23x03 - Noise Barrier Walls, Front-Load Washers, Bourbon, Flexible Circuit Boards

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: to contain
the sounds of traffic,

It's often necessary
to put up a wall of silence.

Noise-barrier walls
both absorb traffic noise

And shield neighborhoods
from it.

With stone or brick-like
textures on both sides,

They even look good
on the street.

In the 1970s,

Noise-barrier walls
were mainly drab concrete.

Fast forward to today,

And the walls come in a range
of textures and designs

For curb appeal.

But of course, it's
their noise-absorbing qualities

That really improve
the neighborhood.

They're made from a wood shaving

And cement material
that's very porous,

Which allows the walls
to absorb sound and entrap it.

Production starts
with the raw shavings.

A conveyor delivers them
to a hammer mill.

Inside, rotating hammers
force the wood shavings

Through a cutting screen.

This carves them
into smaller particles

Of various sizes.

It's this combination of sizes

That will create
the noise-absorbing pores

In the completed wall.

They test
a proprietary chemical solution,

That will be used
to treat the wood particles,

And confirm
it's the right concentration.

An auger then mixes it
into the wood particles

Until they're damp
and thoroughly coated.

Without this treatment,

The wood particles
wouldn't bind with cement.

It will also protect the wood
from decay.

In another mixer, they add water
and a second chemical solution

To further enhance
the binding process.

The wood particles are now
primed and ready to be mixed

With a powdered mix of limestone
clay called portland cement.

The machine
works the ingredients

Until they form
a cohesive material

That can be shaped.

The next worker
sprays a release agent

Onto the stone-pattern liner.

Each mold will form
one noise barrier panel.

The team transfers
the wood-and-cement blend

Into the mold.

They work at a steady pace

To fill it before the mixture
begins to dry.

Once they've filled it partway,

They level
the wood-cement material...

...then compact it
with a tamping tool.

Next, they add a steel mesh.

This mesh will serve
as a skeleton,

Allowing the wall
to stand strong.

They pour freshly mixed concrete
onto the steel mesh.

It flows through the mesh

And onto the sound-absorbing
mixture below,

Binding the two layers together.

The worker spreads the concrete
throughout the mold.

He pierces the surface
with a vibrating tool.

The vibrations
consolidate the concrete

And eliminate air pockets.

The two-person team levels

The concrete layer
using a wood screed.

They apply a second layer
of the noise-absorbing material

And level it.

They lower
the stone-pattern press lid,

Which will mold the pattern
onto the top side of the panel.

They set a 10-ton concrete block
on the mold,

And pressure forces
the mold patterns

Onto both sides of the casting.

After a few minutes,

They remove the lid,
and the imprint is revealed.

They quickly cover the panel
surface with a plastic sheet

To prevent any evaporation
of moisture

As the cure continues.

If the blend cures too quickly,

It could crack.

After another day,
they remove the tarp

And they're ready to extract
the panel from the mold.

A crane lifts the panel

And sets it aside
to cure for about a month.

Built panel by panel,

These noise-barrier walls can
become a substantial fortress,

Providing a solid defense
against noise pollution.

Narrator:
front-loading washing machines

Use far less water
than standard washers.

They're gentler on clothes
because there's no agitator

In the middle of the drum.

The spin speed is usually

About 20 percent faster than
the standard top-load machine,

So the clothes
come out of the wash drier.

With gravity helping tumble
the laundry, a front-load washer

Is gentler on the clothes
while using less water.

Its design can also accommodate
a larger-capacity drum,

So you can do bigger loads.

The washer's cabinet
is made of steel.

A washing machine is routinely
exposed to moisture,

So they use galvanized steel,
which doesn't rust.

The cabinet base is comprised
of four pieces,

Which, together,
provide more structural strength

Than a single piece would.

At the corners, workers install
four screw-in rubber feet

Which are height-adjustable.

This allows the washer
to level on an uneven floor.

Next are the two side panels.

They are already stamped
to the required shape in a press

And coated with baked-on paint.

This automated machine installs
brackets on the inner side

For mounting components

Later on.

The next automated machine
attaches the side panels

To the cabinet.

Rather than welding the edges,

Which would ruin
the paint finish,

The machine's punch tools

Mechanically
lock them to the base.

A robot then transfers the
cabinet to the assembly line.

Here, workers
connect the side panels

With a structural support
bracket and power cord,

Already installed on it.

Workers prepare the rear portion

Of the machine's
two-piece plastic tub.

First, a robot mounts
a steel bearing on a press.

The press then
forces the bearing

Into a hole at the bottom
of the inside of the tub.

Then the process is repeated
but on the outside of the tub.

This pair of bearings
seals the hole to prevent leaks,

And enables the stainless-steel
wash drum to spin.

To counterbalance
the spinning load,

They weight the front
of the drum with a plastic ring,

Containing heavy steel ba*ls
suspended in fluid.

Then, they insert the shaft
at the base of the drum

Into the tub's bearings

And cover the top of the drum
with the front section

Of the tub.

It has a rubber gasket
called a bellow.

The bellow forms a leak-proof
seal around the drum.

After welding the tub sections
together,

They mount the washer's motor
to the rear.

In this stator-rotor motor,
the electric current travels

Through the coiled copper wires
of the motor's stator,

Generating pulses
of electricity.

Those pulses push on magnets
lining the motor's rotor,

Positioned on top.

The magnets repel the pulses,

And this repeated
pulse repelling

Drives the drum in the direction
and speed required.

Next, they install a drain hose
on the side of the tub

And attach it
with a retainer clip.

They bolt a piece of concrete to
either side of the drum opening

To counterbalance the weight
of the motor on the back.

Then, they turn the now-complete
wash unit on its side

And install it in the cabinet.

Next, they mount the drain pump
in the cabinet base

And connect its wiring.

The pump's job is to remove
dirty water from the tub.

Four shock absorbers
are installed

Between the bottom
of the wash unit and the base.

These large pistons dampen
much of the vibration

During the wash and spin cycles.

Next, the front panel.

Like the sides,
it's made of a stamped sheet

Of galvanized steel
with a baked-on paint finish.

They install and connect
the console,

Which houses the machine's
central control module.

They pull the bellow on the drum
all around the front opening

To seal the perimeter.

They secure it in place
with a wire retainer clip.

The hinged door has
a see-through plastic window.

Like the rest
of the machine's metal parts,

The door panel
and hardware attaching it

Are also made
of galvanized steel.

The back panel
is left unpainted.

After feeding the power cord
through its hole,

Workers screw the panel
to the rest of the cabinet.

Then, they complete the cabinet
with the top panel,

Which has the baked-on paint
finish.

The front-load washing machine

Is now all set
and ready for its first load.

Narrator: bourbon whiskey
is uniquely american.

The u.s. Congress
officially recognized it

As a product
distinct to the nation.

This amber-hued brew
was first cooked up

By scottish and irish settlers
in late 18th century kentucky.

Today,
production continues there

With the approval of congress.

The american government
regulates the making of bourbon

To keep this native spirit
true to tradition.

By law, it must be made

From a grain mix
that's at least 51% corn.

Distillers
often use more for flavor.

Shakers sift out cobs
or other foreign material,

And the kernels
head into a grinder.

Inside,
rollers crush the kernels

To release
the flavor of the starch.

The process leaves larger chunks
of the corn germ and husks.

Once distilled,
these bits will settle out.

In separate batches, the machine

Also grinds malted barley
and soft red winter wheat.

They cook the corn and blend it

With limestone-rich,
iron-free kentucky water.

They add the barley,
winter wheat,

And a bit of mash
from a previous batch.

Along with a special yeast
formulation, the grain mash

Flows into fermentation tanks
made of cypress wood.

After 8 to 10 hours,
the yeast works its magic

And the mash
becomes a bubbling brew.

The bubbling is caused

By the release
of carbon-dioxide gas

As the grain sugars ferment
and become alcohol.

After three days,

It has fermented
into a thick liquid

They call 'distiller's beer."

They pump it into a column still
which boils off the alcohol,

Leaving water
and other substances behind.

The alcoholic vapor rises up
to be condensed into liquid.

After distilling it
a second time,

The alcohol concentration
rises to a strong 130 proof.

It's clear,
with no noticeable color.

At this stage,
they call it "white dog."

Once water has been added
to dilute the whiskey

To 110 proof,

An employee takes a sample
and sends it to the lab.

There, a technician places
a test tube of the alcohol

Into a gas chromatograph tester.

It vaporizes the alcohol

And then analyzes the flavor
compounds and alcohol strength.

With approval from the lab,

They're ready
to barrel the batch.

They pump it out of storage
tanks and into new oak barrels

That have been purposely charred
on the inside.

Charring caramelizes
naturally occurring wood sugars

To add sweetness
to the alcohol as it ages.

It will also turn the clear
alcohol an amber color.

Once corked
with a walnut stopper,

The employee rolls the barrel
into a multi-tiered warehouse.

Here, the bourbon
will age for many years.

Partway through,

They'll move the barrel
to another level of the building

Due to temperature variations.

This will make the product
more consistent.

After six to seven years,

They uncork the stopper
and insert steel tubes

To draw in ambient air.

This causes the bourbon
to flow freely when tipped,

And it gushes into a trough.

The alcohol has ripened
to a sweet caramel-colored brew.

After they add more water
to make it 90 proof,

It's ready for bottling.

Nozzles fill the bottles
with bourbon right to the neck.

The bottles then circle
over to the cap applicators.

The applicators spin metal caps,
screwing them onto the bottles.

The bottles then ride a carousel

And a device
picks up and applies the labels.

A brush smoothes them
to the bottles.

Down the line, a two-person team

Retrieves the bottles
and dips the caps in hot wax.

The wax quickly dries and
solidifies to give the bourbon

A better seal.

After several years
in the distillery,

This kentucky bourbon
has come of age,

And that calls for a toast.

Narrator: the circuit board

Is where the electronic
components are located,

Along with the electrical
connections which power them.

In a larger device,
such as a computer,

The circuit board
is typically rigid.

When the device is compact,
like a small camera,

The circuit board
must be flexible.

It needs to fold to fit inside.

Flexible circuit boards
are so thin and pliable,

They're nicknamed
origami circuitry,

After the japanese art
of paper folding.

At the core of the boards
is a hair-thin polymer film

That's both bendable
and heat resistant.

The manufacturer produces this
material for several industries.

In this case,
they cut rolls of it

To the width required for making
flexible circuit boards.

With a rigid sheet of paper
lending support from underneath,

The film enters a machine

Which sandwiches it between
two thin sheets of copper.

A cutter then
slices the sandwich

Into rectangular sheets.

A cushion of air
pumped through the conveyor belt

Literally floats sheet
after sheet off the machine

And into a stack.

Each three-layer sheet
is separated from the next

By the support paper
called a laminate.

The film at the center has a
heat-activated adhesive coating,

While the adjoining
copper surfaces

Have been chemically roughened
to enhance adhesion.

After drawing the layers
tightly together with a vacuum,

Workers place the laminates

In a high-temperature,
high-pressure chamber

For several hours.

This activates the adhesive,
bonding the layers.

To test the bond strength,

They burn some adhesive off
a sample of finished laminate

To pry apart the layered edge.

Then, they grab the top copper
layer with this pulling device

And measure the strength
required to peel

It off the film.

The laminate's now shipped
to a circuit board factory.

Here, computer-guided machines

Cut them
into specific-sized panels

And drill tiny holes
for mounting

The electronic components.

Then a coating machine

Uses a combination
of heat and pressure

To apply a light-sensitive fluid
to the panel's surface.

Technicians load the panel
into an exposure machine,

In which a computer-guided laser
scans the circuitry pattern

Onto the coded surface.

A laser is a beam
of focused light,

So wherever it hits,
the fluid reacts and hardens.

The dark areas
of unexposed fluid remain soft.

The next machine
acid-washes the soft areas,

Removing both the fluid

And the copper layer
underneath it.

Now the only copper remaining
on top of the polymer film

Is in the circuitry pattern.

This inspection device

Meticulously checks
every single copper circuit.

Next, they remove surface dust
with a sticky roller.

The panel must be pristine

Before receiving the sheet
of electrical insulation,

A mere .25 of a millimeter
thick.

Technicians use a magnifier

To carefully match up
alignment holes on the film

With corresponding
alignment holes on the panel.

By activating
the film's built-in adhesive

With a soldering iron,

They tack the insulation
to the panel at key spots.

The next step is to fully
laminate the insulation

To the panel.

Technicians sandwich two panels

At a time between sheets
of protective plastic.

This protects the surfaces
from the heat and weight

Of the lamination press.

As it forces the insulation film
deep down onto the panel,

It encapsulates the circuitry.

They load the panels
into the lamination press,

Apply a vacuum to remove
the air between the layers

And start her up.

For the next hour and a half,

The press simultaneously
applies high pressure

While heating the panels
to 400 degrees fahrenheit.

When the panels cool
and come out of the press,

Technicians place one at a time
on a circuit board-shaped dye.

Then they release a press

Which forces the panel
onto the sharp dye,

Slicing away
the excess material.

The flexible circuit board
is now ready for the company

That installs
the electronic components.

There are two ways
to mount components --

Solder them directly
onto the board's surface

Or solder tiny prongs

Underneath the components,
known as leads,

Into the board's mounting holes.

A flexible circuit board

Can have as few
as a dozen components

Or as many as 500.

Technicians can solder

Larger ones
magnified under a microscope,

But only robots
can solder smaller ones

Because they're so tiny

And barely visible
to the human eye.

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