02x12 - Cars/Shopping Trollies/Rapid Tooling and Prototyping/Collectible Coins

[bunniefuu]

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

Cars...

Grocery carts...

Rapid tooling and prototyping...

And collectible coins.

The automotive industry

Has seen a lot of changes
in recent years.

More and more robots are
replacing workers

On the assembly line,

And it isn't
just cars and trucks

Coming off the line anymore.

Today's hot wheels are
sport-utility vehicles and vans.

In the plant's body shop,

They begin by putting together
the front structure of the van.

It's made up of the radiator
support, two side rails,

And clips on the front
of those side rails

For the bumper structure.

Then they put
this front structure

Onto the automated
production line.

Meanwhile, robots weld what's
known as the ladder assembly.

It's the backbone that supports
the floor and sides of the van.

It contains, among other things,

The pockets
that will hold the seats.

Now the robots
take the front-end structure

And the ladder assembly
and weld them together.

Elsewhere, robots
work on the body panel

For the passenger side
of the van.

The entire panel

Is made of one piece
of galvanized steel.

The robots weld reinforcements
onto the panel

So they can later attach
interior finishing

And other components.

A transfer device swoops down

And transfers the panel
to the next station.

The driver's side body panel,
coming off another welding line,

Is headed there, too.

At the next station,

Robots have already installed
an underbody with a floor panel

On top of the ladder-assembly
unit we saw earlier.

Now the robots weld the body
side panels to the underbody.

They also weld inner wheel wells
to the body's side panels.

Then they weld on a roof.

The van then rolls
into the area of the body shop

Called closures.

That's where they install
the lift gate, the hood,

And the doors.

An inspector checks the gaps
around the hood,

Looks for dents and dings
in the body,

And makes sure the doors
are flush with the side panels.

He marks any areas
that need repair or adjustments

With removable ink.

The engines arrive at the plant
already assembled.

Workers just have to install
and adjust a few components.

Meanwhile, the van
is off at the paint shop,

Followed by the trim shop

For glass, handles,
and interior components.

In the chassis department,

The engine, transmission, rear
suspension, and brake assembly

Are installed from underneath.

This part of the assembly line
has two tiers.

The van goes on top,
the components on the bottom.

The machines that install
the components have long pins

That fit into holes
in the van's underbody.

This positions the components
with precision.

Workers hook up
the gas tank manually.

The seats arrive ready-made
from a nearby factory.

They simply clamp into place
in the seat pockets

That were welded onto
the ladder assembly earlier.

An automated machine attaches
the tire to the wheel rim.

Then it inflates
and balances the tire.

Workers mount the tires,
starting the nuts by hand,

Then tightening them with tools.

Now the van comes off
the carrier

And goes full weight on
its wheels for the first time.

Workers start up the ignition

And run the van
through a series of tests.

It's taken the plant about 24
hours to produce this vehicle,

Which will soon be on its way
to a car dealership.

Narrator:
geomatics is a high-tech science

Whose objective is to gather
geographic information,

Then study and use it.

The tools of geomatics
range from cartography

To remote sensing
to satellite imaging.

We wouldn't be able
to study the environment

Or monitor and develop
our natural resources

Without geomatic data.

An oklahoma grocer invented
the first shopping cart

Back in 1937.

He noticed his customers
stopped shopping

Once their hand baskets
became too heavy to carry.

His basket on wheels
became a rollaway success.

This factory makes
about 50 different models

Of shopping carts.

They're built with heavy-duty
steel and carbon wire.

A single cart is made up
of more than 150 wire pieces

Of various lengths
and diameters.

Automated machines
bend the wires

To form the carts'
numerous components.

To make the cart's basket,

A worker uses a guide
called a jig loader

To line up the wires
in a mesh formation.

Then a machine automatically
spot-welds them together.

The next machine
applies 20 tons of pressure

To bend the wires
into a basket shape.

A robot welds the sides
of the basket.

A worker then trims off
the excess wire.

An automated machine
bends a piece of wire

To form the handle
of the shopping cart.

They make the frame for the base
of the cart, called the chassis,

Out of one thick tube
that's 13 feet long.

A robot welds the chassis

Using wire melted
by an electrical current.

This creates
a very strong joint.

A die machine punches out
casters that'll hold the wheels.

They're made of thick steel for
extra strength and durability.

They spot-weld the casters
to the chassis.

They clean the cart's
metal components

In a bath of soap and acid.

They electroplate the metal
with nickel,

Then with chrome
as a finishing coat.

It's finally time
for the cart to take shape.

They rivet the wheels
to the chassis...

...then install the bottom rack.

The basket comes next.

They print the warnings
on the plastic panel

For the collapsible baby seat.

Then the seat goes on along
with the plastic corner bumpers.

They print the store's name
on the handle inserts.

The handle goes on last.

After some final adjustments
and a quality control check,

The newly minted shopping cart
is ready to roll.

Narrator: every machine, from
your vacuum cleaner to your car,

Is made up of a series of parts.

Those parts are designed
by specialized companies.

They first build a prototype,

Then make the molds or tools
needed to manufacture the parts.

They design the part in 3-d
on a computer.

The computer
then guides the machines

That construct the prototype.

One method divides
the 3-d drawing

Into cross-sectional layers

Just a few thousandths
of an inch thick.

It feeds this information
to a laser

That's directed at a tray

Filled with a light-sensitive
liquid resin.

The laser's light
hardens the resin

In the shape of the part
layer by layer,

Eventually constructing
the prototype.

They rotate the prototype
under ultraviolet light

For a few hours
to cure the resin.

Then they polish or paint
the prototype

According to the requirements
of the design.

Another prototyping method
works much the same way

But uses a fine, powdered
plastic instead of resin.

The computer guides the laser
to melt the powder

In the shape of the part,
again layer by layer.

They extract
the hardened prototype

From the unmelted powder.

A third method of prototyping
doesn't use a laser at all.

The computer simply guides
machinery to carve the prototype

Out of a hard material
such as a wood composite.

Once a prototype is ready,

They use it to construct
a model of the part

Out of a very durable resin.

They'll use that model
to make a mold,

Then they'll use that mold
to cast the part out of metal.

The resin model dries
at room temperature in 24 hours.

Its surface must be smooth or
else the mold will have defects.

They attach channels

That will guide the molten metal
into the mold.

Next, they fill the model with a
mix of sand and a binding agent.

They smooth out the surface,

Then number it
for tracking purposes.

The sand mix
takes about 15 minutes

To harden into a mold.

Now they can
finally cast the part.

They carefully
pour in the molten medal,

In this case, magnesium,

Heat it to about


They block the hole with sand

To prevent the metal
from reacting to the air.

The metal takes about


Depending on the size
of the mold.

They crack the mold open
on a vibrating conveyer.

They use a plaster mold
to cast parts

That require
a better surface finish.

Workers position a box
around the prototype

To contain the plaster.

The mold goes into an oven
at about 570-degrees fahrenheit.

It takes


But it's not ready
for casting just yet.

Workers first have to pierce
some holes in it

To let all the air escape

Or the metal won't flow
into all the crevices.

And they have to put in filters
to keep out impurities.

They strap the two halves
of the plaster mold together,

Securing them with metal screws.

Workers carefully
pour in molten magnesium,

Using a special gas to prevent
the metal from catching fire.

Again, they seal
the opening with sand.

It takes the metal anywhere from


Then they break open the plaster
to remove the metal part.

They cut off the channels

Through which
they poured in the metal

And polish the part
using grinders and sanders.

Then they paint it

Using special spray paint
that adheres to magnesium.

The part is finally finished.

It takes several weeks

To prototype and tool
metal machine parts.

When you think about it,

Even the machine
that make these parts

Are made of parts that were
created with this method.

Narrator:
the first people to make coins

Were the lydians
in asia minor in 640 b.c.

About 40 years later,

The concept spread
to ancient greece,

Where coins often featured
an owl --

The symbol
of the goddess athena.

Around 500 b.c.,

The chinese invented coins made
of cheap metals like copper,

Instead of gold and silver.

Today's currency coins
are still made of copper,

Nickel, and other
inexpensive materials.

The mint manufactures collector
coins using sterling silver

As well as sterling scraps left
over from making other coins.

The silver goes
into a casting furnace

At 2,100 degrees fahrenheit.

The melted silver is cast
into a continuous bar

About 1 1/2 inches high
by 5 inches wide.

A machine cuts the continuous
bar into individual bars

About 30 inches long.

Each bar goes into what's called
the roughing mill.

The mill's two rollers squash
the bar flat,

Using up to 9 tons of force.

It takes up to a dozen passes
to flatten the bar

Into a strip
just half an inch thick.

A machine called
the finishing mill

Thins the strip out even more

To what will be the final
thickness of the coin,

Anywhere from 3/100ths of
an inch to 2/10ths of an inch,

Depending on the denomination.

Next, the blanking machine
stamps out blank coins.

The silver that's left over,
called sisel,

Goes back
into the casting furnace,

Where it's melted down
into fresh bars of silver.

The next stop for the blanks
is the rimming machine,

Whose spinning wheel presses
a raised edge,

Or rim, on each one.

The blanks then go into a tub
filled with water,

Cleaning solutions,
and steel beads.

The beads act
as an abrasive agent,

Smoothing and polishing
the blanks.

After a 20-minute cycle,

They empty the tub's contents
into a sifter

To separate the blanks
from the beads.

Workers then towel dry
the blanks by hand.

This ensures there will be
no water stains on the coins.

Throughout
the coin-making process,

As the silver is worked,
it becomes brittle --

So brittle that it could easily
break when struck.

That's why at several stages

The metal goes through an oven
called an annealing furnace.

The coin design comprises
artwork or a photograph

Or a combination of both.

This coin will feature
a photograph of queen elizabeth

Provided by buckingham palace.

The artist uses
a computer program

To design a collage
of various elements.

Once mint officials approve
the final design,

The process of engraving
can begin.

They take a plaster disk that's


The computer guides
the engraving machine

To turn the one-dimensional
computer design

Into a three-dimensional version
in rough detail.

This creates a plaster model
of the design in the negative.

They now use this negative
to cast a plaster positive.

An artist then enhances
the detail by hand.

Once that's done, they cast
a negative plaster mold.

From that, they then cast
a positive mold,

This time in rubber.

From the rubber,

They cast a negative mold
out of hard, black epoxy.

They mount the epoxy model on
a machine called a pantograph,

Which is essentially
a reducing machine.

It traces the model

And cuts a version 1 1/2 times
smaller in brass.

This reduction process
takes 36 hours.

Then an engraver
takes the brass model

And fine-tunes the design
under a microscope.

At this stage, the engraver
also adds the lettering,

Noting the year,
the denomination,

And the country of issue.

Then comes another


They reduce this brass model
to 1 1/2 half times its size

To create what's called
a matrix --

A negative model made
of high-grade steel

That's the final size
of the coin.

Then they strike the matrix
onto a block of steel

Which creates a positive
called a punch.

Then they strike the punch
onto another steel block

To create a negative
called a die.

The coins are made one at a time
in the coin press.

There are two dies per coin,
one for each side,

Positioned above and below
the blank.

They strike simultaneously,
not once but twice,

To create
a high-quality impression.

In contrast, circulation coins
are struck just once

On high-speed machines

That make several hundred coins
per minute.

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