Narrator: Mountain bike
suspension forks
were developed
in the early 1990s.
Like shock absorbers on a car,
these forks expand and contract,
absorbing the impact
of rough terrain.
They also provide traction,
which adds
both comfort and control
to an offroad ride.
There are plenty of jumps
and bumps on an offroad trail.
A suspension fork
ensures a cushioned landing.
They start by making
the adjustment knob
for the compression mechanism.
Computerized tools
carve an aluminum bar
into a round shape
with grooves
for better gripping.
Then, they add a protective
black coating.
A worker inserts a tension bar
into a quick-release lever.
The lever allows the rider
to detach the wheel
from the suspension fork.
He presses a fastener into the
lever to secure it to the bar.
He lubricates the tension bar
with grease.
Then, he inserts the bar
into the wheel axle,
joining it to the lever.
A steel pin holds them together.
An employee places
the inner fork upside-down
in a hydraulic press.
He inserts the steering tube
in the center hole
and activates the press.
Then, he lubricates one
of the tubular legs
and the upper part
of an air spring.
He pushes the part through
the bottom of the leg.
It slides to the top,
where he installs
an adjustment knob.
He inserts the lower part
of the air spring into the leg.
The air spring
allows the suspension
to move up and down.
He snaps a collar on the end
to lock the air spring in place.
The damper is next.
It's a piston
and oil-compression mechanism
that absorbs energy.
He pushes it into
the second leg of the fork.
He screws a threaded
collar and valve
into the top of the damper leg.
He adjusts
the damper's position.
He adds oil to the damper,
using a fill sleeve
to prevent spills.
He pushes a rod
through the damper
to get rid of any air.
Once the damper is
full of oil and air-free,
he installs the top cap
and seals it with a gasket.
He screws a base ring
onto the gasket.
Then, he installs
the compression knob
we saw machined earlier.
The knob allows the rider
to adjust the compression
of the oil.
With the inner fork complete,
they now move on
to the outer fork.
An employee inserts bushings
in the tubular legs
and activates
a two-pronged press.
The press pushes bushings
securely into the cavities.
He secures the inner fork
in a jig upside-down
and slides the outer fork
onto it.
He lubricates the spaces between
the inner and outer forks.
After bolting
the suspension forks together,
he increases the air pressure
in the spring
and caps the air-fill valve.
Now, for testing.
A motor moves the fork
up and down,
simulating a bumpy ride.
A computer monitors the
suspension fork's performance.
After passing the test,
a worker applies brand decals
to the fork.
Finally, he slides the axle
into the lower part of the fork
and secures it.
This mountain bike
suspension fork
is complete.
Now, a technician fits it
to the front of a bike.
He attaches the handlebar
to the steering tube
with a nut and a long screw.
Next, he attaches the wheel
to the fork with the axle.
It takes just two hours
to make a mountain bike
suspension fork...
But they're strong enough
to last through many more hours
on long,
bumpy mountain trails.
Humans have been
performing surgery
for over 7,000 years,
but the use of surgical sutures
is fairly recent.
Ancient greek surgeons
were thought to be the first.
They used gut strings
to mend the wounds of gladiators
over 2,000 years ago.
Today's medical sutures come
in different forms,
such as synthetic
monofilament threads,
natural collagen fibers,
or braided synthetic threads.
A technician
sets a tension meter
to check the quality
of the raw materials.
The machine applies tension
on the knot
to measure the force needed
to break it.
A worker tests the material's
absorption process
in a heated bath.
This simulates the temperature
and moisture of the human body.
A technician enters the
product's medical specifications
and prints out
a batch of labels.
Then, a supervisor
selects needles
and places them on a table.
He retrieves spools of thread
from a refrigerated room.
To preserve the thread,
it's been stored
in sealed containers.
The supervisor gathers
all the materials
and brings them to the material
preparation department.
The supplies are passed
through an air lock
to maintain the department's
positive-pressure environment.
On the other side,
a technician
opens the airtight foil
and removes the thread spool.
She threads the spool
in a custom-made winding
and cutting machine.
The technician sets
the mechanical thread counter
back to zero
and starts the winder.
It can wind threads that
are up to 100 inches.
The counter tracks
the number of windings
as the machine
unspools the thread.
The machine stops automatically
once the winding is complete.
The technician applies
medical-grade glue
to stiffen the ends
of the braided threads
before cutting them.
She places a guide
to hold the threads in place
while she cuts them
along the glue line.
Sutures use needles
of various shapes and sizes,
the smallest ones being
On the main production floor,
dozens of workers attach
needles to the threads.
They make sure the attachment
meets the suture's
requirements.
The operator inserts
the glue-hardened end
of the thread
into the back of the needle
and crimps it tight
with a mechanical
swaging machine.
Then, she hooks the needle
into a pull tester
to check the strength
of each attachment.
Finally, workers
wind the assembled sutures
into folded holding cards,
tucking the needles in
for protection.
A worker inserts the holding
card in a labeled foil pouch.
Then, he slips it
in a second package
made of medical paper
and polypropylene film
and feeds it into
a continuous rotary sealer.
The sealed packages drop into
a production holding basket.
The finished product is sent
for terminal sterilizing.
A worker places the basket
into an ethylene oxide,
or eo, gas sterilization bag.
She attaches
a biological indicator vial
and a control strip
on a sterilization control card
and puts the card
inside the bag.
She adds an eo gas delayed-
release canister in the bag
and places the sealed bag
into the sterilizer.
Sutures can be used
for a variety of procedures,
but each product has
a very precise application.
Harvested grains
must be dried
before they can be stored.
Otherwise, they'll spoil.
Farmers can outsource this work
to someone else for a hefty fee,
or they can choose to keep
everything on the farm
by investing in a grain dryer.
To use a grain dryer, the farmer
simply dumps their harvest
into a fold-down loading hopper.
Once the bin is full, he or she
starts the dryer's power unit.
A central auger circulates
the grain inside the bin
as a fan blows in hot air,
drying the grain.
Most of the
grain dryer's components
are made out of steel tubing.
Workers cut the tubes to the
various required lengths.
Once all the pieces are cut,
workers position them
on an assembly jig.
Here, they're assembling
the dryer's mainframe.
Once all the parts are laid out,
workers lock the pieces in place
and weld them together.
They assemble
what's called the spider
on a different assembly jig.
The spider supports
the dryer's plenum chamber,
the component
at the center of the bin
that distributes the hot air.
Workers bolt the spider
to the mainframe
and move the unit
to the paint area.
They clean and prime the steel,
then, coat it with
corrosion-resistant paint.
It takes 24 to 32 hours
for the paint to dry.
At that point,
workers mount the agitator
to the spider.
The agitator prevents wet grain
from sticking to the bin wall.
They mount the agitator's
main drive chain to the
main gear and gearbox drive.
Meanwhile, a plasma torch
cuts sheets
of perforated galvanized steel
for the bin.
These pieces will form
the circular bottom.
A press punches holes
along the edges of each sheet.
Workers connect
the sheets together
and bolt them onto a ring
called the transition band
at the top of the mainframe.
Then, they lower the spider and
bolt it to the transition band.
They bolt the plenum chamber
to the spider.
The chamber is made
of perforated
galvanized steel sheets.
Hot air blown into the chamber
by the power unit
exits through the perforations,
drying the circulating grain.
Next, they assemble
the bin's outside wall.
They bolt perforated galvanized
steel sheets together,
as well as to the transition
band on the mainframe.
The sheets enclose the
plenum chamber at the center
and vent the dry air
through the perforations.
Workers mount the power unit
to the mainframe.
The unit, consisting
of a burner and fan,
blows hot air
into the plenum chamber.
In another part of the factory,
they build the loading hopper
on an assembly jig.
After welding
the parts together,
they clean, prime,
and paint the steel;
install the auger
that moves the grain;
then, a cover the farmer can
adjust to regulate the flow.
He also adds
a protective screen,
for safety.
Then, they attach
the finished loading hopper
to the dryer's mainframe.
It connects
via a pivoting hinge
on the front
of the loading tube.
The hinge lets the farmer
fold the hopper
up and out of the way
when it's not in use.
Workers install springs
to make it easier
to lower and raise
the 60-pound hopper.
They also install a latch,
which secures the hopper
against the bin
during storage or transport.
The grain dryer rolls
on wheels attached to axles
bolted to the mainframe.
The last step is
installing a ladder
on the outside of the bin.
This provides access
to the top of the grain dryer
for monitoring operation
and maintenance.
Frying pans were first used
by the ancient greeks and romans
over 2,000 years ago.
These wide and shallow pans
can be used to sauté, sear,
or fry food.
Water released from the food
during cooking
creates that sizzling sound.
The shape of the pan
allows steam to dissipate,
giving food a crispy finish.
A good nonstick frying pan
is a must in the kitchen.
A frying pan can be made
of any heat-conductive metal.
In this case,
aluminum alloy ingots.
They melt the ingots.
A robotic ladle scoops up molten
aluminum to be used for casting.
They use this two-part die
to transform liquid aluminum
into a frying pan.
The robotic ladle
pours the aluminum
into the die
through a cylindrical port.
This high-pressure casting
produces a very precise shape.
After about a minute,
an operator takes it out.
They cut off the excess
using a computerized tool.
The table moves
as the tool cuts
the edge of the pan
to specifications.
A worker sands the edges
and rounds the rim of the pan
a little more.
They cast pans in several
sizes and thicknesses.
An employee keeps a detailed
inventory of the pans.
Next, they put the pans
in a sand-blasting chamber.
The sand blaster cleans off
oil and residue.
It also roughens up
the surface of the pans
to prepare them for coating.
An employee scrubs off the sand
using an abrasive pad.
Next, the pans receive
their ceramic coating.
Each pan spins on a pod
as a plasma flame
melts three different
powders onto it.
The coating protects the pan
from corrosion.
An employee scrubs each pan
with an abrasive pad
to remove the residue.
This time, the frying pan
spins slowly
as torches heat them
to approximately 175°.
This preheat preps the pans
for the final coatings.
They prepare up to five
proprietary coating formulations
for each frying pan model.
Each one contains dozens
of chemicals
and thousands of tiny
diamond particles.
The diamonds increase durability
and heat conductivity.
They also make food
less likely to stick
to the surface of the pan.
The final coating contains
a nonstick chemical
known as PTFE.
They spray the different
coatings onto the surface.
The spinning ensures
even coverage
as the coatings adhere
to the hot pans.
Now, a primer is applied.
It allows the final
nonstick coating
to bond to the frying pan.
At the end of the line,
an employee inspects the finish
and sprays a little more
of the nonstick formula
onto the handle fitting.
Then, the frying pans go
through a furnace
to bake the coatings
onto the pans.
An employee checks
the finish for bubbles,
scratches,
or color inconsistencies.
Once the pans have cooled,
a robot transfers them
to a lathe.
The lathe spins the pan
as a tool shaves off
a thin layer of aluminum.
This leaves a clean,
level surface
on the bottom of the pan.
A suctioning robot moves the
frying pan to the next station,
where a worker
attaches a handle to the pan.
An automatic screwdriver
secures it.
A technician heats one
of the frying pans on a cooktop
as a mechanical arm rubs the pan
thousands of times
with a coarse piece
of sandpaper.
There are no scratches,
so the entire batch of pans
is approved.
Thousands of nonstick
frying pans
are ready to leave the factory
and cook up a tasty meal.
If you have any comments
about the show,
or you'd like to suggest
topics for future shows,
drop us a line at...
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