]] Narrator: carbon-fiber car
Parts, such as bumpers and
Spoilers, are nearly as strong
As steel ones, and yet they're
Of course, a car that weighs
Less accelerates more quickly
And burns less gas, so carbon
Fiber offers style that actually
Does go that extra mile.
Custom spoilers, bumpers, and
Other parts make a vehicle more
Aerodynamic.
When the parts are made of
Carbon fiber, they create this
Effect without the hindrance of
Extra weight.
It's easy to get carried away
With all the extras.
Yes, that is a miniature
Basketball court in the trunk of
This car.
Carbon-fiber parts are made of
Fabric that's tightly woven with
Very fine threads of virtually
Pure carbon.
To transform the material into a
Rigid car part, they begin with
Paste wax.
They brush it into the crevices
Of a fiberglass mold.
This mold is for a car rocker
Panel.
The wax seals the mold and also
Serves as a nonstick coating.
They protect the lip of the mold
With masking tape.
Then they spray a second
Nonstick substance, polyvinyl
Alcohol, into the fiberglass
Form.
Now they're ready for the
Carbon-fiber material.
They unroll it and spray it with
Adhesive.
Despite the nonstick coatings,
They'll want this fabric to
Stick to the mold for a while.
The glue will gradually dissolve
Into the material.
They press the glued
Carbon-fiber material onto the
Lip of mold.
After all, they don't want any
Wrinkles in this job.
This material has yet to gain
Its steely strength, so they
Easily trim the excess.
They layer the fabric seven
Times, again following the lines
Of the mold.
They apply a permeable material
Called flow media to the
Carbon-fiber layers.
They place plastic mesh on top
Of the flow media and tuck it
Into the curves of the mold.
They frame the layers with
Double-sided tape which sticks
Because this area was taped off
Earlier to protect it from the
Nonstick spray.
This strong double-sided tape is
Called butyl tape.
They drape a plastic bag over
The mold and press the edges to
The butyl tape for an airtight
Seal.
They pleat the bag and close the
Pleat with more tape.
The pleats give the plastic bag
Some slack.
They push the folds into every
Crevice of the mold, then turn
On a vacuum.
As the vacuum sucks the air out,
The bag compresses the layers
In the mold.
Meanwhile, they activate some
Plastic resin with a chemical
Catalyst.
They place a hose in the resin.
The other end is attached to the
Vacuum bag.
As the vacuum continues to draw
Air out of the bag, it pulls the
Resin into it.
The resin saturates the seven
Layers of carbon fiber to
Laminate them into the shape of
The car part.
After the part cures, it's ready
To come out of the mold.
Cleaning it up reveals the solid
Union of epoxy resin and layers
Of carbon-fiber fabric.
Carbon fiber can be molded into
Almost any vehicle accessory.
Its versatility is one of its
Strengths.
Painted to match the vehicle,
The parts blend with the steel,
Adding some aerodynamic flash to
This road show.
]] Narrator: public washrooms
Often have electric hand dryers.
Many prefer them over
Paper-towel dispensers for
Environmental reasons -- no
Trees k*lled and no waste.
Hand dryers also require less
Maintenance because there's no
Garbage bin to empty and no need
To restock the machine with
Clean paper towels.
This new-generation model dries
Hands in 10 seconds and uses 80%
Less energy than conventional
Hand dryers.
A sensor turns the unit on and
Off automatically.
A circuit board with a
Microprocessor runs everything.
The assembler builds a strip of
Eight control boards at a time.
They go into a track that first
Runs through a chemical
Cleaning.
This preps them for soldering.
The boards then flow through
Molten solder.
As it cools and solidifies, it
Fuses the components in place.
An inspector scrutinizes every
Board, then, wherever necessary,
Does soldering touch-ups by
Hand.
Finally, they separate the eight
Control boards.
Working a board at a time now,
They plug in and test an
Infrared sensor.
The sensor shoots a continuous
Beam to the area below the air
Outlet.
The testing machine uses a strip
Of metal to represent hands.
When the strip cuts the beam, it
Triggers the dryer to start.
When it departs, the beam is
Restored, triggering the dryer
To stop.
To produce the air flow, a motor
Spins a blower wheel at a rate
Of 20,000 revolutions per
Minute.
After connecting the blower and
Motor, they slip them into the
Unit's plastic inner housing.
They add a rubber gasket to
Lessen vibration noise then
Close up the housing.
Next comes this electrical
Heating element.
Its coils will heat the air as
It passes.
After applying mandatory
Electrical warning stickers,
They install the circuit board
On a mounting bracket, then
Connect the bracket to the
Housing.
Then they connect the wires
Coming from the heating element
And the motor to the control
Board.
Now they send the unit to the
Testing area for, quite
Literally, a dry run.
They make sure it turns on and
Off properly.
They check the blowing force,
The air temperature, the
Voltage.
Elsewhere in the factory, they
Work on the hand dryer's outer
Housing.
It's cast from zinc.
After it comes out of the mold,
They polish it with a buffing
Wheel to prep the surface for
Painting or chrome plating.
In the plating tank, they run a
Positive electrical charge to
Chunks of metal and a negative
Charge to the zinc cover.
This draws metal particles
Through the water like a magnet
Onto the surface of the cover in
A thorough and even layer.
For this model, they first plate
The cover in copper...
Then nickel...
Then chrome.
The underlay metals are required
For the chrome to adhere.
Once the plating's done, they
Clean the cover...
Apply an arrow sticker pointing
To the air outlet...
Then glue on a plate with the
Name of the manufacturer and
Model.
The inside unit, attached to a
Wall plate now, fits right
Inside.
They fasten the cover using
Tamper-proof screws, then shine
It up with a few squirts of
Window cleaner.
These hand dryers come in a wide
Range of finishes, letting you
Dry your hands in style.
]] Narrator: the recycling of
Plastic bottles is changing the
Fabric of society because those
Bottles are being turned into
Polyester yarn.
The recycled polyester yarn is
Woven into material that's used
To make socks, fleeces, and
Other things.
It puts a whole new spin on
Polyester.
Polyester is made from oil, so
Recycling means we get more
Mileage from our precious
Resource.
They convert polyester
Manufacturing waste on the left
And plastic bottles into chip
Form.
Pulses of hot air toss the
Chips, giving them hard shells.
They go through a dryer to get
Rid of moisture that would
Weaken the final product.
The shells keep them from
Sticking together, aiding the
Drying process.
A worm screw moves the chips
Through heated pipes, which melt
Them into a thick liquid.
This molten recycled polyester
Is now ready to be turned into
Yarn.
It will be pressed through this
Die plate that looks as lot like
A shower head.
It's part of a device called the
Spin pack, which also includes a
Mesh filter...
A metal distribution plate...
And bits of shattered metal for
Extra filtration.
It's important to screen out
Impurities that might compromise
The recycled product.
They screw the cap onto the spin
Pack and insert a metal
Connector piece.
They preheat the pack so the
Polyester won't harden as it
Flows through it.
Then they transfer it to one of
The openings from which the
Liquid polyester flows.
There are dozens of these
Openings, all capped by a spin
Pack.
The recycled polyester into
Filaments.
They cool and harden as they
Exit.
Each one is five times finer
Than a single human hair.
Some of it breaks during
Equipment stops and starts, and
That goes into a big box to be
Recycled again.
The rest converges and funnels
Into a guide, which bundles all
The strands into one yarn.
The yarn travels around rollers
Into a compartment where air
Buffets the yarn to entangle the
Filaments.
This holds them together.
A spool then racks up the yarn
At a speed of 125 miles per
Hour.
Next, an autonomous vehicle
Pulls up, the spools move into
Position, and a long spindle
Emerges from the automated
Vehicle to collect them for more
Processing.
They group a sample from every
Production run with strands of
Black yarn which allows the
Lighter yarn to stand out.
They fray both ends of the yarns
With a razor so they'll be
Easier to examine under a
Microscope.
The technician projects the
Magnified image onto a screen
And counts the number of
Filaments.
At this point, the yarn is stiff
Like dental floss, but that's
About to change.
This machinery pulls the
Polyester yarn over heated
Rubber rollers.
The process stretches it and
Realigns the molecules.
More equipment twists it, and
Then it's taken up by automated
Spools.
Now this recycled polyester yarn
Is less like dental floss and
More like wool.
From plastic bottles and
Manufacturing waste, to
Polyester yarn, this
Transformation has taken just a
Couple of weeks.
This recycled yarn is now ready
For the material world, making
Consumerism a less wasteful
Thing.
]] Narrator: the invention of
Polyester fleece in the 1980s
Changed the way we dress for the
Cold.
Instead of heavy and
Constricting clothing, we can
Now layer with lightweight
Fleece.
Its texture gives us that warm,
Fuzzy feeling, and so does the
Philosophy behind it because
It's often woven with recycled
Yarn.
From trash to textile, today's
Fleece offers warmth from waste
Because it's partly knit with
Yarn made from soda bottles and
Other discarded plastic.
The recycled yarn looks and
Feels exactly the same as the
Virgin kind.
They both unwind into a huge,
Circular knitting machine.
It knits a lot faster than
Grandma, so we've slowed down
The video to given you a good
Look at the knitting action.
Hundreds of tiny needles grab
And stitch the recycled and
Virgin yarns together to create
A perpetual tube of material.
This machine generates three
Feet of polyester every two
Minutes.
Big metal brackets flatten the
Knitted tube so it can be taken
Up by a spool.
Inspectors check for any major
Flaws.
If necessary, they'll halt
Production until the problem can
Be fixed.
Then it's over to the laundry
Department, where a cylindrical
Machine washes and dries the
Material.
It then dyes the fabric under
Pressure and adds a
Water-repellent chemical to the
Fabric.
After another wash and dry,
Equipment funnels the polyester
Into a holding bin.
They feed the long polyester
Tubing through a device that
Twists it to wring out the rest
Of the water.
As the knitted tube exits the
Twister, a circular cutter slits
It, turning it into a sheet.
The sheet of fabric is thin and
Not fleecy at all at this point.
One side is a smooth knit, while
The other is rougher.
It has thousands of tiny loops.
Cylindrical wire brushes will
Transform this polyester into
Fleece in a process called
Napping.
Each brush spins at a different
Speed.
It's all carefully calculated to
Break the knitted loops without
Tearing the fabric.
The napped side of the material
Is now fuzzy and fleecy.
The smooth side of the fabric
Winds around a second set of
Spinning brushes.
They pull fibers through from
The fleecy side to evenly
Distribute them on both sides.
The double brushing increases
The fabric's thickness fivefold
And builds air pockets into the
Fleecy pile for insulation, all
This without adding weight.
A spiraling blade then shears
The fibers to a uniform length
To prevent pilling, which looks
Bad and can compromise those
Insulating air pockets.
Each production run undergoes a
Battery of tests, like this one
For water repellents.
If the water doesn't soak into
The fleece, it's a pass.
In another test, they insert
Scratchy nylon strips in the
Head of the tool.
As it spins, it rubs the fabric
The wrong way.
The test simulates wear and tear
And determines whether the
Fleece will resist pilling.
They try to set fire to a swatch
That has flame-resistant fibers
Woven into it.
The fleece smolders and then
Extinguishes the flame.
Once the fleece has passed all
The tests, production resumes.
Grippers pull it along the edges
To stretch it to the desired
Width.
Steam rises to heat-set the
Fabric to its new measurement.
And now this batch of fleece is
Ready to sew.
They fold is for transport to
The clothing factory.
In its various colors and
Textures, this high-tech fabric
Will help protect you against
The forces of nature.
And with its recycled content,
It also gives nature a bit of a
Break.
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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