14x05 - Surfboards/Stickers/Sandwich Cookies/Concrete Roofing Tiles

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: golfers use
different types of clubs

For different types of shots --

Woods for long-distance shots
off a tee,

Putters to gently roll the ball
into the cup,

And irons
for everything in between.

That's why in golf,

Choosing the right club
for the shot

Is a key part of game strategy.

The heads of these golf clubs

Are made from aerospace-grade
stainless steel.

To produce them,

The factory begins with
a wax replica of the clubhead.

To make this wax pattern,
as it's called,

They inject hot wax into a mold.

They extract the pattern

And snip off the bulk
of the excess wax.

Using hot wax as an adhesive,

A robot joins several patterns
to other wax parts

In the shape of gates
and runners,

The term for the channels

That guide molten metal
into the casting mold.

Then the robot dips
these patterns

Into liquid ceramic material
four times,

With a shower of silica sand
in between each coat.

The ceramic and sand harden,

Forming a shell
around the wax patterns.

Then the factory
melts out the wax.

The shell is now a mold

With which to cast
the metal clubheads.

On the casting floor,

A furnace heats steel bars
to 3,000 degrees fahrenheit --

Well beyond the melting point.

Meanwhile, another furnace
heats the molds

To 1,800 degrees fahrenheit.

This burns out
any remaining wax.

It also fires the ceramic,

Making it strong enough
to withstand molten metal.

The pouring technique
is critical.

The metal must flow
at a consistent rate

To prevent the formation
of air bubbles.

After five hours,

A pneumatic hammer
breaks apart the mold.

Workers saw off the gates
and runners,

Separating the clubheads.

Then they grind off

The last remnants
of the gates and runners.

A turntable runs the clubheads
through a sandblaster,

Which gives the metal
a particular finish.

Next, they stick on
a metal badge

Bearing the club's model name.

They apply
a dot of automotive paint.

The color identifies
the angle of the club.

There are 12 different angles.

Now they line the neck
of the clubhead with epoxy,

Then coat the end of the shaft
with epoxy

And slip it into the neck.

A pneumatic hammer pushes the
shaft in as as far as it can go.

The shaft is made of either
extruded steel or carbon fiber.

Now it's time
to work on the shaft.

First, they cut it
to the right length,

Depending on the model.

Then they put the shaft
on a spindle

And wrap the top 10 inches
in double-sided tape

To hold the club's rubber grip.

They lubricate the tape
and the inside of the grip

Before sliding the grip
over the shaft.

A laser line helps them align
the grip in the right position.

This is critical, because
the grip is the golfer's guide

To correct hand positioning,

Which is essential
to a good swing.

Next, a computer reads the lie,

The term for the clubhead's
angle relative to the ground.

Then it reads the loft --

The term for the angle
of the clubhead's face.

The computer then tells
the technician

What adjustments to make.

Once he's made the adjustments,

The computer reanalyzes
the new loft and lie

To ensure they're perfect.

Finally, the golf club goes
for a weigh-in.

The scale shows that this club

Needs another 18 grams
to bring it up to spec,

So they affix an 18-gram weight
made of thermoplastic and metal.

Actually, it weighs
slightly less than 18 grams,

Because they factor in
the weight of the epoxy glue.

It's this type of precision
that ensure these golf clubs

Fit the quality specifications
to a "t."

Narrator: the waffle started out
in the middle ages

As a flat wafer made
not from wheat flour,

But from oats or barley.

As its popularity spread
throughout europe,

Many variations of shape
and recipe developed.

The introduction
of leavening ingredients

Gave rise to the fluffy
honeycomb breakfast cake

We know today.

The introduction
of frozen waffles in the 1950s

Marked the dawn of a new era for
these breakfast batter cakes.

Making your morning waffles
was suddenly a snap.

All the big prep work
takes place at the big factory.

They add flavorings like berries
to a flour-based waffle mix,

And then turn
to the liquid ingredients --

Water, canola oil,
and liquid cane sugar.

They pour them into a big tank
and mix thoroughly.

Then they're ready to thicken it
into a batter

With a flour-based
waffle premix.

It also includes baking powder,
which reacts with water

To cause pockets
of carbon dioxide to form

For a leavening affect that
will continue during baking.

After adding more berries,
this batter is complete,

And there's enough
in this one tank

To produce 3,600 waffles.

Hot waffle irons
move past a sprayer

For a misting
with a nonstick coating.

Down the line, an automated pump

Deposits measured amounts
of batter onto each grid plate.

The top grid plates
encase the batter.

This production line
is computerized,

Which ensures the plates
are filled quickly

And without any spills.

As they move towards the oven,
the waffle irons rotate,

Allowing the batter to reach
all the crevices inside.

They now move
through a long gas oven.

It takes about two minutes
for them to cook.

They emerge from the oven
piping-hot,

Where a machine
called a picking drum

Removes them from the irons.

As the picking drum revolves,
needles grab the waffles

And pull them
off the hot grid plates.

The picking drum transports
the waffles up to another level.

The needles retract,

Transferring
to a series of conveyors.

At the other side
of the factory,

The waffles enter
a blast freezer.

The temperature inside
is minus 19 degrees fahrenheit.

Fans blow frigid air
onto the waffles

As they spiral
through the freezer.

It takes just 20 minutes

To freeze and preserve
these freshly baked waffles.

The frozen waffles
now merge into lanes

To be sorted for stacking.

A kind of trap-door system
releases them three at a time

To grippers that move them
onto a conveyor.

The conveyor lane narrows,

Which forces the waffle stacks
into a single row.

A sensor-activated gate
releases the stacks

Two at a time
to the packaging station.

It takes just a second for
the two stacks of frozen waffles

To be wrapped and sealed
in a tight cellophane package.

Then it's into a metal detector.

To demonstrate how it works,

We place a quarter
on one of the packages.

The system senses it
immediately,

And a blower blasts the package
off the conveyor.

Suctioning fingers now pick up
the outer paperboard box

And open it as they place it
on the conveyor.

A ram then shoves the wrapped
waffles into the box.

Incredibly, they churn out

More than 8,600 waffles an hour
at this factory,

Catering to different tastes
and dietary requirements,

And that merits a toast.

Narrator: much of today's
high-tech equipment

Requires specialty wires
and cables,

From stage lighting
to medical devices to robotics.

Wires and cables
have to be custom designed

And expertly manufactured
to perform in a specific way

And withstand various
environmental conditions.

Cables can be designed
to withstand high temperatures

Or perform special functions

Such as sensing ph levels
or proximity to objects.

At the heart of a cable

Are electrical wires
called conductors.

A conductor begins
as a bare copper wire.

This extrusion machine
coats it in plastic.

Chilled water solidifies
the plastic around the wire

As insulation.

This isolates each wire
from its neighbors.

Every conductor passes through
a machine called a spark tester.

It runs current
through the conductor

To ensure
the insulation is flawless.

If there's even the smallest
break in the insulation,

The machine will sound the alarm
and locate the spot.

The conductor then enters
a machine called a cabler.

It unrolls spools
of insulated conductors

And unites them
with other components

To form the cable's
inner workings.

At the center
of this particular cable

Is a twisted pair
of insulated conductors.

Around them go color-coated
insulated conductors

And fillers to fill in the gaps
between the conductors,

Giving the cable a smooth,
cylindrical shape.

Here the fillers are strands
of polypropylene foam.

An orientation plate
aligns the components

In the proper configuration

As they enter
the cable-assembly die.

The components exit the die

With the fillers wound around
the insulated conductors,

Which wrap around
the central wire.

The next machine,
called a taping head,

Wraps binder tape
around the cable.

This tape holds everything
tightly in position

So that the assembled components
don't unravel.

This is a different type
of cable assembly machine.

Like before,

All the insulated conductors
unroll from their reels

And travel through the holes
of an orientation plate.

Dies divide the six conductors
of this cable

Into three groups of two,

Twisting the conductors
of each pair together.

The machine then wraps
each twisted pair

In a shield made
of aluminum-coated polyester.

Shielding eliminates
what's known as cross talk --

Signals interfering
with each other.

The next die
joins additional wires

That don't need to be shielded
to the shielded ones.

Then everything gets twisted
into one cable.

Then a final twisting,
seen here in slow motion.

The actual speed
is 1,000 revolutions per minute.

The next machine wraps
tissue paper around the cable.

Then an extruder
applies a jacket

Made of a plastic
and rubber compound.

The tissue paper
acts as a separator,

Preventing the jacket from
sticking to the cable inside.

Sometimes,
instead of tissue paper,

The cable runs through
a bath of talc.

Talc is a mineral
that absorbs heat,

So just like tissue paper,

It prevents the jacket
from sticking.

Once again, as the cable exits
the extruder,

Chilled water solidifies the
molten material into a jacket.

A wheel with raised lettering
imprints the manufacturer's name

And technical specifications
into the jacket.

Certain jacketed cables
need a braided shield

To eliminate
electrical interference.

This machine
has 48 carrier spools,

Each of which holds 10 wires
made of tin-plated copper.

As they jacketed cable moves
upward through the machine,

The spools move
in a programmed pattern,

Weaving the shield
around the cable.

From there, a last trip
through the extruder

For a final
thermoplastic jacket...

And the custom-made cable

Is ready to be connected
and powered up.

Narrator: train wheels are used
on railcars around the world.

Passenger trains rely on them
to transport people.

Freight cars depend on them
for hauling products.

And the locomotives that pull
these trains and freight cars

Count on them to keep people
and products moving smoothly.

This company has been making
train wheels and axles

For over 150 years.

To start, an electric furnace
melts recycled steel

At about


A gigantic bucket then transfers
the liquid metal

Into what's called a mold pit.

Inside the pit, the metal fills
eight holes from the bottom up,

Creating steel ingots


A band saw
cuts the cooled ingots

Into sections called
wheel molts.

Each molt
weighs about 1,000 pounds.

To prepare the molts
for forming into train wheels,

Automated machinery loads them

Into one door
of this rotary furnace...

And they exit the other side at
around 2,400 degrees fahrenheit.

A machine then places the molts

Into a high-pressure
water-descaling unit

That removes
the outermost layer of metal.

A press then squashes each molt
like a marshmallow

With 9,000 tons of pressure,

Forging it into the rough shape
of a train wheel.

The train wheel
is 30 inches in diameter

When a robot removes it
from the press

And delivers it
to a rolling mill.

The mill squeezes
and shapes the wheel

Until it expands to 36 inches
in diameter, a 20% increase.

The train wheel then enters
a final shaping press

That punches out the hole
where the axle will go.

All excess material goes back
to the melt shop for recycling.

After heat treatment,

A machine sprays the outside
of the wheel with cold water,

Which hardens the steel.

Next, they machine the rim
of the wheel and the axle hole.

A worker then ensures
they meet all specifications.

Identified and labeled,

The wheels are now ready
for the axles.

Axles start off as steel ingots

That a manipulator feeds
into a rotary forging machine.

The machine rotates
and hammers the piece,

Gradually shaping the hot metal
into an axle.

The manipulator and the forging
machine work as a team,

Ultimately shaping the axle

To the required diameter
and length.

The axles then go through
a heat-treating process.

Next, they machine
the entire axle,

Removing all excess material,

And prepare it
to accept the train wheel.

Here, a wheel mounting press

Fits a wheel
onto each end of the axle.

A worker lubricates the axle
and attaches a bearing.

He then bolts on the end cap

And secures it
using a torque wrench.

A crimper tool
locks the bolts in place.

Finally, the mounted wheel set
rolls off the assembly line,

Ready to install
under a rail car.

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