32x10 - Fencing Masks; Books; Ocean Drone Transformers

[bunniefuu]

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Narrator:
today on "how it's made"...

Fencing masks...

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...books...

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...ocean drone transformers...

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...and 3-d puzzles.

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Fencing is one of the
oldest forms of armed combat.

In the late 18th century,
fencing evolved into a sport.

As fencing gained popularity,

A steel mesh mask was invented

To protect the eyes and face
from injury.

Before fencers say "en garde,"
they don a face guard.

Today, fencing is recognized
as an olympic sport,

So special mesh masks are
required to compete.

Regulation fencing masks
are made

From rectangular pieces
of tight steel mesh.

A machinist uses
a guillotine blade

To cut the corners of
the mesh piece on an angle.

Then he transfers
the mesh to a press

With a large mold that's
shaped like a face.

The hydraulically powered
mold press bears down

On the steel mesh and forces
it into a rounded shape.

Using a special tool,
the machinist bends steel wire

To a form.

He brings the ends of the wire
together to close the loop.

An automated welder
fuses the ends.

The machinist transfers the hoop
to the next fixture

And places the rounded
steel mesh on top of the hoop.

A frame descends,
affixing the mesh to the hoop.

Then multiple welding g*ns
spot-weld the mesh

To the hoop.

A large welding g*n closes
the gaps between the spot-welds.

Once fused,

The hoop will prevent the mesh
from fraying

And add structural rigidity.

Using a nibbler tool,

The machinist trims the mesh,

Revealing a clean edge.

Next, the technician works
on the mask's side piece

By bending steel wire
into a rectangle.

He places the rectangular
frame in a fixture

And sets a piece of mesh
over the frame.

He spot-welds
the mesh to the frame.

This step provides
a more consistent weld

Around the entire mask.

Copper welding wheels fuse
and seal the mesh to the frame.

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Then the machinist uses
a grinding wheel

To remove any sharp bits
or protrusions.

This is the result.

A bending device rounds the part

So that it will fit to
the sides and top of the head.

He welds the rounded part to
the back of the fencing mask.

A large welding g*n
spot-welds the assembly together

In preparation for a final weld.

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Once complete, the machinist
makes a full seam weld,

Closing all gaps.

This will prevent a sword
from piercing through the mask,

Potentially wounding the wearer.

Next, the technician
pounds out any remaining dents

With a hammer,
restoring the mask

To the desired contours.

He places the fencing mask
on a rounded post

And uses a plastic mallet
to hammer the mask

Against the post.

This step will improve
the overall shape of the mask.

They big is made out of
high molecular polyethylene,

Which is strong
and extremely light weight.

The bib includes
a thick rubber band

That attaches to the mesh mask.

Once the mesh
is coated with plastic,

Another technician installs
rubber trim

Along the perimeter
of the mask.

The plastic coating
on the mesh

Insulates the mask, preventing
electrical interference

From the scoring
system's wiring.

The technician pipes epoxy glue
around the mask

Just above the rubber trim.

He pulls the bib's
rubber band over the mask

And down to the bead of glue
at the bottom.

He tucks the pieces of material

Under the band
for a neater look.

As the glue cures,

The bib's rubber band
adheres to the fencing mask.

Another machinist
drills rivet holes

Through the bib and mesh
along the sides of the mask.

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Then he inserts
and flattens the rivets

To pull the bib flush
to the mesh.

Each fencing discipline

Requires its own
uniquely designed mask.

Regardless of the design,
each mask will allow the athlete

To safely enjoy the sport.

♪

Narrator: book-making
has evolved over time,

From scrolls

To writing on sheets of paper
bound together,

To the invention
of the printing press.

People continue to develop
new ways of recording history.

Today,
thanks to digital technology,

The possibilities
of recording the spoken word

Are endless.

A fine book-making specialist

Makes just a few
limited edition books per year,

Using traditional printing
and binding techniques.

Production begins with a case
of tiny brass molds.

One mold,
called a matrix,

Contains letters, numbers,
and punctuation marks.

A typecasting specialist inserts
the matrix case into a machine

Called a monotype
composition caster.

And melts lead alloy ingots in
the machine's gas heated pot.

Guided by a computer,
the machine casts

One character at a time
for every word of the book.

The computer program assigns
a location code to every matrix.

To cast a character,
the program communicates

A specific code
through plastic tubes,

While puffs of air
align that character's matrix

With the injection nozzle.

The nozzle dispenses molten lead
into the matrix

While the machine ejects
the cast character

Onto a tray
called the galley.

As the lines of text exit
the machine,

The typecast specialist inserts
a strip of lead

To create spacing, called
leading, between each line.

He transfers the galley
to the press room,

Where a proofing press
spreads ink on the type.

He places a sheet of
newsprint over the galley

And releases
an impression roller.

The roller prints the characters
on to the paper,

Generating a proof.

Meanwhile, a typesetter

Assembles the larger
display copy manually

By placing individual letters

Into a composition stick.

This method was used for all
copy prior to the invention

Of the automatic typecasting
machines in the 1890s.

Books printed
in large sizes of type

Must be made entirely
by manual typeset.

Once complete,

Multiple galleys that make up
several pages of the book

Are placed in a steel frame
called a chase

And loaded into
the printing press.

This cylinder press feeds
one sheet of paper at a time

To grippers that pull the paper
around a cylindrical roller.

As the roller rotates,

The paper drops
onto the inked type,

Printing the characters
into the sheet.

One press sheet typically
contains eight pages per side.

Another machine
folds the sheets,

Then bookbinders
manually collate groups

Of 16 consecutive pages to form

Sections of the book
called signatures.

Next, a bookbinder sews
the signatures together

One at a time

Until the book is
fully assembled.

This method of bookbinding,
called smyth sewn binding,

After its 19th century inventor,
is of the highest quality

Because pages can't
fall out or be removed.

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Like the binding,

The book cover is
meticulously handcrafted.

A book binder hot glues
a piece of cloth

To the back of the cover.

The cover is made
of flexible paper

And thick cardboard.

Then she flattens the cloth
on all sides.

Using a razor blade,
the book binder makes a slit

For the cloth,

Where she'll place
a recessed label later.

This enables the cloth
to spread out

And form to the spine's
rounded shape.

The cloth is pressed
firmly against

The structural components with
a plastic tool called a bone.

Another book binder
attaches the cover

To the bound pages,
called the book block.

First, she applies glue
to both components.

Then she positions
the book block on the cover...

...and presses them together.

She places the book
in a nipping press.

That puts pressure
around the spine,

Fusing the book block and cover
together.

Then the front and back
of the cover

Are glued to the first and last
pages of the book.

The book then sits in
another press overnight,

Bringing this book-making story
to a close.

♪

Narrator: there's a new class
of autonomous vehicles

That can travel the ocean.

Some dive and some sail,
but very few can do both.

An ocean drone transformer
shifts from sailboat

To submarine
by rearranging its shape

And altering
its mode of operation.

This is an autonomous
underwater and surface vehicle.

It's an information-gathering
machine

Capable of propelling itself
over and under waves,

Using nothing but wind
and solar power.

To create the vehicle's hull,

Technicians unroll sheets
of fiberglass over a mold,

Which has been machined
from a block of styrofoam.

They fiberglass fabric
is cut to fit

The interior of the hull.

Thanks to its
extraordinary durability,

The fiberglass will allow
the watercraft

To spend months at a time
at sea.

And it won't interfere

With the vessel's
electronic signals.

Technicians carefully tape
the material to the mold.

This yellow material will allow
liquid resin to flow easily.

Then technicians unroll
a strip of gray ribbon

Which will help
direct the flow of resin.

Next, an incision is made
in the middle of the ribbon

For the nozzle,

Which will be
the entry point for the resin.

A layer of plastic
is taped onto the hull,

Which will help to vacuum seal
the assembly together.

A shut-off valve is added
to control the flow of resin.

The resin is poured
into a container.

And as the resin infuses
the flow media,

It displaces the vacuum
until it has completely

Saturated
the fiberglass material.

The resin is cured for 12 hours.

The mold splits open
at the bottom

So technicians can easily
release the hull assembly.

A technician paints
the vehicle's keel,

Which is made of
marine-grade aluminum.

The torpedo-shaped keel bulb
is made of lead.

Electric cables run through
a hole drilled length-wise

Down the center of the keel.

The interior structure
of the vehicle starts

As a flat material made from
a combination of fiberglass

And epoxy which they
form into large sheets

Using intense heat and pressure.

Then water jet technology
precision cuts the sheets

Into the required shapes
and sizes.

Technicians assemble
the shapes into a structure

That supports the hull

While housing
the vehicle's equipment.

In-house technicians build
the multiple circuit boards

That make up the central
processing unit, or cpu.

Each board controls a separate
element of the vehicle,

Such as the sensors, the wing,
or the communications system.

Electronics and water are not
a compatible combination,

So the manufacturer designed
a water-tight acrylic tube

To hold all 10 of the circuit
boards that make up the cpu.

Specialized cable connectors
are installed

So water doesn't leak
through the cover plate.

Once the enclosure is sealed,

Technicians vacuum out
flammable oxygen

And pump in non-flammable
gases to protect the cpu.

A technician
prepares the battery,

Which is an off-the-shelf
lithium ion unit.

A battery housing is 3-d printed
out of a.b.s.

And infused with epoxy
to ensure

That it's completely
water tight.

Next, a technician installs
the battery

In its designated spot.

Solar panels on
the vehicle's surface

Will recharge the batteries.

A hose will allow
the cpu to transfer water

From one ballast tank to another

To control the boat's
up and down motion or pitch.

The vehicle's tails
serve as housings

For the backup
communications antenna system.

In stealth mode, the vehicle
can sit below the water surface

With only its tails
above the waves.

Designed to fold down
and tuck into the body

Of the vehicle,
the rigid wing multi-tasks

As the primary antenna
and the sail,

Which propels the vehicle
when it's above water.

Due to its user-friendly
technology,

An operator can program
a mission

At any time
from any location

Via satellite or wi-fi.

♪

Narrator: the first jigsaw
puzzle was invented

In europe in 1760.

Nearly two centuries later,

A canadian inventor reshaped
the popular pastime.

His puzzle pieces, made of thick
foam rather than cardboard,

Could stand upright,
turning the puzzle

Into a three-dimension model.

Constructing a 3-d puzzle
yields impressive results.

To do so, two 800-piece
puzzle sets are used to create

This spectacular
castle replica.

An industrial designer creates
the puzzle's

Three-dimensional structure.

An illustrator uses techniques,
such as visual textures

And shading, to transform
flat graphics

Into a three-dimensional
rendering.

The industrial designer prepares
the printing and cutting layout,

Fitting up to three
puzzles per sheet.

The puzzle pieces are made
from rigid foam.

The foam
is specifically engineered

To be chemically compatible
with the paper graphics

And proprietary adhesive.

A technician feeds one
sheet at a time

Into a custom designed
lamination machine.

The first station
spreads hot glue

Over the top of the foam sheet.

An automated arm with
vacuum suction cups

Lifts a single sheet
of printed paper

And places it on
the glue-coated foam sheet.

As soon as the paper
adheres to the foam,

The she is released
from the suction cups.

Then the foam moves
under a roller

That presses down the paper.

As the laminated foam
exits the machine,

A technician rolls a tube
over the foam, pressing out

Any remaining air bubbles

To ensure the paper
adheres fully.

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In the development phase,
the industrial designer

Assembled a blueprint

For how the puzzle pieces
would be shaped

And laid out.

That design
went to a toolmaker

Who produced a corresponding
cutting die

Out of steel knives.

The die is mounted
inside the cutting machine.

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A technician feeds the machine
one laminated foam sheet

At a time,
paper side down.

Grippers grab
the edge of the paper,

Pulling the sheet
into the machine.

The cutting die slices
the puzzle pieces

Into the foam.

Even though the cutting pressure
compresses the foam,

It immediately bounces back,
keeping the sheet intact.

Thanks to a high-quality
rubber sheet

Inserted between the blades,

The pieces don't get stuck
in the die.

The stiff rubber
provides counter-pressure

To help remove
the foam sheet.

If the sheet has two or three
puzzles printed on it,

The cutting die
separates them.

Then a technician places
the puzzle

On a semi-automatic
conveyor belt

That moves it
to the dismantling machine.

The machine infuses
the die-cut puzzle sheet

With steam.

The steam prevents
static electricity,

Which causes pieces
to cling together

Or to the inside of the machine.

The machine
separates the pieces.

And dispenses them
into a puzzle box.

A technician adds the standard
instructions sheet,

And seals the box.

The instructions are
in black and white,

But can be viewed
in color online.

The first step is to sort
the pieces by color and design

And set aside the ones
marked with a red dot

Which is part of
the manufacturing process,

Not the puzzle itself.

The next step is to assemble
the puzzle, section by section.

All the sections are flat,

So the final step is to
attach the flat sections

To make the puzzle
three-dimensional.

For an additional challenge,

You can forgo
the step-by-step instructions

And refer only to
the photos on the box.

If you happen to
lose a puzzle piece,

You can go to
the company's website

To trace the number
of your missing piece,

Then order a new piece online.

The company will mail it to you

So that you can
complete your puzzle.

Unlike a traditional
flat puzzle,

You can move your 3-d puzzle
without it falling apart.

It takes four to six months

To develop and design
this incredible 3-d puzzle.

Now it's time to spend
even longer

Piecing this puzzle together.