04x11 - Laminate/Frozen Treats/Children's Building Blocks/Detergents

[bunniefuu]

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

Laminate...

...frozen treats...

...children's building blocks...

...and detergents.

Narrator: laminate is
a thin, decorative surface layer

That's usually glued
onto a particleboard base

To create a countertop.

Laminate is, by far, the most
affordable countertop material

On the market.

It comes in an endless choice
of colors and patterns,

From solids
to simulated wood or granite.

They also use laminate
for kitchen cabinets, furniture,

And laboratory surfaces.

And they manufacture
fast-food restaurant seating,

Among other things,
out of a thicker, solid form

Of the material
called compact laminate.

The back of a laminate sheet

Is made of a type of kraft paper

That can be saturated without
becoming soggy and tearing.

A treater drenches it
with resin containing phenol,

A compound derived from benzene.

The resin
doesn't just coat the paper.

It absorbs right through.

The paper
then enters a drying oven.

The hot air cures the resin
in a matter of seconds.

Now they can wind the paper
into a roll.

The top of the laminate
is called the decorative layer.

It's a sheet of paper

In either a printed design
or a solid color.

Solid-color papers
go through a treater

That impregnates them with
the more durable melamine resin.

Durability is essential

Because the decorative layer
must withstand wear and tear.

Two big rollers
ring out the excess resin.

Then the saturated paper
goes through a drying oven.

With the resin now cured,

A cutter slices the paper
into sheets.

Before resin treatment,

The paper
was flexible and easy to tear.

Now it's stiff and brittle.

Bend it, and it snaps
like a potato chip.

While the rolls of saturated
kraft paper get cut into sheets,

Workers prepare the other style
of decorative layers --

Those with printed design,

Such as simulated wood grains
and granite.

The treatment process
for these papers

Is quite different than that
for the solid-color papers.

Workers start
by cutting them into sheets

The same length
as the kraft-paper sheets.

These papers
don't go into a treater

To be saturated with resin.

Instead workers stack them,
placing an overlay on each one.

An overlay is
a transparent sheet of paper

That's saturated
with melanin resin.

Workers stack the solid-color
sheets in the same pile,

But those don't need overlays

Because they've already been
resin-saturated.

Now the stack
goes to the press room.

There, workers
put saturated kraft paper

Under each decorative layer.

On top of each decorative layer,
they lay a textured plate.

This will prevent the finished
laminate from sticking together.

Everything
now goes into a press.

The intense heat and pressure
compress the layers.

The overlays
bond to the printed papers,

And the saturated kraft paper
bonds to each decorative layer,

Creating laminate sheets.

The textured plates
between each set

Imprint their pattern
onto the heat-softened resin,

Texturing the laminate surface.

The laminates come out
of the press fully cured.

On the finishing line,

Machines trim off
any excess paper on the edges

And sand the back of the sheets.

This helps the laminate
adhere better

When glued to particleboard
or another type of substrate.

To produce compact laminates,

Workers compile a thick stack
of black saturated kraft papers

And sandwich it
between two decorative layers.

The press melts and bonds all
the sheets into a solid unit.

Alternating colors
produce a striped edge.

Compact laminates are so thick,

They're entirely
self-supporting.

Unlike laminate sheets,

They don't need
to be applied to a substrate.

Narrator:
on a sweltering summer day,

A frozen treat
sure hits the spot.

Eating a fruit bar, fudge bar,
or ice-cream bar, though,

Requires a certain strategy.

You have to hold the treat
by the stick,

Lean slightly forward
to dodge the drips,

Then lick like crazy before
it melts and lands at your feet.

The outer shell
of these cream pops

Starts with a transparent base

Made of water, liquid sugar,
corn syrup, citric acid,

And a stabilizer.

It travels to
three separate compartment vats,

Each of which mixes in
a different coloring

And flavoring.

This company produces
three flavors of cream pops --

Strawberry, orange,
and blue raspberry.

Each compartment vat
pumps its flavor

To a machine
called the filling hopper.

The hopper injects the liquid
into row upon row

Of half-ounce pop-shaped molds.

This production line has


The molds descend
into a tank of brine,

Water chilled to negative


Mixed with calcium.

Calcium works like antifreeze,

Keeping the water liquid despite
the below-freezing temperature.

As the molds travel
through the ice-cold brine,

The liquid freezes
from the outside inward,

Creating a shell

That will encase
the pops' ice-cream filling.

Once the shell
is 1/10 of an inch thick,

A machine
called a suction evacuator

Removes the unfrozen liquid

And feeds it back
to the filling hopper,

To be re-injected
at the start of the line.

The shells are empty now
and ready for filling.

The ice-cream filling is made
of various milk products

Blended with liquid cane sugar,
corn syrup, stabilizers,

And emulsifiers
to puff up the consistency.

The factory
pasteurizes the mixture,

Heating it for 35 seconds
at 180 degrees fahrenheit,

Then freezing it.

It h*m* the filling,

Skimming off the milk fat
that rises to the surface.

The shells
are still floating in brine

As they reach
the filling station.

The machine shoots
in the ice cream,

Overfilling the shell a bit

To create a cap


The ice cream begins
to harden in the cold brine.

Once it reaches
a semi-frozen state,

A machine appropriately
called the stick inserter

Pops a wooden stick
in each mold.

Now the molds leave the brine

And enter a tank of warm
water -- 75 degrees fahrenheit,

Hot enough to detach
the cream pops from the mold

Without melting them
in the process.

From initial injection
to final extraction,

It's been seven minutes.

The machine dips
the cream pops in cold water

To produce
a protective coating of ice.

This will keep the surface
from sticking to the wrapper.

It will also lengthen
the product's shelf life.

The machine
deposits the cream pops

Into a continuous stream
of paper wrapping.

Heating elements seal the
wrapper on top and between pops,

Then a slicer cuts them apart.

The empty molds go through an
automatic wash-and-rinse cycle

On their way back
to the start of the line.

These molds are for making
chocolate-fudge bars.

The production process
is the same,

Except that the shell
is fudge-flavored,

Made from milk solids
and chocolate powder.

And instead
of ice cream in the center,

There's chewy chocolate syrup.

The factory stamps the packaging
for all its frozen treats

With the production date
and other information.

These frozen treats
have a one-year shelf life

In the freezer,

Provided you maintain
the temperature

At an ideal
negative 13 degrees fahrenheit.

Narrator:
few toys are as timeless

As interlocking building blocks.

Children can stick them
together, pull them apart,

And rearrange them endlessly.

From large-sized blocks
for babies

To intricate kits
for older kids,

Building blocks
stimulate creativity

And improve manual dexterity.

This company makes
plastic building blocks.

Depending on the type of block,

It uses either polypropylene,
high-density polyethylene,

Or high-impact polystyrene.

These plastics arrive
at the factory in pellets.

Because they're
naturally transparent,

The first step is to color them.

The pellets go into a mixer

Along with pigment beads
made of powdered pigment

And a type of plastic that's
compatible with the pellets.

The pigment beads make up
just 2% of the weight,

But that's enough to color
the plastic a deep hue.

The mixer feeds
a plastic injection machine.

It heats the pellets
to 400 degrees fahrenheit,

Melting them
in a matter of seconds.

The machine then injects
the molten plastic into molds.

A system of hoses cools
the molds with cold water,

Instantly hardening the plastic.

When the machine opens,

Ejectors thrust the blocks
to a conveyor belt below.

For these blocks, the entire
cycle, from start to finish,

Takes just 14 seconds.

The length of the cycle varies
with the size of the block.

This large school bus, for
example, requires more plastic,

So injection molding
takes 22 seconds.

The wheels for the bus
take 20 seconds.

At packaging time,

Each type of block is loaded
into a separate vibrating bowl.

The shaking
separates the pieces,

Enabling them to pass by
an optical counter one by one.

This automated
counting equipment

Can tally up to 16 different
types of blocks at a time.

It can be programmed
to assemble a kit

Consisting of specific
quantities of certain blocks.

Once each kit is counted,
it drops into a bucket.

The factory
also makes the buckets

By plastic injection molding.

And it even incorporates
the labeling

Right into that process.

Here's how it all works.

A robot takes two labels,

One for the front of the bucket
and one for the back.

It passes a static generator

That charges them
with static electricity.

Then it loads the two labels
into the mold.

The static cling holds them
in a flat position

While the machine
injects the plastic

And molds the bucket.

The hot plastic
melts the labels on contact,

Bonding them
into the finished bucket.

The result -- labels
that can't be peeled off.

The factory produces large
blocks from polypropylene

Or high-density polyethylene,
which are flexible plastics.

This makes the blocks easier
for young children to use.

Small blocks are made
of high-impact polystyrene,

A plastic that can be molded
with great precision

Into tight-fitting blocks
designed for older children.

Narrator: just walk down the
aisle of your local supermarket,

And you'll see shelf upon
shelves of soaps and detergents.

With so many versions
of each product to choose from,

From extra-strength
to antibacterial

To lemon-fresh scent,

Consumers aren't
the only ones cleaning up.

The craft of soapmaking began
in europe around 700 a.d.,

But soap remained a luxury item
for another thousand years.

That's when a french scientist

Discovered
how to make inexpensive lye

Using table salt.

People also made soap at home,

By boiling wood ashes
with animal fats.

By the 1900s,
the growing soap industry

Found ways to make mild
and fragranced products.

And in 1916, a german scientist

Invented the first
synthetic detergent.

This company produces mostly
industrial-use detergents,

Liquid and powdered.

It uses salt as filler
in the powdered ones.

Fillers add volume, making
a product less concentrated.

This will be
a powdered detergent

For cleaning
and degreasing cement floors.

They add colorant,
then surfactant,

A substance that creates foam,

The vehicle
for lifting away dirt.

Now they pour in pine oil,

A disinfecting agent
that also adds fragrance.

Now the cleaning agent --
sodium tripolyphosphate.

It's essential to mix
all the ingredients thoroughly.

This ensures the chemicals

Are evenly distributed
throughout the cleaner.

The last ingredient

Is a chemical called
sodium metasilicate.

It boosts
the mixture's alkaline level.

This particular cleaner
needs high alkalinity

To be effective.

The factory packages
its powdered cleaners,

Such as this laundry soap,
in large plastic buckets.

Automated equipment weighs, then
pours in the appropriate amount,

Capping the container
tightly to prevent leaks.

The filler in liquid
cleaning products is water.

To produce liquid hand soap,
they first add citric acid.

This creates the mild acidity

Needed to get the most
out of the surfactants.

This soap contains three
different types of surfactants.

It's a specific formulation
designed by the company chemist

To optimize the soap's
cleaning power.

To give the soap a pearl luster,

The company uses
this secret recipe of chemicals.

The factory makes
most of its liquid soap

From this same base mixture.

The colors and fragrances vary.

For coloring,
it uses powdered pigments.

It dissolves them in hot water,
then pours them in.

This batch of soap will be pink.

They pour
in a rose-scented fragrance...

...then add a preservative
to prevent the proliferation

Of bacteria
should the soap be exposed

To a substandard environment.

Finally,
they adjust the viscosity

By adding a powdered thickener.

If liquid soap is runny,
it'll leak out of the dispenser.

After 15 minutes of mixing,
the soap is ready.

And the lab analyzes a sample,

Assessing its physical
and chemical properties.

When the batch gets the "okay,"

It proceeds
to the packaging machine.

This soap is going
into dispenser bags

Made of plastic film.

The machine
first inserts a valve.

It heat-seals the film, forming
the bottom of the bag.

Then it injects


Next, it simultaneously
heat-seals the top of the bag

And the bottom of the next one.

It cuts them apart,

Releasing the finished bag
to a conveyor belt below.

After checking for leaks,

Workers insert a spout that
controls output from the valve.

This ensures the dispenser

Will release a measured amount
of soap per push.

Elsewhere in the factory,
an automated machine

Called the pressure filler
pumps dishwashing liquid

Into plastic bottles.

An overflow
and weight-control device

Ensures the right fill level.

The next machine applies
a twist cap with pull-out spout.

Then it's off to labeling.

Those bags of liquid hand soap
went into special boxes

That are designed to slip right
into the soap dispenser.

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