25x08 - Zip Line Brakes, Silk Fibre Lamps, Round Balers, Comfort Shoes

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: Many thrill seekers
find zip lines exhilarating.

But without
the proper braking system,

they can quickly
become terrifying.

Magnetic brakes are hands free
and engage automatically.

So there's no need to panic.

Just hang on, enjoy the ride,

and let the brake
take care of the landing.

In early human history,
zip lines were used

to transfer supplies
across dangerous terrain.

Today, zip lines
are popular with tourists

and adrenaline junkies
all over the world.

As the rider approaches
the landing, the brake engages

using magnets that induce eddy
currents instead of friction.

This creates enough drag
to stop the ride.

To make a zip line brake,
they start with a drum.

It's made of zinc coated steel
to prevent rust.

A worker sends off the zinc
so they can add the magnets.

He hammers locating pins
into the metal.

He applies adhesive
to the sanded areas,

then places magnets
onto the adhesive.

He uses steel pins as a guide.

As the adhesive cures,
the magnets bond to the metal.

Next, he applies a bonding agent
to a shaft bearing

and inserts it
into the hole in the center.

Using a hydraulic press,

he drives the bearing
further into the hole.

These rotor arms
will spin in the magnetic field

to create the braking force.

A worker fits gears
into two plates

and bolts the plates to
each side of the rotor assembly.

He tests the rotor arms
and slides the rotor gears

onto the shaft already installed
in the brake drum.

He opens the rotors
and spins them.

He adds a ring of magnets

to surround the rotors
in a magnetic field.

Satisfied with the fit,

he removes the rotor assembly
from the drum temporarily

and clips springs to the rotor.

These reaction springs
will cushion the braking action.

Now a worker reinstalls the
rotor device in the brake drum.

He places the magnetic ring
back on top.

The strong magnetic attraction
secures it to the assembly.

The next part is a large ring
with more gears inside it.

He hammers
and then screws it in place.

He spins the assembly again
to confirm it's functional.

He installs the final two gears
on the end of the shaft.

This completes the core
of the zip line brake.

Another employee
stitches a nylon hand grip

to tough, synthetic webbing.

When this webbing
is pulled out of the brake,

it will set
the rotor arms in motion

to create the eddy currents
that are the braking force.

After protecting the brake core
with a metal plate,

a worker puts the unit
in a plastic case.

He installs a plate on the shaft
for the webbing to sit on,

then loops the webbing
around it.

He also places a drum on top
for the retraction spring.

He applies silicone adhesive
around the drum.

This secures
the aluminum base plate.

He now inserts
the retraction spring.

He caps the spring
with a metal plate

and reinforces the clips
with metallic tape.

Using a crank, he winds more
of the webbing into the brake.

He tightens the metal shackle

that holds the two sections
of webbing together

and winds the rest of it
into the device.

He inserts a guide roller
for the webbing

and adds a two part
retaining clip.

He secures the clip
with a rounded metal pin.

This next part is a plastic
insert for the top of the case.

He screws a nut onto the shaft
to lock down the insert.

He places the top half of
the case onto the brake assembly

and secures it
to the lower half.

He snaps a dust cover
onto the case.

They're now ready to test
this zip line brake system.

A motor pulls out the webbing

to simulate different
body weights

and different zip lining speeds,

while a computer analyzes
the brake's performance.

With magnetic zip line brakes,

riders can come down
at a wide range of speeds

but still slow down
at the same rate,

ensuring that everyone
has a fun but safe ride.

Narrator: Silk fibres
can be creatively crafted

into a variety
of artistic objects,

from paper to fabric
or even items like lamps.

The fibres are translucent,

so they can take
bright, white light

and diffuse it into warm,
beautiful mood lighting.

This lamp doesn't have shades.

Instead, it has
natural looking silk flowers

which conceal its lights.

The lamp base
is made of branches.

To create
this functional artwork,

the artisan begins
with a roving.

A roving is a bundle of fibres

harvested from a silk moth
caterpillar's cocoon.

They've been cleaned
and straightened.

She places the roving
in a nylon mesh bag,

then submerges it
in a specially formulated dye.

She heats the dye
to 185 degrees,

then sprinkles in
more powdered dye

to produces splashes
of bolder colors.

After a couple of minutes,
she removes the roving...

...and rinses off
the excess dye.

She hangs the roving on a rack
until it's completely dry.

Roving is typically spun into
thread to make silk fabric,

but this artisan
has a different technique.

She spreads a sheet of tulle
on her work table.

Then she gently separates
the fine, hair like fibres

and lays them out on the tulle.

Each pile will be turned into
a flower for the lamp.

She folds over the tulle
to create a barrier

that keeps the fibers
from sticking to her hands.

She prepares the fibres

for the textile medium
she'll apply next,

a polymer adhesive.

She saturates each pile

with water containing a few
drops of dishwashing detergent

to open up the fibres.

Then she sponges up
the excess water

and soaks up any other
remaining moisture with a towel

so the medium
does not become diluted.

Now she's ready
to apply the polymer adhesive.

As the fibres absorb the medium,
they fuse together,

forming a sheet
of silk fibre paper.

After folding back the tulle,

she begins molding each paper
into a flower.

She spreads the paper
over a balloon

and lets it dry overnight.

With a few simple steps,

she has transformed
a colorless roving

into colorful sheets
of moldable silk fibre paper.

The next day,
she pops the balloon.

The silk fibre paper
holds its round shape.

Using the textile medium again,

she glues her silk fibre flowers
to juniper branches.

She secures them
with a needle and thread,

matching the thread color
to the silk

so that it blends in.

She further sculpts the flowers

with a stitch or two
in select spots.

And dabs textile medium
on the thread to secure it.

Then she glues in a second,
slightly smaller flower,

creating two layers of petals.

She takes some fibres
she dyed green

and glues them under the blooms
to form wispy leaves.

Finally, to turn this sculpture
into a functioning lamp,

she places a battery powered
l.E.D. Push light

in the center of each flower.

The lamp needs no inner wiring

and doesn't need
to be plugged into an outlet.

You simply press
the middle of each flower

to turn its hidden push light
on or off.

A simple sculpture by day,
and a gentle light by night.

Narrator: Round hay balers automatically
roll hay into large bundles.

They can also wrap the rolled
hay in twine or plastic.

This American invention
allows farmers

to put down their pitchforks and
leave the work to the machines.

The invention of the round baler
was a farming breakthrough.

Round bales of hay
stayed drier than square ones.

Making a round hay baler

starts with a computerized
fiber optic laser.

It cuts steel sheaths into
the shape of the side panels

and makes holes for hardware
and machine components.

Once the cuts have been made,

workers remove
the leftover materials.

They'll be recycled
into new steel sheets.

Next, the baler side panel

goes to a computerized
hydraulic folder.

It bends the edges of the panel
to prepare it for assembly.

With the side panel
clamped in a fixture,

a worker slides bolts into
a part called the doubler plate.

This plate will be used
to reinforce the panel.

He welds the heads of the bolts
to the doubler plate.

The bolts protrude up

so bearings and other parts
can be attached later.

He adds other reinforcing parts,

supports for rollers,
and a box for twine.

Then it's over
to the paint department.

They prime and paint
both sides of the panel

with an epoxy finish

in order to protect the steel
from corrosion.

After the paint dries,
cranes lift two panels

over to a fixture that holds
several baler rollers.

Workers insert
the ends of the rollers

into holes in the side panels.

They add an auger
for moving the hay

away from the sides
of the baler.

They secure all of these
components with bolts.

Next, they install
a belt tightening assembly.

The bars will hold
the hay shaping belts

at the correct tension.

After adding a bearing
to the bottom feed roller,

a worker installs sprockets.

He also loops chains
around them.

The sprockets and chains

will drive the 14 rollers
in the baler.

The next part
is known as the hay pickup,

because its steel teeth

lift hay from the field
and into the baler.

It fits on the front
of the machine.

Now a worker
installs the wheels.

He brushes a lubricant
onto spindles

and inserts them
in the wheel axles.

Bolts secure the spindles
to the axles.

Then he mounts the wheels
to the spindles

and locks them in place
with nuts.

Once the two wheels
are installed,

a crane lifts the machine
into an upright position

in order to install
the rear chamber.

A crane lowers the rear chamber
onto the baler assembly.

As the hay is shaped with
a round bale by the machine,

it will gradually expand
in this chamber.

These rubber belts will roll
the hay into round bales.

The team loops them
around tensioning rollers,

arranging them closely together.

A worker joins
the ends of each belt

by pushing steel pins
through riveted lacing.

An employee applies vinyl decals
to the outside of the baler.

The decals display
the company name

and the machine model
in bold graphics.

The machine is equipped
with hydraulic cylinders

so the rear chamber
can be raised and lowered.

A technician
syncs the tractor cab monitor

to sensors added to the baler
during the assembly.

The sensors indicate
the position of the back gate,

the status
of the bale wrapping equipment,

and the moisture level
in the hay.

After a complete operational
check,

this baler is ready to give
farmers or ranchers a break

by automatically creating
round bales of hay.

Narrator: With footwear,

extremely comfortable
used to mean extremely ugly.

Not anymore.

Today's comfort shoes don't look
anything like they used to.

They can be just as stylish
as any other shoe,

but also provide sturdy,
cushioning foot support.

These comfort shoes come with
two interchangeable insoles.

One is an anatomically shaped
footbed with good arch support.

The other
is a reflexology footbed

that massages your feet
while you walk.

The top of the shoe
is made of leather.

An operator spreads the cowhide
on a cutting table

and positions
a part shaped steel die over it.

With a press, he forces the die
through the leather.

The die has blades
on both sides,

so after cutting
a part for the right shoe,

he flips it over and cuts
the same part for the left shoe.

They stencil on
guide marks for stitching

and stamp on
a production number.

Due to the natural variations
between hides,

they cut parts
for a pair of shoes

from the same piece of leather.

A production number
keeps the parts

from being inadvertently used
on a different pair of shoes.

They place the part
under a template

and run it through
a lateral knife.

This thins the leather where
it will overlap adjoining parts

so the thickness of the upper
shoe is uniform throughout.

They apply reinforcement fabric

to the most wear prone areas
of the shoe.

This machine bonds these
adhesive factory enforcements

with pressure and heat.

Now sewers begin
assembling the upper.

They glue the parts
for the lining together

because stitches that are
on the inside of the shoe

can sometimes irritate the foot.

The lining is made
of soft calf leather,

except for a small piece of
rougher goat leather at the back

to grip the heel.

They sew in the lining
one section at a time.

This is the rear section of
the upper, called the heel cap.

After sewing one side,

they insert a foam padding
to cushion the back of the foot.

Then they fold the lining over
to encase the padding.

This machine punches holes and
embeds eyelets into the upper.

Then a sewer attaches
two more parts of the upper,

the tongue and the vamp.

Another sewer finishes the upper
by stitching on the vamp ring.

They put the upper into a mold
on a forming machine.

The machine works like an iron,
applying both heat and pressure

to form the heel cap
into the perfect shape.

The next forming machine
uses the same process

to round the toe cap.

Now a sewer stitches a hole
to the upper.

Then they steam the upper
and insert a last.

A last is a foot shaped
plastic form

that matches the specific shape
and size of the shoe.

They place the upper
into a heat setter.

The heat forms the upper
to the shape of the last.

They roll out wrinkles

and flatten any bulges
with heat and pressure.

They place the upper

in a template
of the shoe's outer sole

and trace the top.

They grind the leather
below that line.

This roughens the surface
to help with adhesion.

They apply heat activated glue

to the roughened area
and the sole,

which is made
of molded polyurethane.

They let the glue dry.

Then they activate the glue
with a heater

and join the upper and sole.

They place the shoe
in a vacuum press.

The press sucks out the air

while drawing the upper and sole
tightly together.

Next, they add an anatomically
shaped footbed insole.

It's made of a moisture
absorbing combination

of cork and latex
with leather on top.

Then they lace the shoes

and insert cardboard to support
the shape during transport.

They spray the upper
with a chemical solution

that makes the leather
water resistant.

The second set of insoles
goes in the shoe box.

These shoes are designed
with enough room

to insert a custom
orthotic device, if needed.

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