Narrator: rock crushers
are brawny machines
Designed to smash
big boulders to bits.
The broken rock is then used
to make asphalt pavement,
Concrete building foundations,
ceramic tile,
And many other things.
Modern society
is largely built
On the crushing strength
of these powerful machines.
If there's one invention
that's been a smashing success,
It's the rock crusher.
These machines
are designed to pulverize.
This crusher
slams rocks against anvils
To shatter them
along natural stress lines.
They break
into uniform cubicle particles
That can be processed
into many different things.
Production starts
with the crusher's lid.
A computer-controlled
plasma torch
Cuts through a sheet of steel
that's underwater.
The water keeps the smoke down
As the plasma gas
makes a sharp, precise cut.
They feed a piece of steel
back and forth between rollers
To shape it
into the crusher body.
With each pass,
the strip curls a little more.
When the two ends meet,
The steel
is sufficiently cylindrical.
The technician
tack welds the ends
While the steel
is still in the rolling machine.
This holds the shape so that
he can then do a complete weld.
After a bit more work,
The crusher body is ready
for mounting to the base frame.
They lower it into place
with the crane
And weld it to the section
That will hold
the electric motor and pedestal.
After a paint job
and some fittings,
The focus turns to
the inside of the rock crusher.
A worker bolts steel castings
to the interior wall.
The rugged castings
Will protect the crusher
structure from damage
As rocks are slammed around
inside during crushing.
He secures the bolts
From the outside
of the crusher structure.
They're now ready to assemble
the crusher bearing and shaft.
The worker
starts with the bearing.
He carefully aims a torch at it,
And the exposure
to the steady flame
Causes the bearing to expand.
When it's large enough,
He lowers the shaft
into the bearing.
As the bearing cools,
It shrinks to the shaft
for a tight fit.
This takes several hours.
Then he heats the opening
In a part known as
the pedestal housing
To enlarge it.
He inserts the shaft
and bearing assembly into it.
The housing cools
and shrinks to the bearing.
They also equip
the other end of the shaft
With a bearing and cap,
And then it's time
for a test run.
They run each pedestal unit
for two hours
So a computer can thoroughly
assess its performance.
The pedestal shaft assembly
has passed a gamut of tests.
It's ready
to go into the crusher.
The installer bolts it
to the frame in six places.
He attaches it
to the protruding shaft bearing
By heat shrinking it in place.
He reinforces the installation
with two locknuts.
Meanwhile,
a robot welds brackets
Onto a machined steel plate
that will serve as the impeller.
The impeller
is a kind of turntable
That revolves to toss the rock
into anvils to shatter it.
They attach parts called shoes
to the brackets.
They transfer the impeller
to the crusher
And bolt it to the hub.
A worker installs
chrome and white iron castings.
The castings are the anvils.
Arranged in a ring,
They serve as
the striking surface
For the rocks.
He installs them on an angle
and locks them in position.
The crane transfers the ring
to the crusher,
And the anvils
now surround the impeller.
With all of the components
in place,
It's time to put the lid
on the rock crusher.
A worker presses a decal
with brand information
Onto the outside.
They install the electric motor,
And this crusher is now ready
to reduce rocks to rubble.
Narrator: a lampshade
is primarily practical.
It diffuses
the light that bulbs emit.
It also serves
a decorative purpose.
What the shade is made of,
its shape, and size
All influence
the style of the lamp,
So much so that you can give
an old lamp a whole new look
Just by changing the shade.
Whether the look
is modern or classic,
Putting the perfect shade
on your lamp base
Is always a bright idea.
Manufacturing a lampshade
begins with the frame.
It's made of steel wire
Depending on the shade size.
A computer-guided
forming machine
Pulls the wire off the spindle
and straightens it with rollers.
Then the machine
bends and cuts the wire
Into the shape
of each frame component.
For each frame,
The machine makes two rings
in the shape of the shade,
Typically round, square,
or rectangular.
Then it makes
three "l"-shaped pieces.
To assemble
the top of the frame,
They place one "l"-shaped piece
at a time in a positioning jig
Alongside a steel loop
with three tabs.
They weld an "l" piece
to each of those tabs.
Next, they take each ring
and weld it closed.
They weld the free end
of the "l"-shaped pieces
To one of the rings.
This completes
the top of the frame.
The remaining ring
forms the bottom of the frame.
Workers spray both of them
with paint powder.
Then the frame parts
enter an oven,
Which bakes the powder
into a durable coating.
At the core of
the fabric portion of the shade
Is a sheet of pvc plastic that
has an adhesive on both sides.
Working one side at a time,
They peel off
the paper covering the adhesive,
Then apply the fabric gradually,
Carefully smoothing it out
as they go to prevent creases.
This lampshade has
cream-colored linen on one side
And patterned cotton
on the other.
Once they've applied fabric
to both sides of the pvc sheet,
A computer-guided cutter
cuts out the shape of the shade.
It also cuts through the inside
of the fabric and the pvc
All along the perimeter
half an inch from the edge.
This leaves a small border
of only outside fabric.
They apply double-sided tape
to this border
On the top and bottom
of the shade.
They run a bead of glue
down one side edge,
Then fold the outside fabric
border over the inner fabric.
This gives the lampshade
a neat seam.
Now they assemble
fabric and frame,
Starting with the bottom ring.
They position it
just above the double-sided tape
Along the border,
Then they remove the paper
To expose
the tape's adhesive surface
And fold the tape border
tightly over the frame.
They stand up the shade
on its bottom ring
And position the top ring
with clips.
Then they peel, fold, and stick
the fabric border over the ring
Just as they did on the bottom.
They press all around
To smooth out the fabric
and ensure it adheres well.
Then, using a bent spoon,
They push the edge of the fabric
in behind the curved wire frame.
This creates
a neat, rounded rim.
They seal
the shade's vertical seam,
Applying glue to both
the inside and outside edges.
They weigh it down
for about half an hour
Until the glue fully cures.
The shade is now ready
To add its personality
to an awaiting base.
With all the lampshade's styles,
Shapes, colors,
and fabrics available today,
Any lamp can have
multiple personalities.
Narrator:
believe it or not,
Cake sprinkles have been around
since the late 18th century
When french confectioners
used them as decorations.
Chocolate sprinkles are believed
to have been invented in 1936
By a dutchman responding to
a little boy's request
For a chocolate bread topping.
Cake sprinkles
come in a variety of colors
And can be found decorating and
adding texture to many treats
Such as cupcakes, doughnuts,
ice cream, and cookies.
They can quickly turn
a tasty treat
Into a visual one, as well.
A variety of liquid and powder
food colorants
Are among the ingredients
Used to make these
colorful dessert decorations.
Shortening is
one of the other ingredients.
A worker adds an exact quantity
of shortening to a mixing tank.
Water in the tank is heated
as the mixture is agitated.
Within minutes,
the ingredients are absorbed.
A worker adds powdered sugar
to a dry mixer.
By the time all the needed sugar
has been added,
The machine is full.
He adds a pre-measured amount
of liquid food colorant.
Different food colorants and
different amounts of colorants
Produce different-colored
sprinkles
And different shades of colors.
The mixture
of water and shortening
Are added to the dry mixer
Containing the powdered sugar
and colorant.
He closes the lid and begins
the dough-mixing process.
About 15 minutes later,
a worker opens the lid
To reveal the freshly mixed
and colorful dough.
A worker pushes the dough
along a conveyor into a chute.
It leads to
a wide collection area
And another conveyor machine
Which moves the dough
toward an extruder.
As the dough
falls into the extruder,
It's forced through
many small holes.
It emerges
as these long, narrow strands
Which fall
onto another conveyor.
The holes through which
the dough is forced
Are in a big plate.
To make sure the quality
of the product doesn't vary,
Room temperature
in the production area
Is kept constant,
And the relative humidity
is kept at 50%.
That same ambient air
dries the dough
As it moves along the conveyor
through a tunnel.
About 10 seconds
after it enters the tunnel,
It falls into a holding vat
with a pail.
A worker sifts through the dough
To make sure
it's properly dried.
She lifts the dough-filled pail
And places it on a trolley
for the trip to a tumbler.
The tumbler breaks the strands
into smaller sizes.
The dough usually spends
about 10 minutes here.
Any longer and the strand bits
will be too small.
A nozzle sprays a mixture
of confectioner's glaze
And carnauba wax.
The mixer keeps
the cake sprinkles
From leaking color
Once they're placed
in finished products.
Now dried and trimmed for size,
A worker removes the sprinkles
from the tumbler
And pours them
onto a shaker table.
Properly-sized pieces of dough
Fall through a screen
along with smaller pieces
As larger clumps are sorted out.
Before dropping
to another conveyor,
A second filter below
removes under-sized granules.
The sprinkles fall into
a plastic-lined packaging tub.
Cake sprinkles
come in a variety of colors.
A tumbler
mixes all the colors together
In order to package
a multi-colored product.
The various colors are mixed
together for about five minutes
Before a worker
samples the mixture
To make sure the variety
of colors is consistent.
Once the sprinkles
have been thoroughly mixed,
They fall into
a line of bottles.
A jet of air directed
at the top of the bottles
Keeps sprinkles
away from the cap area.
The capping machine
not only positions the cap,
It also spins the bottle
to screw the cap into place.
The capped bottles
head to the labeling area.
An adhesive label
is applied to the bottle.
These colorful sprinkles are
sure to make any dessert dazzle.
Narrator: the steam iron
is a 20th-century invention
That makes ironing
less of a chore.
Less physical effort is required
Because the steam
opens the weave of the fabric
So that creases
can be smoothed out more easily
By the heated sole of the iron.
In the past,
People used heavy wedges of iron
heated over a fire
To press clothing,
And so they became known
as irons.
But today's electric irons
aren't made from iron at all.
They're made with lighter stuff
like plastic and aluminum.
Production starts with
this injection-molding machine.
Once the mold closes,
Nozzles inject three streams
of plastic into the cavities,
Each one a different color.
The plastic hardens
into a tri-colored part
That is the upper shell
of the iron and its handle.
The plastic shell will also
serve as the iron's water tank.
The robot
transfers the molded parts
To automated scissors.
The scissors
snip off unwanted bits
That were formed
as plastic flowed into the mold.
The next robot
Transfers a plastic ring
to a printing station.
This ring will be
the temperature indicator
For the control knob.
Another robot
stamps the measurements
And other information onto it.
Nozzles inject a ceramic liquid
into the iron's aluminum base --
The sole plate which
contains the heating element.
The ceramic will aid
in the production of steam
By breaking the surface tension
of the water from the tank.
A worker places a cover
on top of the sole plate,
And a machine
rivets them together.
There's a cover for the bottom
of the sole plate, as well,
Fittingly known as the shoe.
An injector coats all the rivets
in the sole plate with silicone.
The silicone
serves as a kind of glue,
Keeping the rivets tight.
A robot transfers
the sole plate assembly
To a heating unit
to cure the silicone.
Another robot
Pumps compressed air
into the sole plate
To check for leaks.
The sole plate cools down
from the silicone cure
On the ride to the next station.
While just ahead,
Robots nimbly bend and twist
wires to a precise geometry.
These robots are faster than
humans and incredibly accurate.
Afterwards,
another robot welds the wires
To a post on the iron's
temperature-control unit.
A carriage
shuttles the unit forward,
And the next robot retrieves it
And transfers it
to the iron sole plate assembly.
Another robot
adjusts the unit's knob
Until it's
in the correct position.
They install
an aluminum silicate disk
To protect the knob from heat.
A robot applies hot glue
Into the grooves
of the iron's heat shield,
Which will also serve
as the bottom of the water tank.
With the glue still liquid,
Another robot
transfers the iron upper to it,
And the glue cures.
Up until now, the robots
have done most of the work,
But it's time
for a helping hand or two.
A worker transfers
the iron upper assembly
To the bottom one.
After the two parts
have been secured
And a leak test performed,
Another worker
connects the power cord to it.
She encloses the back with
another molded plastic part.
Another worker installs
the steam and spray subassembly.
This part has an intake channel
for fill ups
And a mechanism
to control the steam.
It's time for
a thorough electrical test.
They plug it in,
And a robot turns the knob
While a computer
monitors its performance.
A worker then examines
the steam iron from all angles.
With her final approval,
it's ready for packaging.
With robots and humans
working in tandem,
It takes just 10 minutes
to assemble a steam iron.
Piles of rumpled laundry await,
so it's full steam ahead.
If you have any comments
about the show,
Or if you'd like to suggest
topics for future shows,
Drop us a line at...
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