01x09 - Steel/Apple Juice/Aircraft Landing Gear/Cosmetics

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: Today

on "how it's made"

Steel -- the original

heavy metal

Apple juice -- from

the tree to the glass

Aircraft landing gear --

what you really need

to score a touchdown,

and cosmetics --

we'll tour a factory where they

make it up as they go along.

They call Superman

"the man of steel"

because, flying and

X-ray vision aside,

he could bend solid

steel with his bare hands.

Thanks to its

legendary strength,

steel is used for everything

from bridges and skyscrapers

to household appliances.

Steelmaking usually begins

with a pile of scrap metal.

Using this 11-ton electromagnet,

scrap iron -- composed

of crushed car bodies,

electric appliances, cans,

and other steel scraps --

is gathered up.

This powerful magnet is

able to lift 5 1/2 tons of metal.

About 83% of this scrap will

be transformed into bars of steel.

This metal is then

dumped into a basket

which, by itself,

weighs 35 tons.

The basket can hold

up to 65 tons of metal.

And now they're

going to melt the metal.

This furnace

reaches a temperature

of 3,000 degrees, hot

enough to liquefy the metal.

It is heated by three electrodes

and by four natural-gas burners.

The contents of the basket

are dumped into the furnace.

Here, the pieces of

metal come into contact

with liquefied steel,

which always remains at

the bottom of the furnace.

There's a reaction, and an

aeration system draws out

the smoke that's produced.

At this high heat,

the 66 tons of metal

will melt in about 60 minutes.

Then the cover is

placed on the furnace.

This liquid is

composed of impurities

that rise to the surface when

the metal becomes molten.

At this stage, a workman

draws a sample of steel

to determine its

chemical makeup.

And now they make use of

a supersonic Oxygen lance.

This lance blows Oxygen

into the molten steel.

This reduces its carbon content,

h*m* the mix, and

speeds up the melting process.

A ladle is positioned

beneath the furnace.

The molten steel

will be transferred

from the furnace

into this ladle.

The molten steel easily

pours into the ladle.

The ladle weighs 60 tons and

holds 127 tons of molten steel.

An overhead crane

capable of lifting 200 tons

carries the ladle

filled with steel.

Additives are introduced

in order to obtain

the correct steel tone.

Here, the electrodes are

taken out of the furnace ladle.

A workman now opens the

pouring nozzles of the distributor.

It is equipped with

four pouring holes.

The molten steel

runs into molds.

It cools very quickly

and begins to harden.

Steel billets are produced

in lengths varying

from 15 to 35 feet.

The billets are then

cut to the desired length

with a natural-gas torch.

A pouring identification

number is marked on them

with a wax crayon.

The difference

between a steel billet

and the nearly finished

flattened product is clear.

Fl*ttening of the billets

remains to be done.

Before Fl*ttening begins,

billets are placed in the

furnace to be reheated

for 2 hours at 2,000 degrees.

Water jets cool

the billet ejector.

The billets are

placed on the flattener,

where powerful

rollers compress them.

This operation gives the billets

the required shape and size.

Water-cooled rollers

crush the billets.

Some billets go from a thickness

of 5 inches down to 1/2 an inch,

while other reduce from 6

inches down to 3/4 of an inch.

At the end of production,

bars move along at a speed

reaching 22 miles per hour.

Once they reach their

required dimensions,

the bars must be cooled.

This cooling bed allows the

steel bars to cool uniformly.

A total of 440,000

tons of steel bars

are made at this

plant each year.

Narrator: Dump thousands

of apples into a giant press,

apply several tons of

pressure, and what do you get?

Apple juice, of course.

And good thing it's made

on such an enormous scale,

when you consider

how many people

drink gallons of this

popular juice every year.

Here at rougemeau,

they make apple juice

mainly from McIntosh apples.

Some 90% of juice production

is done at

harvesttime in October.

A conveyor transports apples

to an inspection location.

Apples tumble in the reverse

direction of the conveyor belt

so that wet leaves and

undesirable materials

adhere to the belt.

The apples are stored

in silos for several hours.

So the apples don't get

too bruised in their descent,

they're slowed down

in this stepped chute.

Juice making can now begin.

Now they wash the apples.

Since they use some apples

that have already

fallen to the ground,

this first water bath

must eliminate pebbles.

A shower of cool water

completes the washing process.

The apples are cut into

little pieces in this grinder

and produce gratings.

Enzymes are added,

which break down

the cellular

structure of the fruit,

allowing for maximum

juice extraction.

Next, the gratings

are transferred

into maceration reservoirs,

where they'll stay

for 60 to 90 minutes.

Then they extract the juice.

The gratings are pumped

into a powerful hydraulic press.

Inside the press, filter

sleeves hold back the skins,

seeds, and stems of the apples.

Quality control is strict.

At each stage of the process,

they draw off samples of juice

to evaluate its quality

and to make sure that

fabrication parameters

are well adhered to.

The juice is

filtered a first time.

The very smallest

undesirable particles

are held back by this sieve.

The fabrication

process continues.

Juice flows from

one stage to another

via these immense reservoirs.

The next step will

be pasteurization.

Juice enters this

exchanger at 72 degrees

and is heated up to 190 degrees,

then cooled back

down to 122 degrees.

Enzymes are then

added to hydrate the pectin

and facilitate the

second filtration.

This is the

ultra-filtration process,

where filter membranes

with microscopic pores

retain the smallest

of particles.

The apple juice is

now perfectly filtered.

Its clarity is verified,

as well as its flavor,

color, and natural

fruit-sugar content.

Since juice is

produced in October,

it has to be conserved

throughout the year.

A portion of the

production is stored

in this sterile warehouse area

to await being

bottled during the year.

Each reservoir can hold

29,000 gallons of filtered juice.

No preserving agent is added.

Now we move to the next

stage, the filling of containers.

These little drinking containers

are filled at the

rate of 100 a minute.

The containers are

then hermetically sealed.

Two little sprays of hot glue

are applied to the containers.

This secures the

straws to their sides.

Another automated production

line fills bottles with juice.

They circulate in a

row on this conveyor.

Bottles are washed

and disinfected

with hydrogen peroxide

in this white, sterile room.

Then they're rinsed

with sterile water

before being carried

to the filling location.

Each minute, 120

bottles are filled

with pasteurized apple juice

and sealed with a cap

in a sterile environment.

Bottles are then labeled

and sent to shipping.

Between 20,000 and

40,000 tons of apples

are transformed

into juice yearly.

Thanks to its

perfect preservation,

consumers can enjoy this

juice at any time of the year.

Narrator: What goes up,

they say, must come down,

and when what's

up is an airplane,

you need dependable landing

gear to get you back down safely.

This critical piece

of aircraft equipment

is the product of

expert mechanics

combined with

sophisticated technology.

This heavy piece of steel

is the undercarriage

of a kc-135r airplane.

A landing gear

comprises a central shaft

to which an axle and

wheels are attached.

They begin machining the shaft.

This digital lathe machines

the exterior surface of the part.

Sprays of water

and oil cool the part,

which heats up due to friction.

They're now going

to pierce the shaft.

This drill head will ream

out the inside of the shaft.

Alignment of the

head must be perfect,

so they're cautious

with their work.

The perforating gets under way.

Turnings from the

cutting are saved,

and these will be

sold to foundries,

where they'll be recycled.

We see here the cutting tool

used to pierce the

holes in the landing gear.

To perforate the part, very

sharp cutting tools are used.

Here, they complete

an attachment hole.

The hole is

enlarged on its sides,

as required by

this machine tool.

The part is cooled with

a mix of water and oil.

Cutting is completed,

and the hole is now cleaned

out with compressed air

so that they can proceed

with a visual inspection.

Here, three pieces are rough-cut

at the same time

by this machine.

Because they'll

be used in aviation,

these pieces have to be

machined to perfection.

The machining of the shaft

is now almost completed.

This deburring unit polishes

the machine's surfaces

with a compressed-air

tool and sandpaper discs.

And now they have to verify

the dimensions of the parts.

This digitally controlled

machine has three axes

and does the verification

with extreme precision.

Here, another unit allows

for the machining of parts

with greater dimensions.

This facility also reconditions

used landing gears,

such as this one

from a boeing 707.

They strip off the

paint with a sandblaster

to verify the condition of

the parts with great precision.

And here are those

parts stripped clean.

But a visual inspection

is not enough.

They can detect cracks by

magnetic-particle concentration.

They magnetize the part,

and any cracks will become

visible under ultraviolet light.

Now it's time for the

shot-metal procedure,

where they spray steel

ba*ls onto the metal's surface

to increase its

resistance to fatigue.

Before repainting the

part, they first plate it.

The part is immersed for

10 minutes in cadmium,

which forms a

protective coating on it

that will resist corrosion.

Then the part is quickly soaked

in a weak concentration

of chromic acid.

Water, agitated by air jets,

cleans away the chromic acid,

and the part is rinsed

with water another time.

The part is now baked at

375 degrees over 23 hours

to remove hydrogen induced

during the plating process.

Then the part is immersed in

liquid nitrogen at -200 degrees

before it's inserted in

order to reduce its size.

This collar is easily pushed

on with a hydraulic jack.

Reheating the collar makes

it return to its normal size.

Now the different components

and the leakproof joints

are inserted into the piston.

The shock-absorber

tube goes into the piston.

This part absorbs the shock

stresses when an aircraft lands.

The piston is now

slid into the cylinder,

and they verify that the

shock absorber is leakproof.

Fabrication finishes with

paint baked in an oven.

Some six to eight

months are required

to make a new landing gear

and between six to eight

weeks to recondition a used one.

Narrator: Perfume, eye

shadow, foundation, lipstick --

they're all products

of a huge industry

driven by our desire for beauty.

Well, "how it's made"

is about to show you

how they manufacture cosmetics,

and we assure you,

we're not making this up.

During archaeological

excavations,

mummies were

discovered wearing makeup,

the Egyptian technique

of enhancing eye contours

with antimony, lead,

and metal oxides --

all toxic, lethal substances.

Greek women also

adorned their cheeks

with a dye made from lead oxide.

In 1910, Florence Nightingale,

under the name Elizabeth Arden,

would change the

whole makeup picture,

launching the vogue for

cosmetics without toxic agents.

Cosmetics have been in

existence since the dawn of time.

There are many ingredients

that make up a cosmetic formula.

The industry heavily

uses iron oxides

to color its products in a

multitude of attractive tones.

Before moving into

fabrication, each ingredient

must be carefully and

accurately weighed.

These raw materials are

often dry, such as powder,

but can also be liquid

and even oil or wax.

Every ingredient will

have first been approved

by the quality-control

laboratory.

A single formula may

contain over 50 ingredients.

The other essential

ingredient is water.

The water used in

making cosmetics

is first purified by an

inverse-osmosis system.

When it meets strict

company standards,

it is put into a

stainless-steel tank.

Depending on the

complexity of the recipe,

between 4 and 10 hours of work

are needed to make up a product.

Let's begin with a

bubble-bath recipe.

A part of the recipe is prepared

in an adjoining container

to make certain

ingredients more soluble.

A stainless-steel

screw propeller

mixes all the

ingredients thoroughly.

All along its

fabrication processing,

the product will be

subjected to many tests.

Here, an acid-based

neutralization-reaction test

is performed with

a color indicator.

The bubble bath

has to be colored.

A fragrance and

a color are added,

for in this recipe, the

final product will be mauve.

Before the filling process,

the quality-control and

microbiology laboratories

make sure that the product

meets strict quality standards.

Now it's on to the next step.

This filler can

simultaneously fill

up to 12 700-milliliter bottles

at a steady pace

of 50 per minute.

The fill level is

adjusted electronically.

Capping remains to be done.

This capper positions and

tightens the caps automatically.

Urethane rollers apply

the precise tightening force.

The bottles now pass

beneath a sealer via induction,

which generates

a magnetic field,

heating the metal

piece placed in the cap.

When hot enough, it welds

itself onto the neck of the bottle.

Another product made

here is the peeling mask.

The mask is poured

into this funnel,

whose end is attached

to the tube-filler pipe.

The product

descends via gravity.

The filler pours the peeling

mask into 50 tubes each minute.

Then, with heat and crimping,

the tube end is sealed,

and the tube

heads for packaging.

Other products made here

-- Cologne and perfume.

The liquid is drawn

into the bottle by suction.

This rotating filler operates

with intermittent vacuum

to fill 50 bottles a minute.

Bottles are positioned

beneath the 16 filling spouts

that seal their opening to allow

for the creation of a vacuum,

which draws in the product.

Now atomizer pumps are inserted.

Handling two bottles

simultaneously,

this machine seals the pump,

securing it around

the neck of the bottle.

We see the white

sleeve aligning the pump,

while the gray one

tightens the pump.

Then there are the sprayers.

This machine applies

the spray stoppers

and, with a hammer, presses

them onto the pumps of the bottles,

which are now finished.

And one final product

-- roll-on deodorants.

This machine fills

115 bottles a minute,

handling 8 bottles at a time.

A filling stem pours the

product into the bottle,

and here they place the

roller ball at 115 per minute.

Then the ball is lightly

pressed into the cavity

in which it turns freely.

This plant makes over

1,200 different products

and yearly sells 32

million items per year.

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