12x02 - Jaws of Life/Artificial Christmas Trees/Soda Crackers/Ratchets

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: the jaws of life
were first used in 1963

To free racecar drivers
from car crashes.

It was so big,

It had to be suspended
from the back of a pickup truck.

Today it weighs
as little as 33 pounds

And is small enough
for one person to operate.

It can free an accident victim
from a car in minutes.

In an emergency situation,
timing is everything.

A rescue tool has to pry open
a vehicle as easily as a tin can

Or cut through solid steel
like butter,

Because a few seconds
can make all the difference.

What gives the cutting blades

And the spreading arms
their power is hydraulic fluid.

The jaws of life begin
with a milling machine

That shapes the spreader arms

From a bar of solid
aircraft-grade aluminum.

The spreader arms then get
a protective coating.

A lathe now makes the cap that
fits on the end of the tool.

A high-speed carbide tip shapes
the solid aluminum

Into a finished endcap
that is then drilled

And treated to a coat
of rust-resistant protection.

Arms that both cut and spread
are made from tool steel.

A surface grinder ensures that
the two arms are perfectly flat.

A worker installs a seal

That prevents
the hydraulic fluid

From leaking out
of the cylinder.

He lubricates a piston
with hydraulic fluid

So it slides into the cylinder
without damaging the interior.

Then he taps it in

So it will connect
with the link assembly.

He attaches a link assembly
to the piston

And secures it in place.

The link assembly relays power

To the cutting blades
or spreader arms.

He then attaches an assembled
end cap to the cylinder

And bolts it in place.

He connects the two hoses

That lead to the tool's
hydraulic cylinder.

He puts on a handgrip
that protects the hoses

And makes it easier
to work the thumbwheel.

He tightens the bolts
and completes the control valve.

He then attaches
the front handle

That allows the operator
to hold the tool safely.

This protective guard will keep
all the moving components

Away from a rescuer's hands.

Then he aligns the holes
in the blades to the tool

And inserts a steel pivot pin.

He puts on a locknut,

And, as with all fasteners
on the rescue tool,

He tightens it to a precise
engineering specification.

After mounting the blades,

He secures them
to the link assembly

With a steel-alloy pin
and a snap ring.

Then he folds
the protective guard back

And finishes assembling
the tool.

A worker then tests the tool,
which has been filled

With fire-resistant
hydraulic fluid.

The fixture he uses is designed
to measure the pressure

At the strongest point
in the cutting.

The tool passes
the pressure test.

Whether it's a rescue tool

That cuts through metal
or pries it open,

Emergency-response teams
arriving on an accident scene

Will have what it takes
to help save lives.

Narrator: the quest
for the perfect tree

Is a rite of the holiday season.

And ever since
the late 19th century,

People have been trying to come
up with an artificial version.

First,
there were feather trees

And, later,
trees made of animal bristles.

But by the 1960s,

The use of synthetics finally
gave us the perfect fake fir.

Today's faux firs
can be several stories tall --

Big enough for your town square.

You can get them
with many of the trimmings

So decorating
isn't such a stretch.

These big artificial trees start
with a steel skeleton.

Rollers bend steel tubing
into arcs.

They'll be joined to form
the base of the framework.

Workers weld vertical supports
to the arcs,

Building the structure
in sections.

A spray of polyester powder

Gives the welded metal
a smooth finish

That's actually tougher
than paint.

They bake the parts
to set the coating.

After a quick cooling,

It's time to assemble
all the pieces.

They fasten
the structure together

With u-bolts and a ratchet.

Meanwhile,
a roll of green pvc plastic

Winds its way towards a roller

Equipped
with many circular cutters.

They slice it
into 4-inch-wide strips.

Each of the narrow
plastic strips

Then goes under a roller
with even more blades.

They shred it into
a needlelike configuration,

Leaving a solid spine
at the center

To hold the simulated needles
together.

An automated spool then winds up
the fringed green pvc.

These artificial needles come in
an assortment of colors,

So if you want glitz,
you can really go out on a limb.

Here,
streams of the fringed green

And a strip of brown pvc travel
over tension-control guides.

Steel wire unwinds and merges
with the green and brown pvc.

This machine
twists them together.

The brown strip lands at
the core of the twisted fringe,

Creating the illusion
of a stem among the needles.

This twisting technology

Churns out a continuous supply
of artificial greenery.

Giant scissors slice it
to the correct length.

To make branches
that appear snow-tipped,

This machine twists
and then frosts the pvc needles

With a spray
of white latex paint.

They use this ring fastener

To crimp the artificial foliage
together, branch by branch.

This creates a tightly knit
mass of greenery

That will be used to cover
the tree's framework.

They apply single garlands

On key parts
of the tree grid first,

Using a handheld
pneumatic fastener.

They fill in
the sections between them

With the assembled branches.

This is easier than
attaching them to the framework

Branch by branch.

They string the lights

And then plug them in
to check each bulb.

After all,
it's easier to change one now

Than after the tree
has been erected,

Especially since this one
will be a story and a half tall.

They also wire the ornaments
to the branches.

It's one less job
for the customer to do.

And now it's time
to put up the tree.

They bolt the cone
of wired greenery

To the lower framework...

...and then hook the panels
of artificial greenery

Onto the rest of the structure.

It has taken just one day

For this artificial tree
to come together,

Where growing a real one
this size

Would take many years.

And the convenience is unreal.

Narrator: soda crackers
are also called saltines,

Originally a brand name that
over time became a generic term.

You can eat them plain

Or spread something on them
or crumble them into soup.

Doctors even recommend
eating soda crackers

When you're nauseous,

Because they're dry
and easy to digest.

They're flat and bumpy
on the outside,

With a tasty texture

Resulting from some interesting
chemical reactions.

Workers first dump ice
into a trough

To prevent the dough from
overheating during fermentation.

The first ingredient

Is a specific amount
of finished dough

To kick-start the fermentation
of this new batch.

To that, they add water,
wheat flour, yeast,

And enzymes
to help the fermentation.

A mixer blends the ingredients
for about 5 minutes.

They let the dough sit
for 16 hours

While the enzymes break down
the starch and the wheat

Into simple sugars.

The yeast then reacts
with those sugars,

Producing carbon-dioxide gas,
which makes the dough rise.

Then they adjust
the fermented dough's ph level

With sodium bicarbonate

To produce the right flavor,
color, and shelf life.

Then, for additional flavoring,
some salt...

Malted barley flour...

And vegetable oil.

Then the mixer remixes
the dough for about 5 minutes

To blend in
these new ingredients.

Now they let the dough ferment
for another 6 hours.

The sodium bicarbonate

Counteracts the acidity
this produces

And relaxes the gluten
so that the dough

Now breaks easily
when stretched --

The perfect consistency
for soda crackers.

A machine then extrudes
the massive dough

Into a sheet
that's 2 inches thick

And folds the sheet
over itself 3 times.

This folding creates
the light and flaky layers

Inside the cr*cker.

The dough sheet then goes
through a series of rollers

That reduce it
to its final thickness,

About a millimeter.

A revolving die
cuts the cr*cker shapes,

Perforations and all.

The little pins puncture
the dough

And push it firmly
onto the conveyor belt.

This keeps the dough
from deforming

When moisture and gases escape
during the baking process.

From there, the sheet passes
under a shower of salt.

The sheet
now takes a three-minute trip

Through a long oven with
different temperature zones.

Gas flames bake the dough
from above and below.

The heat transforms the
sodium bicarbonate in the dough

Into carbon-dioxide gas,

Which then breaks through
and escapes.

This drives out trapped moisture

And forms blisters
in the crackers.

As the sheet of baked crackers
exits the oven,

A roller breaks it into rows.

The rows then run from
one conveyor belt to the next,

Stacking like roof shingles.

Alignment wheels
keep them straight

Until the next set of wheels
gently breaks the rows

Into individual crackers.

Each row makes its way
through a series of gates

That guide it onto a track

That leads
to the packaging equipment.

The crackers are upright now,

And the machine
begins dividing them

According to the number
of crackers per package --

In this case,
those little 2-cr*cker packs

You often get with soup.

The cr*cker pairs enter
the wrapping machine,

Which sandwiches them between
a sheet of printed plastic film.

A wheel then
simultaneously seals

And cuts the wrapper
between each pair.

This all happens
at an astonishing rate

Of 525 packages per minute.

And that's the way
the cr*cker crumbles.

Narrator: ratchets come
in many shapes and sizes

And can tackle almost any job.

Ratchets with socket attachments
deliver more power and speed

Without slipping
or damaging the bolt or nut.

Just snap an interchangeable
socket onto the ratchet,

And you're ready to get the job
done quickly and properly.

Versatile and easy to use,

A ratchet tightens or loosens
nuts and bolts

In a continuous motion.

It uses removable sockets

That fit many different sizes
of fittings and fasteners.

To start, a steel bar travels
into a shearing machine

That cuts it
into specific lengths.

These pieces, called billets,

Will be used
to make the ratchet.

A machine feeds the billets
into an induction coil,

Which heats them to about


A forge press then shapes
the soft billets into ratchets.

The first die creates
the ratchet's general form.

The second die gives it
its finished shape.

And the third die cuts off
excess metal.

The ratchets exit
the forge press

And fall into a collection box,
where they cool.

Then a vertical milling machine
prepares the body cavity

To receive the internal
working parts of the ratchet,

Called the gear assembly.

A worker then places the ratchet
on a hydraulic press,

Which stamps the brand name

And the on-and-off indicator
on the ratchet's face.

A lathe cuts away the rough
forged metal from the handle

And trims off the end,

Making it ready
to receive the handgrip.

A worker then grinds
any rough edges

Off the machined ratchet.

Then he crimps each side
of the smooth handle

So it will hold
a rubber handgrip in place.

The ratchets now undergo
a 3-stage tempering process

That hardens
and strengthens the metal.

Ceramic stones
and a chemical solution

Prepare the ratchets
for nickel and chrome plating.

A plating machine
cleans the ratchets,

Then treats them to a nickel
and a trivalent chrome plating.

The two platings make
the ratchets corrosion-resistant

And give them
a bright cosmetic finish.

A worker then lubricates
the ratchet cavity,

Puts in an on-and-off switch

And a spacer to support
additional components.

A worker sets a retention ball
onto a ratchet gear,

Then a punch press
locks it in place.

Next they fit a gear mechanism
into the cavity,

Then attach
all the internal components

That control the movements
of the ratchet.

Once completed,

The gear assembly allows
or restricts movement.

So, putting the assembly into
either the on or off position

Is all it takes to tighten
or loosen a nut or bolt.

She then puts a rubber seal
onto a cover plate

And closes up the ratchet.

She makes sure the gear assembly
works properly.

Finally, this machine
friction-fits a handle

On the ratchet's shaft.

Evolving from a steel bar

To a finished product
in 10 steps,

The ratchets must undergo
a final test of strength

To prove they meet
the highest quality standards.

Ratchet sets are available
in a variety of sizes.

They're used for big
and small jobs by handymen

And professional mechanics
alike.

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