09x02 - Boomerangs/Barbecues/Pinball Machines/Strobe Lights

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: today on

"How it's made,"
boomerangs... Barbecues...

Pinball machines...
And strobe lights.

Boomerang is a
throwback to primitive times.

Back then, people threw sticks

To hunt and that's likely how

They discovered that certain

Bent sticks would circle back.

Boomerangs have come a long way

Since then and are now finely

Crafted works of art.

Narrator: boomerangs come in

Many shapes, but fundamentally,

They are all
single-wing aircraft.

Construction begins
with a solid piece of wood.

This tree's growth rings have

Been highlighted to demonstrate

How compressed the
outer rings become.

Because the wood from this

Section is denser than the inner

Rings, it's easier to work with.

A woodworker takes 16 strips of

That dense wood and places them

In a steam box for 20 minutes.

The steam makes the
strips much more flexible.

In fact, they're so elastic,

They can be bent by hand.

Watch how he arcs all 16 layers

At once with little effort.

The basic form of a
boomerang has taken shape.

To improve the contour, the

Strips into a
boomerang-shaped mold.

They'll stay in this mold for a

Day or two, long enough to dry

And harden into the bent form.

Now it's time to
laminate the wood.

Glue is spread
onto each bent strip.

Then the strips are clamped

Together again
back into the mold.

This time, the mold has been

Coated with wax to prevent the

Glue from sticking to it.

The strips are left
to set overnight.

The next day, the laminated

Piece of wood is removed.

It's solid but far too
chunky to take flight.

A woodworker slices it into

Pieces 8 to 12
millimeters thick.

One piece of laminated wood

Yields about six thinner pieces,

Each of which will become a

Boomerang in its own right.

But it needs more form, and

Those rough edges have to go.

So a more refined design is

Traced onto the
wood and cut out.

But there's an easier way to

Make a boomerang -- with
sturdy aircraft plywood.

With plywood, there's no need to

Laminate and then
physically bend the wood.

A woodworker simply
cuts out the pattern...

Then sculpts the tops of the

Wings with a drum sander.

He's made the tops of the wings

Curve upwards but
in opposite directions.

It's this contouring that will

Make the boomerang
fly in a circle.

On some models, embedded lead

Weights are added
for improved balance.

That laminated boomerang gets

The same contouring but files

Are used instead
of a drum sander.

Laminated wood responds better

To this technique, but it's much

More labor intensive and

Requires specialized skill.

One mistake in the shape and

Size and the boomerang's

Aerodynamics will
be thrown off kilter.

But our woodworker has
the job down to a fine art.

To fine-tune the boomerang, he

First softens it over a steaming

Kettle while twisting the wings

Into an upward flip.

This blower dries the wood to

Ensure it stays flipped.

Then the woodworker sets it on a

Flat surface to check the curve.

A sealant is sprayed onto the

Boomerang, and finally, it gets

Several coats of lacquer
for a high-gloss finish.

And now these
boomerangs are ready to fly.

Up next, it's time
to get grilling.

Narrator: the barbecue's

Origins are clouded in a bit of

A smoky haze, but it's believed

That native caribbeans were the

First to cook this way.

Of course, back then, they

Didn't have charcoal grills.

They roasted meat
over a smoky pit.

Today, people still love a good

Cookout, but now we
have better equipment.

Basic charcoal grills
begin with big steel disks.

Rollers coat each one
with soapy lubricant.

Then they're fed into a press

That shapes each
one into a big bowl.

Molding steel can be tricky.

If it's not lubricated enough,

It could tear instead of bend,

So workers need to make sure

Each disk gets a generous
application of the soapy

Solution before it
goes into the press.

This is a back
view of the press.

With each powerful thrust, the

Ram delivers 500
tons of pressure.

A similar type of press
makes the barbecues' lids.

An operator inspects each part

For splits and cracks.

Then it's over to a
press that trims the rim.

The scrap is tossed
into a bin for recycling.

Next, the barbecue bowl spins

Around while an automated
roller flanges the rim.

After that, holes are punched

Into the bowl for ventilation.

Now it's time to bring
in the welding g*ns.

The g*ns fuse metal couplings to

The bowls to serve as

Attachments for
the barbecue's legs.

Here handles are lowed
into an assembly machine.

Below, a turntable swings the

Barbecue bowls into position,

Then the handles are
welded to each side.

At another station, the barbecue

Lids get a handle of their own.

No chef can check the progress

Of a burger without
this essential part.

This one will allow the chef to

Lower the lid, to control the

Cooking temperature, and then

Lift it again when it's
time to flip the burgers.

The barbecue parts now travel on

An overhead rail
to the wash station.

They're hosed down with soapy

Water, then rinsed clean.

Once they're dry, it's off to

The finishing department.

Here the parts are dusted
with a glass powder.

Then it's into a red-hot furnace

Set to 1,500 degrees.

The furnace bakes the glass dust

Into an enamel finish that

Protects the barbecue from rust

And stains so
they'll last for years.

Next, they go under intense

Lights that expose any defects

In what should be
a mirror-like finish.

An inspector examines
each part inside and out.

A punch machine now makes
dampers from aluminum.

It simultaneously cuts
the shapes and embosses the

Company's logo onto them.

This handy attachment enables

The chef to control the
flow of air to the grill.

Nylon grips go onto the handle.

And the damper is installed over

The lid's ventilation holes.

It's up to the consumer to

Complete the final assembly, and

In just a few minutes, the

Burgers could be grilling.

Coming up, a high wire
at a pinball factory.

Narrator: before video games,

The pinball machine
reigned supreme.

You pull a plunger to get the

Ball rolling, and as your

Flippers send the silver sphere

Flying, the machine comes to

Life with flashing
lights and clanging bells.

No wonder it's not yet
game over for pinball.

The game of pinball is

Unprogrammed and unpredictable.

It all starts with reams of

Wiring for the game's
electronic system.

There's almost half a mile of

Wiring in one machine alone.

The color-coded wire is wound

Around pins and attached to

Connectors on the circuit board.

Technicians follow a detailed

Set of instructions, and an

Engineering diagram keeps things

From getting in a tangle.

Once the wires are all laid out,

They're removed in loosely tied

Bunches and dipped into a hot

Metal soup to
solder them together.

But not all wires are soldered.

Some get attachments
called lugs.

These connectors are crimped

Onto the ends of the wires with

A hydraulic machine.

Eventually, the lugs will be

Used to connect wires to

Attachments on the play field.

But first, the cable is hooked

Up to a testing board where

Technicians check every circuit.

Meanwhile, the play field is

Placed on a bed of
nails and foam strips.

As the nail bed rises and

Presses against the header, the

Nails prick the back of the play

Board, but the foam strips stop

Them from going
all the way through.

These nail holes will serve as

Markers for installing pinball

Targets and tactical
features on the play field.

Technicians drill a few holes,

Then cover the play field with a

Metal template
and drill some more.

These holes will be used to

Mount the pinball
gadgetry onto the play field.

Next, anchors are
hammered into place.

They'll secure the metal

Railings that keep the silver

ba*ls from rolling
off the play field.

A lamppost is
fitted into place...

Followed by some plastic bumpers

And 115 flashing lights.

Now it's time to permanently

Attach all that wiring.

Some are soldered
directly onto the board.

Others are attached to switches.

A speaker is bolted into the

Cabinet for some
major sound effects.

Then it's time for that
essential tool -- the

Spring-powered plunger.

Workers attach a toy villain...

And add a ramp in the shape of a

Sword, along with a
few other characters.

Finally, it's time for
the inaugural run.

The pinball is rolled into every

Target and mechanism to test the

Game's electronic switches.

There can be 70
switches in a game.

As technicians press all the

Buttons, a computerized system

Diagnoses any malfunctions.

They rigorously test
all of the game's features.

If everything works, the play

Field is inserted
into its console.

A shatterproof window slides

Into place to protect the play

Field from
overenthusiastic gamers.

A metal bar locks
the window into place.

Finally, the header is attached,

And this pinball machine is

Wired and ready for action.

Coming up, little
lights with lots of flash.

Narrator: strobe lights often

Conjure up images
of '70s discos.

But you'll also find strobe

Lamps -- the proper term, by the

Way -- on aircraft wings, in

Police lights, and on towers and

Tall buildings to warn
low-flying aircraft.

Strobe lights even play a role

In photography and on
factory production lines.

A strobe lamp emits repeated

Flashes of high-intensity light.

At this factory, production

Begins with glass blowers.

Using a ribbon burner, they heat

Glass tubes to
almost 3,000 degrees.

This softens the
glass for bending.

But if it's too soft, the tubes

Will collapse, so the

Glassworkers blow air into it

Through a rubber hose
to build counterpressure.

The size and shape of the glass

Tubes varies by model, but its

Job is always the same -- to

House a strobe lamp's essential

Components -- electrodes, lead

Wires, and xenon gas.

The electrodes conduct the

Current, which charges the gas

With electricity,
making it illuminate.

This factory makes several

Strobe-lamp models, some in

Large quantities for the mass

Market, others in small

Quantities, custom-designed
for specific clients.

With mass-produced models,

Automated machines take over

After the glassblowing.

Custom orders are
handmade from start to finish.

Workers even make the
electrodes manually.

They weigh a precise amount of

Metal powder and pour it into

The cavity of a press similar to

What pharmaceutical
factories use to make pills.

This powder is a blend of

Several different materials, but

The company won't
divulge the ingredients.

The press applies 4 tons of

Pressure, compressing
the powder into a pellet.

The factory inspects every

Pellet to ensure it
meets quality standards.

The pellets then undergo a

Hardening process
called centering.

They bake for nine minutes in a

Hydrogen-fueled oven.

Hydrogen is one of the hottest

Types of fuel, and the


Powder particles into a solid

Mass that won't crumble apart.

Next, workers weld a
lead wire to each electrode.

Then they insert two electrodes,

One for the positive current,

One for the negative,
into each glass tube.

Then they melt the
end of the tube closed.

Then they attach a wire
called a trigger lead.

It prompts a transformer to send

A high-voltage electric pulse to

The electrodes,
illuminating the gas.

This automated machine assembles

The factory's
mass-produced models.

Before starting it up, workers

Load the components -- a pair of

Electrodes followed
by a glass tube on top.

Now the machine takes over.

It vacuums out the air in the

Tube, injects xenon gas, melts

The tube closed, then
cuts off the excess glass.

The tube's interior must be

Completely free of contaminants

For the gas to illuminate.

So, just before the vacuum

Fill-and-seal operation, a hot

Coil encircles each tube to burn

Away any impurities.

On custom-made models, all of

These steps are done manually.

With the strobe lamp complete,

It's installation time.

This model is for the warning

Lights you see on tow trucks and

Road-construction vehicles.

It goes into a glass reflector

Lined with metallic film.

A transformer
regulates the voltage.

Its three wires connect to the

Positive, negative, and trigger

Leads protruding from the lamp.

A glass lens covers seals and

Protects the lamp within the

Reflector, and then this
product is good to go.

Strobe lamps are also used in

Stroboscopes -- industrial

Devices that help factories

Perform quality-control
inspections on high-speed

Production lines.

Calibrate the light pulses to

The right interval and they

Appear to stop the action so

That cameras or workers
can examine the goods.

It's the size, shape, and

Configuration of a strobe lamp's

Components, along with voltage

And other electrical specs, that

Determines how long, how often,

And how quickly
the light flashes.

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