18x08 - Tapioca Pudding/Snow Plows/Paddle Boats/Fibre Cement Siding

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: tapioca pudding
is a textural fusion

Of creaminess
and chewy tapioca pearls.

The recipe
is at least a century old,

And there are
conflicting theories

About when and where
it was invented --

Britain or the united states.

With its distinctive chewiness,

It brings something entirely
different to the table.

Today factories whip up
tapioca pudding in big batches.

Times have changed,

But the appetite for this
pearly pudding hasn't waned.

The proof
is truly in the pudding.

The tapioca pearls, of course,
define this dish.

The opaque, little ba*ls

Are processed from a vegetable
grown in south america

Called cassava root.

The recipe also calls for more
traditional baking ingredients

Like whole milk, eggs...

Sugar...

And vanilla.

They pipe the whole milk
into a giant mixing kettle.

This kettle
has steam-heated steel walls

To gently cook the ingredients
while blending them.

As the milk froths, the cook
measures the tapioca pearls.

The pearls arrive at
the factory already processed,

Formed by grinding
the root vegetable into powder

And tumbling it to shape it
into properly sized pearls.

As the pearls cook in the milk,

They will soften and swell
to double the size,

Just like rice.

But unlike rice,

They'll take on an almost
jellylike, chewy consistency.

He adds sugar
to sweeten the mix.

The cook then leaves
the swirling and foaming mix

To cook for over an hour.

Meanwhile, at another station,

They add tapioca starch to a
different blender full of milk.

This blender is unheated

And has higher speed for mixing
that's fast and furious.

He adds eggs...

And he flavors the mix
with salt.

The tapioca starch

Acts as a thickening agent
for this separate mix,

As the blender whips it
to a frothy state.

They transfer the starch blend
to the main mixing kettle.

The cook
adds a natural food coloring

To make the pudding beige along
with some vanilla flavoring.

The tapioca pearls
are just the right consistency.

This pudding is now fully cooked

And ready to move on
to the filling line.

They pump it
while it's still steaming hot

Into single-serve plastic cups.

Packaging the pudding
while it's still hot

Is an act of food preservation,

Which, not surprisingly,
is called hot fill.

The hot-fill technique
locks in nutrients

And ensures freshness,

Giving the product a shelf life
of about 70 days.

Suctioning arms swiftly transfer
foil lids to cover the cups,

Giving the pudding
no time to cool down.

With the lids in place,

The filler
moves the cups forward

To meet up
with heat-sealer heads.

They fuse the foil lids
to the plastic cup rims.

It's taken just seconds

To fill these cups
with hot tapioca pudding

And seal them,
effectively preserving them.

The pudding-filled cups

Now funnel into a lane
to position them single file.

Then they travel between
rubber belts that squeeze them.

If they can take the pressure,

It confirms that the cups
are tightly sealed.

A printer
sprays the expiration date

And other pertinent information
onto the cup.

After weighing to confirm
there's enough pudding inside,

An x-ray machine
scans the contents

To confirm
that there are no contaminants.

Then they're on the way
to the chilling line.

Inside the tubs,

The tapioca pudding
is still hot and fluid.

The cups ride a system

Of spiraling,
refrigerated conveyors

Bringing
the pudding's temperature down

To about


And thickening it substantially.

The pudding-filled containers
now pass through gates

That separate them
into two lanes

And then arrange them
in groups of three.

Machinery places
one group of three onto another,

And then all that's left
is the packaging.

Mechanical arms

Place the paperboard sleeve
on the top three cups.

Traveling through a narrow lane,

Guides fold the paperboard down
around the bottom three cups

As a sprayer
applies hot glue to the flaps.

A worker
pulls off one pack of six

And sends it over
to a panel of testers

For an inspection and taste.

They examine the pudding
for color and consistency.

They also taste a little
from each production batch

To confirm
that it's sweet enough,

That the tapioca beads
are the desired texture,

And that it meets
all other quality requirements.

If they like what they taste,

The entire batch
is declared ready for retail.

Three hours in the making,
this tapioca pudding

Is now ready to add a little
sweetness to someone's day.

Narrator: a snowplow

Is actually the big blade
on a snow-clearing vehicle --

Not the vehicle itself.

The first snowplows

Were wedge-shaped wooden blades
drawn by horses.

As cars replaced horses,
these gave way to metal plows

Mounted to the front of trucks
and other large machines.

A snowplow is a blade
made of either stainless steel,

Which is rust-proof,

Or carbon steel,

Which they coat in plastic-based
powder paint to prevent rust.

To begin making the blade,

They take a sheet of metal
about 1/10 of an inch thick

And insert it in a press.

The press punches out holes
for the bolts,

Which attach the blade
to the mounting structure.

Next, they feed the sheet
through a rolling press.

The rollers
apply 35 to 40 tons of pressure,

Curving the sheet
to the required shape.

Workers check

That the front radius
and top radius of the curve

Meet the technical
specifications.

Next, using a machine
called a press break,

They bend over
the top of the sheet.

This bend will sit on the top
bar of the mounting structure.

The mounting structure
is made of several parts

Cut from giant plates
of carbon steel.

A computer
guides the cutting machine,

Which uses
electrogenerated flames.

Their intense, focused heat

Slices through the steel
literally by melting it.

The steel is too hot to handle
when the plasma cutting is done,

So workers lift off the parts
with magnets.

Then they bend key,
load-bearing parts

In a press break to increase
the structural strength.

They position the parts
for one section of the structure

In an assembly fixture
and weld them together.

In a different assembly fixture,
they position the parts

For another section
of the structure.

A robot welds those together.

Back at the first assembly,
they use pins

To attach a spring-loaded
component called a trip edge.

It protects the vehicle
from damage

By absorbing the shock
through the springs,

Rather than
through the vehicle frame,

Should the plow
hit an obstacle on the road.

After welding
the two sections together,

Workers send the structure
to the powder-coating area.

There, workers spray it first
with powder primer

Then with powder paint.

Each coat is baked
to activate the plastic base,

Which produces an ultra-durable
shell over the metal.

Once the structure cools,

Workers install the springs
for the trip edge,

Then they attach
the base of the structure

Called the cutting edge.

It's made of
a harder type of steel

Because it scrapes the ground.

The structure is now finished
and ready to receive the blade.

This one's getting
a stainless-steel blade.

The bent top fits over
the structure's top bar,

The bottom into a slot below.

Workers secure the blade
with bolts

Then finish off the plow
with a decal.

For this model,
they make two plows like this --

Mirror images of each other.

They go side-by-side, connected
in the middle by a hinge

To form a v-shaped snowplow.

Straight plows
have a single blade

Attached to a different type
of structure.

All the parts,
except stainless-steel blades,

Are powder-painted and baked.

The v-plow articulates.

The driver can adjust the width
of the "v" to direct the snow.

Another model
combines a straight blade

With hinged blades for
clearing snow in large areas,

Such as parking lots.

When it comes to these types
of machines,

There's clearly no business
like snow business.

Narrator: a paddle boat
is a small recreational vessel,

Perfect for a leisurely ride
on a lake.

It gets its name
from the rotating paddle wheel

That propels it.

You simply sit in the seat

And turn the paddle wheel
by pedaling,

Which is why this type of boat

Is also called
a pedal boat or pedalo.

Steered by rudder
and gliding on two floaters,

A paddle boat delivers
a smooth, relaxing ride.

Boat mechanics don't get
much simpler than this.

In a typical two-seater,
two sets of pedals,

Each powering a paddle wheel
at the rear.

The factory
molds the top and bottom halves

Of each floater separately.

First, workers spray the mold
with gelcoat,

A type of polyester.

This is the floater's
surface finish.

Next, they cover the entire mold
with fiberglass cloth

Then add a second layer
in the front and bottom

Where the floater
will be a bit thicker.

Then they lower a cover
onto the mold,

Latching it down securely
to make the mold airtight.

They draw a vacuum to extract
the air trapped inside,

Then inject liquid resin.

The resin
saturates the fiberglass cloth

And, within an hour, hardens,
producing solid fiberglass,

A lightweight material

That's both impact-resistant
and waterproof.

After extracting this half,

Workers mold the other half
of this floater

And the two halves
that make up the other one,

Then they apply fiberglass glue
to the edges...

...and carefully align and mate
top and bottom.

They position spacers

To put pressure
on the base of the groove,

Then clamp the perimeter
for about 45 minutes

Until the glue sets.

When the glue is completely dry,

They trim the perimeter to make
the edge neat and smooth.

To make each propulsion wheel,

Workers rivet eight blades
to a fiberglass hub.

These strong plastic blades
do have some flex in them.

This ensures they won't break,

Should the wheel hit a rock
or other obstacle.

The part of the boat
where you sit and pedal

Is called the bicycle.

The two bike bodies,
like the floaters,

Are made of molded fiberglass,

Then jazzed up with decals.

Since the bicycle mechanics
are routinely exposed to water,

They must be rust-resistant.

Therefore, the pedal mechanism
is made of chrome-plated steel

And the chains

Of steel that's been treated
with an anti-corrosion coating.

Each bike has two chains --

The first linking the pedals
to one side of a central gear,

The second linking the
other side of the central gear

To the propulsion wheel.

So, once they're both hooked up,

Pedaling moves the first chain,
which rotates the gear,

Which moves the second chain,
which turns the wheel.

Final assembly
is relatively simple.

First, workers
connect the floaters

With three painted
aluminum crossbars.

The paint is baked on
to make it extra durable.

Then, on one of the crossbars,

They install
a pair of aluminum rudders,

The boat's steering mechanism.

They link the rudders
with an aluminum bar

So that they move in unison.

A hitch pin locks the bar
securely in place,

While this rubber cap
prevents paint chipping

When the rudders
hit the crossbar.

After mounting
the first bicycle,

Workers install a console
in the center of the boat.

It contains
a waterproof storage compartment

And the handle,
which directs the rudders.

It connects to the rudders
with a long bar called a tiller.

Next they mount the second bike.

Like the first one,

It's designed to snap securely
onto the crossbars.

The adjustable fiberglass seats
slide onto aluminum rails.

The seats have fixed cushions
and rugged, waterproof fabric.

The boat's retractable canopy

Is made of the same fabric
on an aluminum structure.

A paddle boat
is virtually maintenance-free.

You just have to oil
the mechanisms

A couple of times per season,

And from then on,
it's smooth sailing.

Narrator: every home
needs a tough exterior.

Fiber cement siding
is a concrete option.

Made of cement, sand,
and wood pulp,

It's engineered to be fireproof,
insectproof, and weatherproof.

Embossed with various
wood-grain patterns,

It has a natural look
that's big on the street.

Fiber cement cladding
is a century-old product

That was actually reinvented
in the 1980s.

Asbestos was removed
due to health concerns

And replaced with wood pulp.

The pulp provides the fiber
that prevents cracking.

Production begins
with silica sand.

A loader shovels it
into an underground conveyor.

The sand particles, which are
about the size of beach sand,

Are about to be ground down
to a fine powder.

The conveyor takes the sand up
to a revolving cylinder grinder

Called a ball mill --

So named because, inside,
steel ba*ls tumble around

To smash the sand particles
into much smaller bits.

They pipe in water
to keep the dust down

And eliminate the need
for an exhaust system.

This also liquefies the sand,

Making it easier
to pipe it through the plant

During the various stages
of processing.

But the sandy liquid needs
to be thickened substantially,

So it's into a tank
to drain off much of the water.

What's left is about 80% sand.

The next ingredient
is wood pulp,

Which gives the cement siding
bending strength.

Without it,

The fiber cement siding would be
brittle and crack easily.

They add water and stir
to soften and liquefy the pulp

So it can be easily pumped
around the factory

For processing.

At the end of the mixing,

The pulp looks like
thick oatmeal.

Next, they lower cylindrical
sieves into position.

But first they blend together

The liquefied sand,
cement, and pulp,

Along with some additives,
creating a fiber cement slurry.

They pipe the cement slurry into
a trough beneath the sieves.

As the sieves rotate
through the slurry,

Residual water
drains through the mesh walls,

Leaving a fiber cement film
on the surface.

The film transfers
to a felt belt moving overhead.

Through the felt,

A vacuum mechanism sucks
more moisture from the film

Until it forms
a solid fiber cement sheet.

Rollers squeeze
numerous sheets together.

They're still moist enough
to stick together,

And they fuse
into one thick board.

Another roller
then presses a woodlike pattern

Onto the surface
of the cement board.

A spray of high-pressure water

Then slices the cement sheet
into planks.

A robotic suctioning head gently
picks up the fiber cement planks

And transfers them to a pallet.

The planks are fragile
at this point

And need to be handled
with care.

Loaded into a pallet,

The cement planks are now ready
for some toughening up.

They bake the fiber cement
siding inside steel tubes.

They're autoclaves,
high-pressure ovens.

Inside, pressurized steam

Enhances the chemical reaction
between the ingredients

To cure the cement clapboard.

They then load the pallets
of cement siding onto a railcar,

And it's on to the next station.

Here, machinery does something
they call stack breaking.

During curing, the siding
planks get stuck together,

So these hydraulic cylinders
lift and jostle them

To separate them
into individual boards.

They put a siding sample
to the test.

With both sides
of the board stabilized,

A rod bends it at the center
to determine the stress point.

If it can take
a lot of pressure,

The whole production line
moves forward.

Spaced apart now,

The fiber cement planks
ride by sprayers

That paint the sides and
the ends a nice shade of red.

The siding
then enters a curtain of paint

Of the exact same color.

The paint adheres
to the front of the boards.

These mirrors
expose any missed spots.

If there are any,
they'll do touch-ups.

The transformation from a pile
of sand and other ingredients

To something that looks
a lot like wood siding

Has taken just three days,

And once installed,

These wood-look cement planks
could fool the neighbors.

After all, it's all about
putting up a good facade.

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