on another conveyor, passing between a series of rollers that compress it.

This process gives the mixed fibers the appropriate mass and height to produce a uniform batt.

A sprayer applies an adhesive to the bison-and-polyester insulation.

The adhesive doesn't take right away.

It will need to be heat-activated.

The insulation moves into a 300-degree oven, which triggers the activation.

The heat also activates the low-melt polyester strands in the insulation.

This bonds the interlaced fibers to prevent them from migrating through fabric when used as fill.

Next, the insulation heads downward into a shearing.

Like a pizza cutter, circular blades cut through the center of the insulation mat and trim along the edges.

Rollers wind the strips of bison fiber and polyester insulation together.

Using a paper cutter, an inspector cuts a sample to a specific size.

He weighs the sample and confirms that it's adequate for the size, verifying the density of the fiber mass.

Next, he measures the sample's thickness.

At about .

13 inches, the fiber fill will provide warmth without a lot of bulk.

The team slices the bison fiber fabric fill to its specified length using a hot wire.

Once the roll is complete, they start rolling the next one.

The bison fiber rolls are put in plastic bags for protection during transport to outside clothing factories.

Technicians weigh each bag separately.

After several hours, bison fibers and polyester strands have been transformed into moisture wicking insulation.

Stuffed inside a jacket liner, this bison fiber insulation won't be seen.

But on a winter day, its presence will definitely be felt.

Shuffleboard originated in british taverns in the 15th century.

Players would slide coins, called groats, down the bar, aiming for them to stop as close to the edge as possible without falling off.

It was so popular that king henry viii banned the game, saying it was too much of a distraction from work.

Centuries after shuffleboard was invented, this easy and entertaining game is making a comeback.

To make a shuffleboard table, a technician trims maple strips.

The strips vary in length, but they all have the same width and thickness.

Using a rolling wheel fused with glue, the technician applies adhesive to the strips.

These strips have grooves on one side and protrusions on the other so that they can interlock.

The glue will ensure the interlocked strips stay together.

After he assembles the strips, he counts them to confirm that he has the correct number for the playfield size.

He lowers a curing press, then clamps the strips together.

The press applies applies high-temperature heat to rapidly cure the glue joints.

The slabs are stored in racks for 30 days so that they acclimate to each other.

Once the process is complete, the slabs go into a planer.

The planer removes dried glue, smooths and levels the surface.

On the left is a slab before it went through the planer, and on the right is the one that's had the work done.

A technician applies adhesive-backed strips to mark the score zones and tapes the ends to prevent peeling.

He smooths down the number decals that will designate the scoring zones.

The company logo goes in the center.

Next, a coat of polymer varnish is applied to the board.

The varnish encases the decals, making them resistant to wear.

The parts of the cradle base are built with plywood.

A router cuts slots in the base for the playfield adjustment parts.

A technician joins two sections of the base and builds the cradle skirting.

He adds a piece in the center for extra support, links sideboards to the ends, and staples the corners together.

He turns the cradle over and screws the skirt to the base from the top, beginning at the corners and continuing along the entire border.

He uses rounded maple corners for the end frames to eliminate sharp angles.

He sprays a generous amount of glue on the outside of the frame.

This prepares it to receive a laminated composite material.

He coats the back of the laminate with glue...

And wraps the laminate around the end frame, which adds a different aesthetic.

Then he sands the rims so that it sits evenly on the base of the cradle.

He glues the end frame to the cradle...

Reinforces the glued seams with staples...

And joins the sides of the cradle to the end piece, which fit together perfectly.

Another technician sands the wood until it's silky smooth.

Then a stain is sprayed on the sides of the cradle and the skirting.

The stain enhances the grain of the maple and adds a depth of color.

He sprays on lacquer, which seals the stain and gives the wood a glossy finish.

He adds wooden inlays for visual interest.

Next, the cradle is sprayed with glue.

A technician applies the carpet to the glued areas.

The carpet will absorb the impact of pucks that fall off the board.

With the second end plate installed and the legs attached, the cradle is ready for the playfield to be mounted.

The playfield is so heavy, it takes two people to lower it into the cradle.

This shuffleboard table is now complete.

Even though it's taken three days to build, this shuffleboard is worth every bit of hard work.

The hallmark of a quality knife is a cutting edge that remains sharp despite repeated use over time.

One of the most advanced knife-making methods is friction forging-- a technique applied specifically to the knife's cutting edge to produce sharpness and durability.

Friction-forged blades are used primarily in hunting and fishing but also work just as well in the kitchen.

The blades are made of high-carbon steel.

A laser cutter slices out rectangular bars, each of which will yield two to five blades.

The bars are wrapped in foil and put in an oven at 1,850 degrees fahrenheit for several hours.

The heat hardens the steel.

The bars are removed from the oven and cooled.

Then they're put back in the oven and heated to 700 degrees fahrenheit for several more hours.

This second round of heat treating tempers the steel, drawing down its hardness to between 38 and 42 on the rockwell scale.

The bars are placed on a large electromagnet.

The magnet holds them securely, while the bars rotate under a grinding stone.

A steady flow of coolant prevents the heat the friction generates from changing the hardness of the steel.

The grinder removes carbon deposits caused by the heat treatment, along with any surface imperfections.

A craftsman uses a rockwell hardness tester to measure the bar's hardness.

The machine's needle bears down until it indents the steel.

A measurement of 41 is right on target and within the range of ultra-tough spring steel.

The bar is now ready to be friction forged.

The forging machine's specialized tool applies immense pressure, combined with rotational movement called "stirring," to a specific area of the bar.

The stirring action creates friction, which plasticizes the steel, reducing its microscopic grain structures to levels no other forging or heat-treating method can achieve, 50 to 75 times smaller than that of the steel typically used in a high-quality knife.

The finer the grain size, the stronger the steel, the sharper and less brittle the blades the unforged zone becomes the blade's main body.

This area is the tough spring steel, with a rockwell hardness between 38 and 42.

The friction-forged zone becomes the blade's cutting edge-- 65 to 70 on the rockwell scale.

A computer-guided grinding machine shapes the blade.

This is what the blade looks like before grinding...

And after.

The blade is shotblasted with fine ceramic beads to remove all surface imperfections.

The forged zone is now clearly distinguishable.

A craftswoman assembles the knife's handle.

She places a stainless steel bolster over the blade and inserts two pins made of nickel silver.

She trims the pins, then flattens them with a hammer to lock in the bolster.

Here is the blade before...

And after this assembly.

A laser engraves the model and brand name in the unforged area.

The craftsman applies glue on both halves of the handles, then presses them together.

This model is made of desert ironwood held together with glue and brass nickel pins.

Once the glue dries, a craftswoman runs the handle against a sanding belt to shape the wood to the steel.

She polishes the wood to bring out the beauty of the grain.

Then the blade is hand-sharpened on a belt grinder.

First, the main cut.

Then the edge.

Which stays sharp 10 to 50 times longer than a traditionally heat-treated blade.

Finally, the knife is run through a test for edge sharpness.

If the reading indicates the sharpness of a razor blade, the friction-forged knife passes the test.


Gel Caps
Playground Spring Riders
Frozen Pancakes
Natural Rubber

Liquid medication used to always come in a bottle, and you had to pour your dose with a steady hand into a spoon.

Today, many medications and supplements come inside small food-safe casings that are easy to swallow and portable-- soft gel capsules.

Many types of products come in gel capsules, from prescription drugs to health supplements such as fish oils.

Many of these medicine fills go bad if exposed to oxygen, so the gel cap, besides being convenient, also serves as a protective barrier.

Every ingredient in both the gel cap and the medicine fill inside undergoes extensive testing for purity.

The first test phase checks for bacterial contamination.

Lab technicians dissolve the ingredients in solution, apply it to a food source in a petri dish, then incubate the dish for 72 hours to encourage any existing bacteria to grow.

Then they draw samples and examine them under a microscope.

If those samples are bacteria-free, the ingredient moves on to the second phase of testing, which checks for contaminants such as lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium.

This machine, called a spectrometer, injects the ingredient solution into a plasma flame, then, by reading the changes in light wavelengths, analyzes the chemical composition.

If the ingredient is contaminant-free, it gets the go-ahead.

The gel cap is made entirely of natural ingredients-- gelatin derived from beef bones, palm oil glycerin, and purified water.

The proportions are top-secret.

An industrial blender combines the three ingredients to a uniform consistency, then heats the mixture to 175 degrees fahrenheit.

A vacuum sucks out the air bubbles as this now-ready gel material flows into a holding tank.

Simultaneously, they prepare the medicine fill-- in this case, vitamin d. they combine it with soybean oil to adjust the potency to the specified strength.

Meanwhile, they maintain the gel-cap material in the holding tank at 140 degrees fahrenheit to prevent it from prematurely solidifying.

Even the hose leaving that tank is wrapped in heater tape to keep the gel liquid.

A separate hose feeds the vitamin d solution from another holding tank down to the production floor, as well.

This hose doesn't require heating because vitamin d and soybean oil don't solidify when cool.

On the production line, two stations simultaneously spread a thin layer of molten gel across a cooling drum.

The gel hardens into a solid, yet malleable, sheet about the thickness of cardboard.

Each sheet passes over a rotating die with capsule-shaped cavities.

Just before the two gel sheets come together, pumps inject the required quantity of vitamin d solution into each cavity, the pressure pushing the gelatin into the cavity.

At the same time, the machine heats the gel sheets so that when they meet, they adhere to each other, forming full capsules with the vitamin d solution sealed inside.

In the final second, the die's sharp edges slice the gel caps free, and they fall to a conveyer belt below.

At this point, the filled gel caps contain a fair bit of moisture, so they're quite soft.

If they lay on a surface too long, they'd flatten, so the conveyer belt whisks them very quickly into a rotating drum, where they tumble in slightly cold, dry air for about three hours.

This removes enough moisture to make the gel caps hard enough to lie on a surface without flattening.

After exiting, the gel caps move into a second dryer, where, spread out on trays this time, they dry for about 36 hours.

After that, the gel caps are hard enough to be safely packaged.

The gel caps-- the ones being packaged here contain flax oil-- travel down a series of vibrating plates, which progressively line them up in single file.

As they pass by, electronic eyes count out the number of capsules per bottle, triggering the filling mechanism to collect that quantity and release it into an empty bottle.

The next station applies a plastic twist cap, then the bottles move onward, each one plowing directly into the center of an adhesive-backed label, which rollers then apply around he sides.

Before shipping, the quality-control lab tests random samples from the production batch to verify that the gel caps meet all specifications.

It's a playground staple-- a stationary ride-on cartoon animal that bounces up and down and rocks back and forth, courtesy of a huge spring underneath secured into the ground.

The bouncy coil base is what gives this type of playground equipment its name-- a spring rider.

The spring rider is a playground favorite.

To withstand years of rambunctious riders, it has to be solid and durable, yet for a toddler to be able to rock back and forth, it can't be too heavy.

That's why the spring is made of thick steel, and the animal of lightweight aluminum.

That sand core is comprised of two halves, each made with an aluminum mold-- duck-shaped in this case.

Workers fill it with sand and adhesive mix that sets into a solid block.

They insert several steel support rods, fill to the top, and even out the surface, then expose two hooks they'll later grab to extract the core half once the sand hardens in about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, other workers use an aluminum pattern to make each half of the duck casting mold.

After applying a powder release agent to prevent sticking, they cover the pattern with a sieved mixture of sand and clay.

They mount a frame around the pattern to contain the sand, as they add more and more, repeatedly packing it down in all areas with a pneumatic ramming tool.

Then they remove the frame and cover the sand with a wooden board.

This provides a hard surface for the press, which now applies the weight of about four mid-sized s.u.v.s.

Then they flip over the mold and remove the pattern which formed the mold cavity.

The sand is now so firmly compacted that it holds the shape.

One half of the sand mold has channels through which the molten metal will flow into the cavity.

Workers now position several quarter-inch-thick foam spacers in the cavity and place half of the core on top of them.

The spacers elevate the core, creating a quarter-inch cavity between core and mold.

The other half of the core goes on top.

After placing spacers on top of that to create a quarter-inch gap on this side, as well, they carefully lower the other half of the sand mold.

Now they're ready to cast the duck.

The melting point of aluminum is just over 1,090 degrees fahrenheit.

However, they heat much higher, to 1,400 degrees, so it'll flow faster and fill the entire cavity before beginning to solidify.

They pour the metal through holes on top.

It flows through the runners into the mold cavity, which is that quarter-inch gap surrounding the duck-shaped core.

About 20 minutes later, the metal has cooled and solidified.

They break the mold apart on a vibrating sieve, releasing the aluminum duck and shaking out the core sand through a hole at the bottom of the duck.

After cutting off excess aluminum that hardened in the runners, they grind down the seam, which formed in between the two halves of the mold.

Next, they weld on aluminum handles for the child to grip when riding.

These handles are cast in sand molds just like the duck.

Workers grind down the weld and any sharp edges, making the entire surface nice and smooth.

Next--  a coat of polyester powder in bright rubber-ducky yellow.

Then-- a 20-minute trip through an oven to bake the coating, making it ultra-durable.

Now, delicately airbrushed with the urethane enamel paint, the details that bring mr.

Duck to life-- his feet, wings, bill, and eyes.

The thick coil that makes this a spring rider is made of a flexible type of steel.

They bolt a steel spacer plate to it...

Then hide the bolts under an aluminum cover.

After attaching a foot rest--  steel, again-- they bolt the duck to the plate.

All these parts, like the duck, are painted with baked-on polyester coating.

The spring bolts to a concrete block buried underground.

Ducky and friends are designed to withstand even the harshest winters, letting children enjoy a little spring all year round.

Early versions of pancakes were thin like crepes.

By the 1780s, american cooks were adding a leavening agent for a fluffier, more filling pancake.

That's when pancakes transitioned from side dish to main course for the first meal of the day.

Call them hot cakes, griddle cakes, flapjacks, or pancakes, there's nothing like a heaping helping of them splashed with syrup.

And with frozen pancakes, whipping up some for breakfast has never been easier.

Pancake production starts off with a leavening agent-- the baking powder.

They combine salt, whey, and various flavorings in a big blender to create a dry-ingredient premix.

Since these will be buttermilk pancakes, they add powdered buttermilk for flavor.

They now pump liquid ingredients from storage tanks into a huge blender.

These include water and eggs, sweet cream, liquefied sugar, and soybean oil.

They add the dry premix and flour until the batter reaches the desired consistency.

An employee tests the batter's viscosity by pouring some in a device with a little gate.

He opens the gate and measures the flow down a ramp.

If it runs too thick or too thin, it won't produce pancakes that are the desired diameter and uniformity.

The pancake batter passes the viscosity test.

They release the batter from the holding tank, and it flows into a depositor system.

The depositor has nine nozzles.

Each nozzle shoots an exact amount of the pancake batter onto a hot moving griddle.

Because of the perfect viscosity, each deposit of batter radiates out to form a neat, round shape, each one the same size as the next-- about four inches in diameter.

They run three depositors and moving griddles simultaneously to produce 750 pancakes a minute.

That's an incredible 45,000 pancakes an hour.

After several seconds on the griddle, one side is cooked, so automated stainless-steel spatulas flip the pancakes over.

There are two sets of flippers.

After flipping, the first set repositions, and the second set flips the next row of pancakes.

It's mechanized synchronization.

The flippers are spaced apart exactly as the depositors are so the pancakes arrive at the flippers in the correct order to be picked up and turned over.

Once flipped, the pancakes continue along the cooking conveyer, and the other side is cooked.

It's a short ride for these pancakes to be completely cooked.

From dollops of batter to uniformly rounded and cooked pancakes, this process has taken just 90 seconds.

The pancakes somersault off the cooking griddle and over a roller to land on the next conveyer.

The somersault exit has a purpose.

It keeps the pancakes from folding over so they land flat.

Hot off the griddles, the pancakes cool down on the ride, as all three production lines merge and head into a freezer.

Inside the freezer, it's a very frigid minus-18 degrees, and the pancakes freeze fast.

Now it's over to the packaging line.

This is where the uniformity of these pancakes pays off.

Their similar diameter means they can be neatly packed in groups of six.

Machinery seals two stacks of six frozen pancakes in one wrapping.

It has taken less than five minutes to prepare, freeze, and package these pancakes.

At home, prep time in the microwave should be mere seconds.

Just add syrup, and this story has a sweet ending.

Natural rubber comes from the milky sap of a tropical tree.

Thousands of years ago, the native people of central and south america discovered that the hardened sap was elastic and bounced.

They played games with the balls of sap.

When european explorers came along, it was soon a whole new ball game.

Today, we make thousands of useful things from the fluid that circulates through rubber trees-- everything from tires to balloons to boots.

The seeds are sewn on plantations like this one in thailand.

It takes several years for the rubber trees to mature, then the sap is ready to tap.

In the coolness of the morning, when the sap flows freely, the farm worker slashes the bark with a hook blade.

The sap oozes from the abrasion.

It spills onto a metal spout inserted below the slashed section.

The spout funnels the sap into a ceramic cup below.

It flows for about five or six hours, partially filling the cup.

They wait a couple of days for the tree to recover and then tap another section of the tree.

After straining impurities, they pour the rubber sap into a plastic tub.

They add formic acid and swish it around.

The acid causes the sap to coagulate.

After 15 to 30 minutes, it thickens to the consistency of tofu.

This tofu-like sap has a sticky structure that allows it to now be rolled out like dough.

The rolling squeezes out excess water and leaves a ribbed pattern on the sheets that increases the surface area to hasten drying.

Then they rinse off the formic acid.

They hang the rubber sheets to dry for about five hours.

As they dry, the rubber thickens and becomes stronger, and the color darkens.

The coagulated rubber sap has been transformed.

In a few short steps, it's gone from a liquid to a solid.

Workers pile the rubber sheets onto pallets and weigh the load.

There's a little over a ton and a half of rubber in this stack.

They store the stacks in a warehouse until the next stage of processing.

When they're ready to move on, workers peel each sheet from the stack and soak them in water for about 20 minutes.

This washes away some of the surface contaminants, but not all.

The rubber sheets then go into a machine with many brushes that scrub off more of the dirt.

After one more rinse, the rubber sheets are squeaky-clean.

As you can see, the color of the rubber sheets vary somewhat depending on the tree they came from, their thickness, and other factors.

They hang the sheets on racks to drip dry.

Next, they build a fire in a brick oven and smoke the rubber sheets in a chamber overhead for five days.

It's a slow, low-temperature smoking that preserves the sheets to prevent the growth of mold.

After smoking, they clip out contaminants like bark or insects that have become imbedded in the rubber.

In many cases, they can't get it all.

They grade the rubber sheets by examining them against a bright light.

Sheets with fewer remaining contaminants receive a higher rating and will command a better price.

They stack the sheets according to the grade, and then it's into a hydraulic bailer.

It presses the stack of rubber sheets into cube form.

The dimensions of the cubes conform to international packaging regulations so they'll fit neatly into containers for shipping.

They spray the rubber cubes with a mix of calcium carbonate and solvent.

The mixture forms a film on the cubes that prevents mold and keeps them from sticking together during transport.

This rubber is now ready for the next factory and the next transformation.

It could become almost anything.


Ball Bearings
Electrical Wires
Lost Wax Process Casting
Automated Machines

Today on "how it's made"...

Ball bearings...

Electrical wires...

Lost wax casting...

And automated machines.

With all the high-tech hoopla these days, the lowly ball bearing gets forgotten.

But many machine parts need ball bearings to rotate.

They're in household appliances, industrial machines, and car engine parts such as alternators and fans.

This is what's called a deep groove radial ball bearing.

It has steel balls that move inside tracks called raceways.

The raceways are carved into a set of heavy-duty steel rings.

The balls are made of the same type of steel.

They first prepare to shape the rings to the right thickness.

They insert the inner ring into the outer ring.

The set then passes through a grinder that alters the width to the correct thickness.

A gauge checks the width of each ring as it exits.

Now they separate the inner and outer rings in order to grind their outer circumference on separate machines.

The outer ring enters the grinder, which shapes its outer surface to a precise roundness and diameter.

A water-based liquid keeps the ring from overheating, which would cause warping.

The ring exits the grinder through a gauge that checks the diameter.

Next, the outer ring's raceway goes for grinding.

Abrasive stone wheels with an oil coolant shape the surface to precisely the correct roundness and size.

The inner ring and raceway go through a similar machine.

Now the rings go for polishing.

An abrasive stone lubricated with oil polishes the steel surface until you can see a reflection.

Here's the before and after.

Next stop-- washing.

They coat the rings with thick oil and a fine stone grit.

They clean the raceways with kerosene.

Elsewhere in the plant, they classify the steel balls according to size.

These balls started out as steel wire.

A machine cut them into pieces and a die punched them into rough balls.

Those rough balls go into a grinder, which removes the bumps.

Then other machines round them out and give them a mirror finish.

This entire process takes a few days.

The balls go through a furnace to harden.

Then they get a bath in cleaning solvent.

After several quality checks, the finished balls go into hoppers.

The hoppers load onto the automatic assembly machine.

The ball feeder sends the balls through tubes to a ball pusher that feeds the correct quantity of balls into the raceways of the now-reassembled inner and outer rings.

A ball divider positions the balls evenly around the raceways.

Next comes the ball cage, a metal cage that retains the balls in position around the raceways.

The first machine installs half of the cage, the half with rivet holes.

The next machine carefully positions the other half of the cage, the half with rivets.

The machine test-spins the bearing, then rivets the two halves of the ball cage together.

The bearing is now fully assembled.

Now it goes into a solvent bath, then to a series of automated quality-control tests.

This noise-vibration tester makes sure the ball bearing operates quietly.

Some types of bearings are lubricated with grease.

A machine squirts grease evenly into the bearings' raceways, then inserts a rubber seal to contain the grease.

A final quality-control test-- an automated scale tosses out any bum bearings that aren't the required weight.

The good ones move on to the laser, which marks them with information such as the part number and the trademark.

What is genetically modified food?

Scientists manipulate the genes in crop seeds to increase yield or to make the crop more resistant to disease or insects.

There's a worldwide debate over whether this manipulation of nature poses a risk to our health or to the environment.

We're so used to them that we barely notice that electrical wires are all around us.

They're in aerial and underground cables running along our streets and to our homes.

They're behind our walls and inside our electrical appliances.

To make color-coded electrical wires, they use what's called rod, made of either solid copper or solid aluminum.

They feed the rod into a machine that draws it out through a series of lubricated pulleys and dies-- stretching, lengthening, and thinning it out...

And eventually winding it onto a large bobbin.

What was once a rod 4/10 of an inch in diameter is now just 8/100 of an inch, the width of about a dozen human hairs.

They load the bobbin onto what's called a stranding machine.

They cold-weld the end of one bobbin to another, guaranteeing an uninterrupted flow once they start up the machine.

At high speed, the stranding machine twists seven wires together, forming an electrical conductor, also called a bear conductor.

This is a low-voltage conductor-- under 1,000 volts-- the kind you find in the cables that run electricity to your home.

Bear conductors need to be insulated so the people handling them won't get an electric shock.

A plastic extrusion machine coats the conductor with polyethylene or pvc.

This insulates the conductor.

This is what the polyethylene looks like in its raw form.

As the conductor exits the machine with its new insulation, a precision laser gauges the diameter to make sure the insulation is uniform and the right dimension.

The extrusion process has heated up the conductor, so it has to be cooled down with water.

Sometimes two or more conductors are twisted together.

When that's the case, a printing machine applies a white stripe to identify which is which.

The client who's ordered the conductors specifies the colors of insulation.

It chooses them based on how it wants to color-code its electrical wiring.

Several conductors are often grouped together to form a cable.

The plant performs a voltage test, immersing the cables in water to make sure they don't short-circuit.

These medium-voltage cables can carry from 1,000 to 46,000 volts of electricity.

They're the type used for underground power lines.

They're insulated the same way low-voltage cables are.

The plant prints the date of manufacture, the voltage, and any other information the client has requested.

The cable goes onto a reel to be tested before it's shipped out to its destination.

In the middle of the cable, surrounded by copper grounding wires and a host of other components is the heart of the electrical cable-- the bear conductor.

Many machine parts are simply stamped or machined out of solid metal, but parts with complex shapes or thin walls can't be made that way.

They have to be cast using a technique called "lost wax process casting".

It takes anywhere from a week to a month to manufacture a cast-metal part, depending on its complexity.

The first step is to inject wax into an aluminum die, which is essentially a mold whose cavity is in the shape of the part.

This creates a wax model slightly larger than the finished part will be.

They'll use this wax model to make a mold out of a ceramic material.

The mold has to be larger than the finished part because metal shrinks as it cools.

Once the wax model is ready, they stamp on a code to tell the foundry workers what type of metal to use when they cast the part.

Next, using a hot iron, they attach wax components to create what's called a metal delivery system-- channels that will funnel the molten metal into the mold's cavity.

Next, they dip this wax assembly into a ceramic solution called "slurry".

They do this by hand to prevent imperfections that would cause defects in the casting.

To strengthen the slurry, they coat it in a fine zirconium sand, then let it dry.

A robot then keeps repeating the process with coarser sand until the ceramic shell surrounding the wax assembly is about 3/10 of an inch thick.

This takes five days.

Now the ceramic-covered wax assembly is ready for what they call the dewax.

Workers place it in a hot-steam chamber called an autoclave for 5 to 10 minutes.

This melts the wax right out of the shell, creating a ceramic mold whose cavity is in the shape of the part.

Once the mold has dried out, workers can begin to cast the part.

First they put the cold mold into an oven and heat it up for two to three hours.

This prevents the mold from cracking from shock when it comes into contact with molten metal that's close to 2,200 degrees fahrenheit.

They pour the metal into the mold's cavity, then let it cool and harden at room temperature.

It takes two hours for aluminum, four to five hours for steel.

Once the metal has cooled and solidified, they break off the ceramic mold using a vibrating hammer.

This takes about five minutes.

They saw off the metal delivery system...

Then grind the surface smooth.

The final step is to make sure the part came to the exact dimensions specified in the technical drawing.

This is called "sizing".

Steel parts have to be heated up in an oven for sizing.

Aluminum parts are sized cold.

Technicians use a series of tools and presses to measure the part.

If it doesn't meet specifications, it's either reworked or simply discarded.

They use sophisticated equipment such as this optical comparator to check the angles and radiuses and this coordinate measuring machine to verify dimensions.

Lost wax process casting is used to make metal parts for all types of machines and equipment, everything from military weapons to snowmobiles.

Since the industrial revolution, manufacturing has become increasingly automated.

It's about time "how it's made" paid tribute to that marvelous feat of engineering, the automated machine.

Until the 1780s, goods were made one by one in a home or workshop.

Then came the industrial revolution, the mass production of products in huge factories.

Industry's next revolution was automation, made possible by computer technology.

By the 1970s, two centuries after the start of the industrial revolution, robots began replacing humans on the production lines.


Mountain Bike Tires
Leaf and Debris Vacuums
Canned Meat
Fillet Knives

Mountain bike tires are true trailblazers, specifically designed for off-road riding.

Wider than regular road tires, mountain bike tires have raised knobs or lugs that add stability on uneven terrain.

Built to withstand the trail, these tires can handle it all.

When the rubber hits the dirt, it's all about control.

Mountain bike tires are designed to grip the ground and provide traction off-road.

First, designers use a computer model of a tire to simulate the effects of different rubber compounds.

Construction begins with rubber compounds being mixed together to create parts of the tire.

Ingredients include synthetic and natural rubbers, sulfur, and other chemicals.

Rotating spiral blades break down the materials.

Friction from the mixing heats and softens them.

This transforms the ingredients into a dough-like rubber compound.

Powerful rollers squeeze the compound into thick long sheets and blades cut the rolled rubber into narrow strips.

Then the rubber travels through more rollers that squeeze it down to the desired thickness.

The rubber sheets land on a cart, ready for use.

Technicians incase steel bead wire with one of these compounds.

The bead wire is the part of the tire that connects to the wheel's rim.

As steel wire travels through an aperture, the rubber is extruded to form the casing.

The machine delivers the bead wire to a spinning disk.

The disk winds the bead wire, shaping it into rings which fit to a wheel rim.

To maintain the diameter of the wire, the technician tapes the ends together, holding the shape until the next stage of production.

Next, rubber sheets with varying characteristics enter an extruder.

Using heat and pressure, the extruder forces the rubber through dies.

This process merges their characteristics into a single sheet.

The sheet will be used to make the bicycle's tread.

The tread rubber travels through a channel of cool water.

Meanwhile, rollers coat fabric with rubber to make plies for the tire casing.

A moving blade cuts it into strips.

This rubber is naturally tacky, so the pieces can be easily spliced.

The system feeds the strips to tire-building machine.

A skilled assembler wraps the strips to the machine drum to form the tire casing and splices the rubber where the ends meet.

Next, robots slide two wire beads around the casing.

The ends of the drum fold the sides of the casing over the bead wires.

The technician applies rubber-coated fabric to the bead wires, strengthening the area.

The tread rubber is placed in the center.

A roller applies pressure as the drum spins to wind the tread around the casing.

Then the ends are pressed together manually.

And one more turn of the drum secures the tread rubber to the casing.

Once vent holes have been cut in the rubber, it's over to an expanding mold, where the tire takes shape.

The technician inserts a rubber curing bladder to maintain the shape of the tire.

Then he places the mountain bike tires in curing molds.

These individual molds will steam-cook the tires under pressure to further shape them.

This process forms knobs and other protrusions on the tire surface that are designed to grip a rugged terrain.

Like a big waffle iron, this mold has cooked and formed the mountain bike tire.

The tire is then placed on a rack to cool.

Next, the bike tire undergoes a durability test while a computer measures rolling resistance.

That's the energy lost when the tire rotates and an indication of how easily the tire will roll.

This mountain bike tire is now cleared to travel off the beaten path.

A leaf and debris vacuum automatically collects all types of fallen debris.

Instead of spending hours raking, this device quickly does it all, making yard work easier than ever.

A leaf and debris vacuum is powered by a gas or diesel engine.

The engine spins an impeller, which creates the suction and also shreds the leaves.

The machine is comprised of about 100 different parts, all cut from 0.11-inch-thick sheets of steel using this computer-guided punch press.

This part is the rear flange for the impeller housing.

To make the side wall of the housing, called the wrap, a technician bends this steel strip with a pinch roller.

Another technician positions the wrap on the rear flange and tack welds them together.

The craftsman places the housing's front flange on top of the wrap, aligns its notches with the wrap's tabs, and tack welds the parts together.

He completes the housing with this rectangular piece.

The shredded leaves exit the housing through this opening.

Next, the parts are placed on a rotary welding table, and the tacked joints are welded together.

The fused seams ensure the housing is airtight.

A computer guides this fiber-optic laser cutter, slicing out the impeller blades from a sheet of abrasion-resistance steel.

This steel is four times thicker than the steel used for the body parts.

Each impeller has four blades with sharp edges that help shred the leaves.

The welder mounts the impeller components onto a fixture.

Each blade has alignment tabs which fit into notches on a backing plate.

After clamping each blade in position, he fuses them to the backing plate.

Next, he welds steel reinforcement straps between each of the four blades.

The straps add strength and stability, thereby increasing the life-span of the impeller.

The technician completes the assembly by bolting a compression hub to the center.

The hub holds the engine crankshaft together, which rotates the impeller.

Then he inserts a simulated crankshaft and tightens the compression hub.

He places the impeller on this machine to balance it.

Since the impeller can spin at a speed of more than 3,000 revolutions per minute, this step is critical for the machine to run smoothly.

To maintain stability, the welder adds beads of weld to the lighter side until the impeller balances.

Then he removes the simulated crankshaft.

Meanwhile an assembler mounts the 29-horsepower gas engine to the engine deck of the trailer frame.

The crankshaft pokes through a hole in the frame's faceplate.

He bolts the impeller housing, which has been painted, to the faceplate.

The technician installs the impeller on the crankshaft with a shear key.

Then he bolts a protective steel cover plate and attaches everything with a central bolt.

Next, he applies a brand decal on the housing's front cover...

And bolts the cover to the housing.

When ready for use, the debris chute, the hose, and the intake hose are attached to the front end.

As this demonstration shows, the impeller can shred leaves into particles small enough to be used as compost.

With so much on their plates, busy people rely on shortcuts to help prepare meals.

Nowadays, you can stock your pantry with cans of precooked meat so there's always something on hand to use in sandwiches, stews, stir-fries, and other tasty dishes.

This canned meat is meticulously hand produced by a craft cannery and made in small batches.

It contains no artificial ingredients or preservatives, just meat and sea salt.

When a shipment of meat arrives at the cannery, the quality control manager records its lot code for tracking purposes.

As a food-safety precaution, he confirms the temperature of the meat, which must come in between 0 to 39 degrees fahrenheit.

A skilled butcher then inspects the meat and trims off the excess fat.

If it's a large piece, the butcher slices it into smaller pieces so that it can pass through the dicing machine.

The dicer cuts the meat into one-inch cubes.

At the filling station, aluminum cans circulate around a rotating table.

As one worker shovels cubed meat onto the center of the table, others manually fill cans while simultaneously performing a quality inspection.

Workers will discard any cubes that are discolored or too fatty.

Next, technicians place a single cube of sea salt in each can filled with meat.

This is the only added ingredient.

At the next station, workers weigh each can individually and either add or remove meat to reach the required weight.

The filled cans now travel on a conveyer belt to the cook room.

There, they enter the pre-heater, which blasts them with steam for 20 seconds.

This expels air that's trapped between the cubes of meat.

Next, the cans move into the closing machine.

The machine compresses the meat to provide sufficient clearance at the top of the can.

This head space creates a vacuum on the can to draw out the remaining air.

Then a device attaches the lid by a process known as double seaming.

The process rolls the edges of the lid and can together, forming a rim that provides an airtight seal.

It's time to get cooking.

A worker lowers the cans into a commercial-sized pressure cooker.

Cooking under steam pressure produces the tenderizing effects of slow cooking in a fraction of the time.

The meat cooks in its own juices.

The cooking temperature varies depending on the type of meat and the can size.

When the meat is ready, the technician removes the cans and sets them aside for about an hour to cool and dry.

The cans are then moved to the packaging area.

As a worker loads the labeling machine, he inspects each can for dents or damaged seals.

One by one, the cans roll over a glue applicator, then a stack of labels, wrapping themselves and the top seal.

At the same time, the machine counts the number of cans.

After rolling off the labeling machine, the cans pass through an ink-jet printer which applies the best-used-by date.

That date is next to the lot code, which the closing machine printed while attaching the lid.

This can of meat has a five-year shelf life due to two crucial factors-- it is cooked properly, and the can's seal is airtight.

Have fish to fry?

If it's fresh and whole, a fillet knife will come in handy.

This is no ordinary kitchen knife, equipped with a thin, flexible blade and a sharp tip.

This design allows the user to move easily along the backbone and under the skin of the meat.

A fillet knife is a precision cutting tool.

It makes the work of removing bones and skin from fish possible.

Making a fillet knife starts with a sheet of thin and pliable stainless steel.

A computer-guided laser cuts the steel into blade blanks.

A craftsman clamps the blank in a fixture.

The fixture moves the blank across a grinding wheel, beveling it from the spine to the cutting edge on both sides.

Then sanding belts are used to shape the blade blank.

A craftsman rounds the spine of the blank using a rough-grit sanding belt, eventually graduating to a finer one.

With a rounder spine, the blade will be safer to handle.

At the next station, a craftsman drills a hole into a solid block of composite material that contains resin.

The material is cut into smaller chunks.

Each one will be formed into a handle end cap or pommel.

The center hole will house the tang.

He slices other pieces of the material almost wafer thin.

They'll become spacers for the handle's other end.

These compound parts will support the center material for the cork handle.

The craftsman stacks the parts of the handle on a stand.

He brushes waterproof glue onto the spacer and slides eight pieces of cork onto the prong.

He applies glue between each one.

He places the pommel piece on the end.

Since cork is buoyant, if the knife is dropped in water, it will float and can be easily retrieved.

Once the glue dries, the handles are transferred, two at a time, to a fixture.

The fixture moves back and forth as a rotor rounds the spacer, carving the cork and the pommel.

At the next station, a worker places one of the fillet knife blades in a rubber holder.

He clamps the holder in a fixture, stabilizing the blade for the installation of the bolster.

The bolster is the steel ring that acts as a transition piece between the blade and handle.

Then the craftsman applies glue to the composite spacer on the handle.

He slides the handle onto the tang of the knife.

He inserts a hexagonal nut into the hole and the pommel as well as some epoxy.

He screws the nut onto the tang, securing the blade to the handle.

The epoxy provides reinforcement.

The craftsman unclamps the knife and works on shaping the handle.

He sculpts it with rough-grit sandpaper.

He angles the outside of the pommel, making it smoother and more attractive.

Switching to a finer abrasive, he sands the cork to blend the layers together so they appear to be one uniform piece.

Next, a worker drills into the pommel to widen and slope the opening.

He pipes more epoxy into the recess.

He inserts a snap that will be used to retain the knife in a sheath and drives it further into the recess using a press.

Once the epoxy cures, he submerges the knives into water.

This step is a test to confirm the knives can float.

After the handle dries, the knife undergoes a final sanding for the user's gripping comfort.

You can see the difference the sanding makes in the knife on the right.

Next, the craftsman works on the fillet knife's cutting edge, sharpening it against a sanding belt.

The blade slices a sheet of paper cleanly without snagging, proving that it's been well-honed.

Finally, another worker cleans and lubricates the fillet knife.

She slides it into a leather sheath and snaps the tab of the sheath to the end of the pommel.

With all the work that's gone into this fillet knife, the customer will be in for one tasty, well-cut meal.


An innerspring mattress is made with steel-wire springs to support a person's body weight.

The quality of the mattress is usually determined by the thickness of the steel wire, the number of springs, and how the springs are configured and linked to form the inner support system.

Most of this innerspring mattress is crafted by hand.

The material in between the springs contains multiple layers of batting made from a blend of polyester fiber and organic cotton fiber.

Cotton allows the batting to be breathable, so the mattress won't trap body heat.

Polyester prevents the cotton from matting, so the batting doesn't flatten over time.

This machine feeds both materials to a carding machine.

At the first station, rollers and cylinders with metal teeth open and comb out the fibers.

Next, the blended poly cotton is formed into a thin, fluffy sheet.

The next station layers the sheet.

Rollers compress the layers to form a thicker sheet about 2 3/4 inches high.

The machine cuts the sheet to the width and length of the specified mattress.

A technician places the finished bat on a scale to ensure it hits the target weight.

He piles 18 bats on a cart, which is how many are required for just one mattress.

Meanwhile, another technician builds the mattress's support structure, known as the innerspring unit.

A coiling machine pulls spring-steel wire off a spool, then winds and cuts it into coils.

The top and the bottom of each coil are crimped, creating inter-connection areas.

A technician inserts spring-steel wire into a lacing machine and places a row of coils on a table.

As the machine advances, the helical wire catches the coils at the points where they're crimped, lacing them together.

The process is repeated until the spring structure is the size of the mattress.

The perimeter of the mattress is framed with more helical wire.

He fabric surface of a mattress is known as the ticking.

A seamstress marks the required dimensions on a stack of cotton fabric.

Using a rotary cutting blade, she cuts the ticking fabric along the marked dimensions.

A sewer hems the edges of all three panels.

This step will strengthen the connected seams.

He also sews on the labels listing the product and safety information.

The side wall consists of four layers-- the ticking, two types of bats, and a backing fabric.

A seamstress pulls the layers through a stamping machine, which fastens the layers together with a pair of brass eyelets every 2 3/4 inches.

Using another stamping machine, she attaches cord handles with large brass grommets.

The handles make it easier to flip and rotate the mattress to ensure even wear.

Another technician covers the innerspring unit with a lightweight fabric and pads the corners with batting to prevent indentation.

He attaches the fabric backing of the side wall to the wire perimeter of the innerspring unit with hog-ring staples.

He tops this side of the mattress with nine bats, equivalent to 27.5 inches of padding.

He trims each bat by hand, gradually narrowing the layers as he works his way downward, creating a tapered shape.

Then a polyester fabric layer is added for comfort, and a non-woven flame-resistant barrier fabric layer on top.

The ticking is put into position, and the excess filling is trimmed.

The technician pulls the ticking and pins it to the top of the side wall.

He flips the mattress and repeats the process on the other side.

Using an industrial sewing machine, he sews the top and bottom tickings to the side wall with edge tape.

Woven cotton ticking is more durable than knitted cotton.

Finally, the automated machine tufts the mattress and inserts a woven band through the middle, locking each tuft in place with a pom-pom on both sides.

This prevents the materials inside from shifting and sets the level of firmness.

Stand-up paddling has become a popular sport, but paddleboards have been around for over 3,000 years.

Contemporary boards rely on modern materials to make light and reliable paddleboards suited for leisure as well as for competition.

This paddleboard is made with vinyl-ester resin and laminated fiberglass.

It's equipped with an onboard lighting system, an anchor, and a neoprene rubber non-slip pad.

In the gel-coating room, a technician wipes a release agent on the paddleboard mold to make the surface smooth and clean.

Another technician positions the fin channel on the mold using a thin fiberglass template as a guide.

He uses an airless pumping system to spray the mold with a vinyl-ester gel coating mixed with hardener.

He takes a mil gauge to make sure the hull thickness is even.

A technician prepares to make the first structural layer of the hull, using a 3/4-ounce bi-directional fiberglass mat.

First, he pulls out a panel of fiberglass and covers the gel-coated surface.

Using fabric scissors, he cuts the mat and makes the fiberglass skin as tight as possible.

He tears the mat to conform it to the rounded shape of the gel coat and fits the mat to the edge of the hull.

He applies vinyl-ester resin with a paint roller.

The resin saturates the fiberglass, which merges with the gel coating.

Extra material is placed over the fin channel to strength the structural bond between the channel and the hull.

Then the technician uses a bubble roller to push out air bubbles.

He applies a second coat of fiberglass to reinforce the structural integrity of the board.

In the assembly room, another technician fits a template on the board deck and traces the contours of the hand-grab mount with a pencil.

He uses an air saw to cut out a slot in the fiberglass laminate to fit the hand-grab mount.

He binds the hand-grab mount to the hull with a coat of vinyl-ester resin.

Within about 20 minutes, the laminate hardens.

Next, plastic tubing for the internal anchoring system is installed.

A technician applies a bonding adhesive to the tube, securing it in place.

He attaches the tube with tie wraps so it doesn't get tangled inside the hull.

He installs a jam cleat for the rope that will allow the paddler to manually control the anchor from the deck.

The hull's cured vinyl-ester resin is now firmly bonded to the structural laminate.

The assembler applies expanding adhesive and positions an expanded polypropylene foam stringer inside the hull.

The foam stringers are the backbone of the board.

They support the weight of the paddler on the deck while keeping the board as light as possible.

Using a nylon wedge and a rubber mallet, the assembler removes the mold from the hull.

Since the hull is so lightweight, two assemblers can lift and flip it on to a cart.

An assembler trims off the excess laminate using an air cutter fitted with a diamond cutting blade.

He levels the foam stringers with a file blade, ensuring the tightest possible fit between the hull and deck.

He applies expanding foam adhesive on the stringers before he places the deck on the foam with the help of a co-worker.

The adhesive quickly binds the parts together.

The vinyl rub rail designed as a side protection masks the joint between the deck and the hull.

The hull contains a dry storage hatch where the onboard battery is housed.

The 8 amp hour battery can activate the power pull, a microanchor designed for shallow waters.

In deeper waters, a paddler can manually activate the internal anchor system with a 16-foot nylon cord.

Finally, this board is ready to hit the water.

Invented in 1901 by a british engineer, the vacuum cleaner was considered a game changer.

The original versions were made substantially heavier than the vacuums built today.

In fact, they were so large, they had to be pulled by horses to get from building to building.

Through the magic of suctioning power, a vacuum cleaner can make dirt disappear almost instantly, really improving personal space.

Production starts with the electric motor that powers the suctioning fan.

A machine picks up a rotor and transfers it to an imaging system.

Using a camera and laser, the machine measures the part and confirms that it's to specification.

Next, an automated system attaches plastic discs on to both sides of the part.

These plastic discs will serve as electrical insulators.

A computerized camera confirms the discs have been correctly placed.

A carrier transfers the rotor to the next station.

Here, a rotary copper switch is placed on to the shaft.

The switch is called a commutator.

Its role is to periodically reverse the electrical current as it flows through the motor, allowing the motor to operate more efficiently.

The next robot places the rotor in a device that winds thin copper wire around the part hundreds of times.

These windings will be used to create a rotating magnetic field in the motor.

A welder joins the commutator to the copper windings using small hooks.

This step establishes a connection.

A machine slides a slatted plastic cover over the rotor.

The slats fit in the rotor grooves.

The cover reduces the noise the rotor makes as it revolves at high speeds.

Spouts drip synthetic resin on to the copper windings.

As it hardens, the resin stabilizes the windings, ensuring there are no loose wires.

A computerized cutting tool shaves off a small amount of the commutator, making it round and smooth.

A robot then deposits the rotor on looped belts.

The belts spin the rotor, and sensors detect vibrations that indicate any imbalance.

If an imbalance is found, the system sends the rotor over to a tool that removes material until the part is balanced.

Then it's over to another testing machine.

This one probes the copper windings to detect failures using a complex measuring system.

A mechanized system installs a substantial bearing on one end of the shaft.

A robot retrieves it, flips it, and the system attaches a bearing to the other end.

The motor housing with the stator moves into position.

A machine places the rotor in the center of the stator.

All the work on this vacuum cleaner motor has been done by machines.

Now a technician installs a carbon brush that will make electrical contact with the rotor.

A diffuser shield is placed on the housing.

Meanwhile, the computer system screws the diffuser to the motor assembly.

A small metal spacer is deposited on the protruding rotor shaft.

A robotic arm places the lower fan impeller plate over the shaft.

The mechanized system screws the assembly together, and then the upper part is installed with the suctioning fan blades.

A machine spins the fan to test it for any imbalances.

Then a cutting tool removes material to calibrate the fan assembly.

A steel cover is flipped into position by a platform which elevates the fan and motor assembly.

Stay tuned.

There's more dirt on how the rest of the vacuum cleaner comes together.

While the vacuum cleaner may alarm your pet, to an enthusiastic cleaner, this is an awesome machine.

Not only does it remove the dirt you can see, it suctions up fine particles that aren't visible, leaving your home even cleaner than it looks.

Inside every vacuum cleaner, there's a high-speed suctioning fan.

Machines test the fan for quality control.

A conveyor delivers the fan to a completely mechanized system that evaluates the interaction between the carbon brush and the rotor.

This final inspection ensures the vacuum fan is balanced and fully operational.

A technician applies a rubber seal to the rim of the vacuum's lower housing.

He inserts the power-supply reel in a hollowed-out compartment.

The fan is installed and connected to the power-supply reel.

He snaps the back panel to the lower housing.

The power-supply cable is plugged in for a later check.

The next component assembled is the control panel.

A technician screws the control panel to a mounting plate.

A rubber bumper is placed along the edge of the cover frame.

The cover frame is then transferred to the vacuum.

A dust bag is attached to a bracket that straddles the frame.

At the next station, a robotic system stabilizes the assembly and attaches the frame to the housing.

Then the vacuum cleaner is released from the machine, and the carrier takes it forward for an inspection.

An inspector installs foot switches for the power cord and for machine activation.

He tucks a filter into its slot.

The cover panel now arrives via conveyor.

The technician snaps it into place on the cover frame.

He installs a hinged access panel, which houses the suction tools until needed.

This is the final step to complete the assembly of this vacuum cleaner.

Another kind of vacuum cleaner uses easy-to-empty plastic canisters for dirt collection.

It uses a substantial filter to separate dirt from the air.

Suctioned air and dirt spin within this canister.

Larger dirt particles fall to the bottom, while finer particles become embedded in the filter.

A technician installs the filter canister in the vacuum-cleaner housing and inserts a nozzle accessory in a slot.

Down the line, another worker installs a top plate.

Next, a clear plastic interceptor is installed, which collects the majority of the dirt.

The technician apples a plastic bumper to the back of the vacuum.

With the assembly complete, this bagless vacuum cleaner heads towards the inspection station.

Both kinds of vacuum cleaners undergo final testing.

A robot plugs the opening for the hose, turns the power on, and tests every function while a computer measures its performance.

Cleared for retail, the robot removes the hose.

The vacuum cleaner heads toward the packaging line.

A robot lifts and carries the vacuum cleaner, stopping above a vacuum cleaner that's already on the conveyor.

The vacuum on the conveyor moves forward, and sensors signal the robot to set the second vacuum down.

The vacuum cleaner moves along the conveyor belt into a sheet of plastic wrap, which envelops the product.

Heated knives cut and seal the ends in one action.

This protects it from superficial scratches during transport.

A technician uses molded pieces of foam to slide the vacuum into a cardboard box.

The foam pieces remain in the box to stabilize the vacuum during transport.

Equipped with either a bag or a plastic receptacle, the technology is all up to the consumer's preference.

Regardless of the model, each type of vacuum can make dust bunnies stuck in the corners of rooms and under beds vanish before your eyes.


Graphite Pencil Leads
Clarinets
Special Effects

Despite the name "lead," the core of a pencil isn't actually made of lead.

It's made primarily of graphite, a form of carbon that's very abundant in the earth's crust.

To produce pencil leads, they combine graphite powder with water and clay.

The higher the ratio of clay, the harder the lead.

Quality graphite pencil leads don't break easily and glide smoothly on the page.

Graphite is mined from both open-pit mines and shaft mines, like this one in germany.

Miners use hammer drills to bore holes for explosives.

The chunks of ore must contain at least 30% graphite to make the area financially viable for mining.

At the surface, a crusher breaks the ore into small pieces.

Then, adding water and oil, they pulverize it in a rotating mill.

This ore soup then flows into a system that separates the graphite from the impurities.

The graphite particles cling to the air bubbles and float to the surface.

Skimmers send this layer of graphite foam back into the mill.

5 cycles later, the graphite concentration is 96%.

However, it's soaking wet, so it has to go into a dryer.

After spinning around at 572 degrees fahrenheit for about 30 seconds, the graphite becomes a completely dry, fine powder.

Mined and processed, it's ready to be shipped to the pencil factory.

To make pencil leads, the factory combines graphite powder with clay and water.

During the 35-minute mixing cycle, it's critical to control the blending speed, pressure, temperature, and moisture level.

This produces homogenous granules-- the key to ensuring that all the leads will be uniform in quality.

The granules go into a hydraulic press, which shapes them into a cylindrical block.

Workers then wrap the block in film to prevent drying out and set it aside for a week to cure.

They load each cured block into a hydraulic press, which pushes it through a forming die, producing one long, continuous lead.

Different dies give different-sized leads.

The next machine then cuts the continuous lead into pencil lengths.

The leads are the right thickness and length, but they're soft and pliable because they still contain water from the mixing process.

Workers load the leads into a rotary dryer at 320 degrees fahrenheit.

12 hours later, the leads exit the dryer straight, but not quite strong enough, so next they go into a kiln for 10 hours at more than 1,800 degrees fahrenheit.

This firing transforms the clay that's mixed with the graphite, strengthening the leads to their final hardness.

Finally, a 12-hour bath in a mixture of high-quality waxes.

The waxes fill the pores in the leads, leaving them with a surface that glides smoothly across paper.

Throughout the production process, the factory puts samples through quality-control testing to check hardness, break resistance, diameter, and, of course, writing quality.

This company produces three different qualities of graphite leads in 16 different hardness levels, plus a full array of colored leads made similarly, but with pigment powders and waxes rather than graphite.

When the clarinetist blows into the instrument, a reed in the mouthpiece vibrates, creating sound.

To turn that basic sound into different notes, the player manipulates the length of the air column inside the instrument by opening and closing different tone holes.

The standard clarinet has 24 tone holes.

The musician covers some with his fingers, the rest by pressing keys.

Those keys are made of nickel silver or, sometimes, brass.

They inject hot wax into a plaster mold of a specific key.

Then, using hot wax, they attach several models of the same key onto a stem.

They put this tree, as it's called, into a cylinder, then into a mold-making machine, which fills the space around the tree with a silica-based ceramic material.

When the ceramic hardens, they melt out the way through an exit hole at the bottom, leaving behind a tree-shaped cavity.

Now they transfer the mold to a casting machine and load nickel silver into a miniature furnace.

The metal melts and fills the entire cavity.

To cool and solidify the casting, they submerge the mold in lukewarm water.

The metal contracts as its temperature drops, loosening from the mold.

They extract the tree and remove the keys.

Then they grind off the little stub left on each key.

Next the keys go into a tumbler filled with synthetic stones.

The stones polish the keys, preparing their surface for silver plating.

Silver doesn't adhere directly to nickel silver, so they plate the keys in copper first.

For each layer, they submerge the keys in a chemical solution, then apply a negative electric charge while running a positive charge to pieces of the plating metal.

Like a magnet, this draws particles of the plating metal onto the keys, forming a thin overall coat.

A clarinet's two-part body is typically made of wood or, like these, plastic resin.

A computer-guided drill bores 24 tone holes and 40 smaller holes for the posts, which support the key mechanisms.

A sonic welding machine presses each post into its respective hole while zapping it with a high-frequency sound wave to melt the plastic around the base.

This anchors the post securely.

The next machine reams a hole through the head of each post for the rods that operate the keys.

They wrap natural cork around the connecting ends of the body, then illuminate the interior for a quality-control inspection.

It's time for the final assembly.

They lubricate all the moving parts, then install the 17 keys onto their mechanisms.

Each key has a foam pad to prevent air from leaking out when the hole's covered.

They use a strip of foil to test whether the seal is tight enough.

With both body sections of the instrument finished, a musician assembles them and checks that each and every key moves fluidly.

Then, after attaching the bell and the mouthpiece, she conducts a sound-quality test, performing a set of musical exercises.

The clarinet now goes to the packing department where the packager gently removes fingerprints, lint, and lubricant residue, then lays the instrument parts in a velvet-lined case.

It's a fitting finale to the making of an instrument that looks as good as it sounds.

Special effects in animated films breathe life into characters and scenes that are completely imaginary.

It usually takes a mix of different effects to give the fantasy a realistic texture.

From miniature-scale models to computer-generated imagery, it's all about the big picture.

3-d animation and photographic tricks make this miniature village loom large on the big screen.

It all starts at the drawing board.

An artist sketches the various components of the fantasy village.

Once he gets it down on paper, the rest of the crew can build it.

Using one of the sketches as a reference, a sculptor carves foam into sections of a roof, and he glues the pieces together.

This foam roof will then be used to make a mold.

The mold maker builds a box around the roof, which is now gray-colored due to the application of a nonstick substance.

He pours liquid silicon rubber onto the foam roof in the box.

After 12 hours, they pull apart the box and remove the foam to reveal the mold.

This mold will be used to cast multiple roof parts for the mini film set.

They mix a two-part urethane solution and pour it into the mold.

A chemical reaction causes the urethane to solidify, and as it does, it takes the shape of the mold with all the details.

After half an hour, he extracts the cured urethane from the mold.

It's a perfect copy of the original roof carving.

They mold various roofs for visual interest.

The crew then paints all the molded parts of the mini village set in colors that are true to life.

The palette has been selected beforehand, but if it doesn't look right to the eye, adjustments can be made.

For larger-scale structures, a technician arranges reflective dots in a grid pattern.

These dots serve as reference points to laser-scan the image of the house into a computer.

The technician transfers the image a section at a time.

Once the image has been loaded into the computer, animators can really play around with it.

They can insert digital characters or impose a digital image over a filmed one to cast a shadow.

Meanwhile, another member of the crew plants molded trees onto hills of plastic and shapes the landscape of the set.

The trees and vegetation are very small-scale because the landscape will be in the background.

In the world of digital animation, clumps of moss can mimic shrubs, and a hot-glue gun is an indispensable tool.

Once buildings have been inserted in the set, the crew brings up the lights and checks the effect.

They add props, and, sometimes, take others away to improve the look of each scene.

Technicians tweak the lighting, which can add visual depth and credibility to any scene, but it's even more critical with a small-scale vista.

Little rectangular mirrors attached to the lights allow for minute adjustments.

The director of photography operates the camera remotely.

Adjustments to the shot's frame or depth of field can trick the eye and make miniatures seem much larger.

The computer records the camera movements so they can be repeated at any time.

Later, water will be digitally added to this riverbed.

Coming up next, animated characters enter the scene with the help of computer-generated tricks.

Today, virtual beings are a hollywood phenomenon.

Computer effects have rocketed 3-d animated characters into superstardom, but even for digital creatures, fame doesn't come easy.

It takes years of work and a large crew of skilled professionals to make them look good on the big screen.

It all starts with a good, old-fashioned sketch pad.

Once the character is defined on paper, the artist sculpts him with clay.

Then the high-tech wizardry begins as they laser-scan the 3-d character from all angles and load the image into the computer.

Once he's been captured, the computer artist wraps the character in a digital wire frame.

He manipulates the wire mesh to make the character move and breathe.

After he creates a dozen or more facial expressions, this machine makes hard copies of those many faces.

It repeatedly deposits layers of plastic to build up a physical version of the image.

They insert eyes in the sockets, then give these washed-out plastic faces some color.

An artist paints each one of the faces along the same lines.

Continuity is critical because the faces will be filmed and the images edited together to create the illusion of movement.

It's a traditional animation technique called stop-motion, and these plastic models are called puppets.

Next a seamstress builds a suit of clothes for one of the puppets.

He has to look great because he'll be used to promote the character to merchandisers who might market him as a toy.

They scan the fabric and wrap it around the digital character to give him the same outfit, then add creases for a more realistic texture.

The crew lights the mini set for one of the character's big scenes and plans the camera moves.

It's a kind of dress rehearsal.

One of the puppets acts as a stand-in for the animated character.

They move him around in a process called rough placement.

It's a critical step which ensures that everyone is in sync-- cinematographers, lighting artists, and animators.

Seeing the puppet in the room will help animators place his digital counterpart in the various visuals.

They literally cover all the angles and leave nothing to chance.

Now the physical merges with the virtual in a special-effects trick called human motion capture.

A man walks around in a special suit covered with reflective dots.

The computer recognizes the dots to transfer the man's movements to a version of the digital character instantaneously.

The computer artist uses those captured movements to manipulate the character and insert him into the scene.

The effect is one of a digital character who moves just like a human being.

They layer digitized images of the set and blend them seamlessly into a single image.

This digital layering is called compositing.

It allows animators to accurately place the character in the scene.

The blend of high-tech special effects with traditional animation techniques gives the best of both worlds.

Combined, all these special-effects tricks can generate 3-d characters with star quality.

They are virtual puppets, and the animators are the puppeteers.

And on the big screen, the fantasy has never looked so real.


Cine Cameras
Glass Christmas Ornaments
Giant Tires

A cinecamera is the type of camera they use for making motion pictures.

It captures what it shoots on 16- or 35-millimeter film.

Running like a well-oiled machine, its intricate components work with ultimate precision, all inside a powerful marvel of technology and craftsmanship.

The internal mechanics and electronics of a cinecamera perform an impressive choreography to capture images.

To make the main housing, a computer-controlled milling machine cuts precise spaces in a block of aluminum.

Then a probe scans it so a computer can verify the shape meets engineering specifications.

Next, a variety of computer-guided drills and cutters shape the film gate-- the component that holds the film for exposure.

A grinding wheel completes this highly precise task.

They buff the film gate on a rotating drum, infused with diamond powder and a polishing compound.

Next, workers apply glue to the film guide, which pushes the film into the film gate.

Then they put glue on the film movement, mate the guide and movement, then drive in screws to secure the bond.

These two registration pins hold the film in place.

Now for the pulldown claws.

Workers mount these aluminum devices inside the film movement--  one on each side.

They move forward and downward as the registration pins retract, dragging the film along the guide.

As the claws pull the film down, the pins enter.

This exposure repeats at a rate of 150 frames per second.

Next, workers screw on a cover to protect the movement's fragile parts.

Another cover fits on the other side.

Workers then test each of the buttons.

Now they attach the camera's drive shaft.

The motor drives the movement using a toothed belt.

A mechanics test comes next to ensure the claws and pins perform with precision.

This part of the camera is the shutter.

It sits between the film and lens.

Workers mount a mirror over half the shutter.

The mirror reflects the image into the viewfinder when it rotates in behind the lens.

A dab of special cleaning fluid yields a pristine surface.

Any dirt on the mirror would create a fuzzy image.

The protective cover plates will shield existing openings.

Here the shutter and mirror spin in unison.

In this model, the shutter is electronic, so it requires a tiny microchip and electrical wires with plugs on the ends.

Technicians scrutinize the parts and connections.

Then they test the electronics again to ensure everything is working, starting with the shutter.

With all the internal components complete, it's time to install them in the camera's housing.

The film gate we saw earlier snaps into position.

Next, technicians carefully mount the film guide behind the film, then fasten it tightly.

Last but not least, the shutter gently slides into position.

They close up one side of the housing with the cover to protect the circuit board inside.

Workers then lay an accessory controller gently into the camera's side cover.

It takes tweezers and a steady hand to insert this focusing screen through the lens mount at the front of the housing.

Finally, the lens takes its place front and center.

With the camera structure now complete, workers attach a magazine containing the film.

A little nudge here and there leads the film down the right path.

The movement swings forward to allow the film to run its course.

With the touch of a button, the film successfully races through a mechanical maze.

This camera excels at high-speed and special effects.

All it needs now is some action.

It's hard to beat the glitter and glow of glass christmas ornaments.

For many people, the christmas tree just wouldn't be the same without them.

They were invented in the 19th century by a german glassmaker who decided to improvise because he couldn't afford to decorate his tree with the usual nuts and candy.

They're christmas eye candy.

Today's glass ornaments are a visual treat.

To make some of the ornaments, they start with a sketch and make a plaster model of it.

They use it to create a two-part metal mold.

They take a glass cylinder and fire its wider end so it softens.

The glassmaker blows into the pipe end to stretch the supple glass into the basic shape of a bauble ornament.

Other glass tubes are more bulbous at the center, and that's the section that's fired as the glassmaker blows it into a more elongated bubble.

He places that bubble in the mold and blows extra hard.

The glass expands into its crevices and takes its shape--  a snowman.

He burns off one of the blowpipe ends and then aims the torch at the snowman's nose to pull it out.

A quick cooldown could shatter this ornament, so he gradually lowers its temperature with a less-intense flame.

Blowing and molding glass figurines is quick work.

The glassmaker has just a few seconds to complete the job before the glass becomes too cool and stiff to shape.

The ornaments now head down the line to get some shine.

This will be an inside job.

The glassmaker pours silvering solution into the baubles through the stem.

She then dips the bauble in warm water.

This activates the silvering chemicals, and shaking the ornament accelerates this process.

She swirls the silvering liquid around to completely coat the inside of the ornament.

A final dip gives this bauble a mirror finish from the inside out.

She empties the silvering solution into another tank for recycling.

They also use this technique on the figurines, like the snowman.

A quick shake gives this guy an inner beauty.

Next, they submerge the glass ornament in lacquer to give it some color.

The mirror finish inside shines through the lacquer.

Now the snowman ornament gets an artist's touch.

She airbrushes white lacquer onto the figurine for a frosty finish.

It makes the snowman look more like old frosty.

The artist paints some of the details by hand, like the trim on the hat and robe of this santa ornament.

This gives it more visual depth.

Once the paint dries, she brushes glue onto sections where she wants glitter dust to stick.

The glue dries quickly, so the artist applies more.

When it comes to christmas sparkle, you just can't get enough.

Next, she makes an incision in the stem and snaps it off.

A metal cap fits on the ornament stub.

Time to pack up these fragile beauties very carefully.

They put them in boxes that cradle each one individually to ensure they arrive safely.

Now these glass ornaments are ready to go "out on a limb" to add beauty to the holidays.

Tires for construction and mining equipment are truly giant-sized.

They can be twice the height of a human being and weigh thousands of pounds.

These giant tires also come with a hefty price tag.

Just one can cost more than an average family sedan.

Giant tires are made to carry heavy loads in conditions that are seriously off-road, like mining and construction sites.

To make giant tires, they feed rubber into a powerful mixer.

They add sulfur and antioxidants to boost the rubber's durability, as well as recycle pieces of used tires.

At the top of the mixer, they add carbon black in measured amounts.

It's an oil by-product that helps bind everything together.

The mixing generates heat, which softens the rubber, making it doughy.

The rubber dough then falls between rollers that squeeze it into a sheet.

The process is called milling.

They slice the sheeted rubber and feed it back into the machine several times.

This repeated milling essentially kneads the rubber to give it the right consistency.

Once the rubber has been sufficiently processed, they feed it to a conveyor.

A wheel rolls over the rubber to impress the date and identification number onto it.

The rubber then winds through a tank of soapy water.

As it exits, it falls over hangers that move it through a dryer.

A soapy residue remains, keeping the layers from sticking together as they await more processing.

They write the i.d. number on a sample of the rubber and tag the production run with the same number.

This signifies that testing is under way.

They tuck the test sample in a canister and send it up a chute to the lab.

Once it's confirmed the rubber has the right characteristics, it's ready to be made into the various components of a giant tire.

At the next station, dozens of steel cords unwind into a machine.

Each cord is made of numerous steel threads, and each thread is brass-plated.

These steel cords will be used to fortify the processed rubber.

The cords enter a machine called an extruder.

It grinds and heats some of the processed rubber and then forces it around the steel cords to encase them.

The result is what's known as steel-belted rubber.

They cut several of the steel-belted strips on an angle and fuse them together.

This exposes steel cord around the edges, so hot rollers seal them with rubber.

The steel-belted rubber will make the tires more resistant to punctures.

But they make the tires' basic structure from rubber-coated nylon cord.

They cut the nylon-rubber ply to a specific length.

Workers then piece several of these sheets together to form a loop.

The pieces adhere because uncured rubber is naturally tacky.

And a machine rolls the loop to the correct size.

They layer more of the nylon-rubber ply in a crisscross fashion to add strength.

The machine that helps size the loop also applies a thin layer of ordinary rubber between each crisscrossed layer.

This thickens the rubber loop.

The finished loop is called the band.

It's the skeleton of the giant tire.

They hoist it onto a cart and move it to the next station.

Stay tuned, as they shape and inflate this band of rubber to turn it into a giant tire.

When it comes to tires, it takes time to supersize.

Making a giant tire can take 24 hours or more, mainly because the rubber needs a lot of curing.

It's not mass production.

It's massiveproduction.

As a result, factories only produce a few of the largest ones a day.

This machine is about to stretch the big band of rubber like an elastic.

The machine pivots, and its many rollers expand and turn to transfer the band to a spinning drum.

The machine pumps air around the protruding rollers to make the transfer easier, while the drum turns at a constant speed to aid the process.

Once the transfer is complete, the rollers retract, and the air escapes.

This causes the rubber to shrink to the drum and take its shape.

They fold the overlap into the center of the drum.

The giant rubber band now has the basic contour of a tire.

Next, another machine coats numerous steel wires with rubber, creating strips of rubberized steel.

This will be used to make the bead-- the part of the tire that sits on the wheel rim.

They wind the rubberized steel around a metal wheel up to 20 times to form the bead.

They remove the bead and inspect it.

Then they pack a thick layer of rubber onto it so it will be easier to shape to the tire.

Using a special applicator wheel, they push the bead against the lip of the rubber tire shape.

The bead adheres, but it needs to be more solidly attached.

A spinning disk forces the bead more firmly to the rubber tire shape.

Then the tire assembler folds back the extra rubber from the tire and wraps it around the bead, using sheer physical strength.

They install two or three beads on each side of the tire.

The multiroller device takes over from the assembler and folds back extra rubber to lock the beads in place.

Next, the tire turns as they wind steel-belted rubber around it, followed by a continuous strip of ordinary rubber.

That strip builds up contours for tread.

The assembler then wraps a thick piece of ordinary rubber around the outer edge.

This is the tire's sidewall.

The spinning-disc device presses the sidewall to the tire.

This tire is now ready to move on.

Here, a huge rubber bladder inflates and deflates as they spray it with a nonstick coating.

This bladder will act as the inner part of a mold.

They lift the tire onto the deflated bladder.

They then pump steam into it, expanding the tire.

A metal mold with a tread pattern engraved in it closes around the swelling tire.

The tire cooks in this mold for up to 18 hours, causing the rubber to cure.

The giant tire pops out of the mold with tread.

The brand name and identification numbers have all been molded into the rubber.

After cooling, an inspection team examines the giant tire inside and out.

And once it gets the okay, it's ready to roll.

And with all that deep tread, each giant tire is guaranteed to make a big impression on the jobsite.