27x06 - Mortars & Pestles, Bowling Lane Conditioners, Crematories, Wood Playsets

[bunniefuu]

♪♪

Narrator:
today on "how it's made"...

Narrator:
controlled use of fire by humans

Dates back
several hundred thousand years,

But the invention of matches
is fairly recent.

The first known use of matches

Dates back to the 5th century
in northern china.

And commercial safety matches
were only invented

In the early 19th century.

You just need to rub
a match head

Against the striking strip
on the matchbox to start a fire.

Matches come in a variety
of matchbox formats.

A linerboard paper roll
feeds into a machine,

Passing under a hot iron

To reduce the moisture level
to 5% or 6%.

An automatic paper roll match
inner box machine like this one

Can produce up
to 55,000 liners per hour

Through high-speed die cutting,

Folding, gluing, and forming.

The speed of the process
depends on the inner box's size

And on the paper's density.

The machine shoots out
formed inner boxes on a conveyor

At a dazzling rate
of nearly 1,000 liners

Per minute.

The conveyor then
drops the formed liners

Into storage bins.

An automatic sorting machine
files the boxes in single rows

And arranges them upright
on the conveyors,

Feeding the filling machine.

In the meantime, a worker
feeds precut inserts

To the outer box machine.

High-speed
die creasing and cutting tools

Automatically fold the inserts.

As the folded liners
run through the rollers,

The machine forms
and glues the box skillets.

Each insert
has two striking strips.

In an industrial mixer,

A worker pours gelatin capsules
over potassium chlorate.

Gelatin serves as a binder
for the match head compound.

The worker adds hot water

Before he starts the mixer
to dissolve the gelatin,

Which combines itself
with the potassium powder.

The worker then
adds silica granules,

Which act as
a combustion-controlling agent.

He rinses the sides
of the mixer with water

As the compound mixture reduces.

After about 40 minutes,
when the mixture is liquid,

The worker adds red coloring
as well as other compounds

That make the match head
burn more vigorously.

On the splint production line,
a worker inspects a batch

Of splintered aspen wood

Impregnated
with ammonium phosphate

To prevent afterglow.

The splints
run over perforated plates

To shake off
any residue or waste.

Then, they go through a machine

Which automatically discards
broken or undersized splints.

The splints now
reach the match-dipping line,

Where the perforated steel match
bar runs down an endless chain.

The automatic feeder inserts
over 2 million splints per hour

Into the sockets
of the match bar.

The splints first get
a paraffin coating.

While a mixer keeps
the match head compound liquid,

The loaded match bar

Lowers the splints
to dip their heads in.

After 5 seconds,
the match bar moves back up.

And the head compound mixture

Flows down into the mixing pan
to be renewed

Before another section
of the match bar moves in.

After dipping,

The splints keep rolling down
the match bar chain for drying.

The chain loops up and down
for about 1 hour,

Leaving
the match head compound time

To dry slowly and thoroughly.

Once the heads are dry,

The finished matches
are ready for packaging.

But first,
the filling machine routes

The outer and inner
matchbox liners

Onto parallel conveyors.

On a high-speed line,

The machine can process
at least 500 boxes per minute.

The finished matches finally
come off the match bar.

And the filling machine places
them into the inside liner.

At this point,
the machine processes

About 200 matches per second.

The filling machine
pushes the inner liner

To the outer skillet.

The machine is calibrated
to fill each box

With a set amount of matches

And reject the extra ones.

Filled boxes come out
on a packaging conveyor.

You can find them
in small cartons,

Medium-sized packages,
or heavy duty crates.

But it takes just a single match
to light your fire.

♪♪

Narrator: a tillage machine is
a large tractor-pulled implement

Which tills the soil.

Tillage can refer to deeply
plowing the soil after a harvest

To break up clumps
and remove plant remains.

Or it can refer
to a shallow turning of soil

To prepare the field
for planting.

This tillage machine
is an agricultural multitasker.

Its rotary disk blades
turn the soil

And chop up crop remnants.

The harrow behind the blades
rakes the soil.

Then, the rolling baskets
at the rear smooth and level it.

The machine can be fitted
with various blades designed

For different soil conditions
and crops.

The first machine
flattens the curve

Out of a just-unwound sheet
of steel.

Then, a press
stamps the sheet with a die,

Cutting out circular blades
each 4 1/2 feet in diameter.

The steel is a proprietary
formula engineered

To withstand high abrasion

And to be flexible enough

Not to chip when the blades
hit rocks in the soil.

After machining a sharp edge,
they heat the blades

And form them in a die,

Simultaneously
quenching with water.

This tempers the steel
so that it holds the shape.

After cleaning,
the blades

Go through a vat
of water-based paint,

Then a furnace
to cure the paint.

The paint coat is simply

To make the blades
look snazzy in the showroom.

Once they actually hit the soil,
it wears off,

Which is intended,
as bare steel moves

Through the ground
more effectively.

Agricultural equipment plants
like this one

Purchase the blades to install

On the tillage machines
they manufacture.

This computer-guided
plasma torch

Cuts the flat components
of the machine's frame

Out of a thick steel sheet.

Other parts are cut
from steel tubes.

Here, workers use a brake press

To punch holes
for assembly bolts.

Once all the frame parts
are ready,

Workers weld them together
into frame sections.

This is the main section.

Here, they're welding
a cut-tube part

To a pair of plasma-cut parts.

Once each frame
section is welded,

It goes to the paint room,

Where workers
first sandblast the steel

To clean off lubricating oil
and other residues.

They spray on primer and paint

And put the frame section
in an oven

To simultaneously
bake on both coats.

Given that tillage machine's
work outdoors,

The paint is designed
to protect the steel

From sunlight and corrosion.

Next, they install
hydraulic cylinders

On the main frame,

Attaching them
with large bolts secured

By washer-and-cotter-pin locking
mechanisms.

The cylinders, made of a steel

That has anticorrosion chemicals
baked into it,

Lift and fold
the tillage machine

Before and after use.

Workers pump hydraulic fluid
through the cylinders

To test them.

They bolt the other frame
section, called the subframe,

To the front of the main frame.

Then, to the front
of the subframe,

They install a hitch.

This is what connects
the tillage machine

To the tractor.

Not only does the hitch
have to be exceptionally strong

To withstand the pull
of the tractor,

It must also be flexible

Because the tillage machine
runs over bumpy terrain.

For the same reason,

The main frame
has two pivoting axles.

Workers install two wheels
with tires on each one.

These tires are 3 feet
in diameter.

Tires can be larger or smaller

Depending on the overall size
of the machine

And where they're
positioned on it.

Workers now mount the bracket

To which they'll
attach the harrow.

Then, they install the harrow

And the rolling baskets
behind it.

These and many other components

Are mounted
with sturdy steel u-bolts,

Plated with zinc
for corrosion resistance.

One last time, workers
hook up the tillage machine

To a hydraulic fluid pump
for testing.

There are two
hydraulic circuits,

Each activated by a lever.

One folds
or unfolds the machine.

The other raises or lowers it.

This tillage machine is
an agricultural triple threat --

Blades to churn up the ground,

Harrow tines
to rake it

And heavy steel rolling baskets
to level the farming field.

♪♪

Narrator: gangways bridge
the gap between ship and shore

To allow passengers or cargo
to be loaded or unloaded.

They're also known
as gangplanks,

Hearkening back to the days

When these bridges
were simple wood planks.

Today, telescopic gangways

Extend and retract
automatically.

Telescopic gangways can extend
their reach or shorten it

And change the angle, too.

They'll also fold up
for compact storage on the ship.

These are gangways

That can adjust
to different circumstances.

Each model starts
with a computer design,

One that takes an engineer
up to 800 hours to devise.

Once all the details have been
worked out, production begins.

Using a crane with air clamps,

They transfer an aluminum plate
to a laser cutting station.

The gangway design
has been loaded into a computer

That guides the tooling

To cut out parts
according to the plan.

In this case,
it cuts out a panel

That will be made
into a framework

For one of the gangway planks.

Workers then serve up the panel
to a computerized brake press.

The press bears down on the part
to make 90-degree-angle bends.

This transforms the flat panel
into the plank framework.

Next, tools carve
thicker aluminum into hinges

For raising and lowering
the gangway.

A drill bores a hole
in each hinge for the pin.

With another bit, the machine

Sculpts a countersink profile
around the hole.

They're now ready
to assemble the hinges

And other components
to the plank framework.

A worker positions a reinforcing
bracket on the framework.

He clamps the bracket
to a hollow metal cube

To keep it correctly aligned
to the framework.

He welds the bracket
to the framework from the inside

And then assembles
another bracket

To the other side.

He slides a metal subfloor
into the top grooves

Of the gangway plank structure.

This subfloor will support
teakwood decking.

He inserts flat bars
between the framework

And the subfloor

To create a space for
the installation of the teak.

He welds the rails
to the plank structure

And then adds supports
for wheels.

The thick welds
look a bit unsightly.

So a worker
grinds the seams smooth.

He also abrades
the entire metal structure

To give it a brushed texture
that paint will adhere to.

Painting is
an intensive process.

They prime each gangway plank
body three times

With sandings in between.

They also give the planks
three coats of paint.

This particular gangway
is being custom-made

For a luxury yacht.

After assembling
the teak decking to the planks,

A detail person
sands the surface.

This ensures that
the synthetic rubber caulking

Between the planks
is flush to the wood.

He caulks the space
between the decking

And the metal plank structure
using more synthetic rubber.

With a putty knife,
he scrapes off the excess

And forms a neat,
concave profile.

After a 24-hour cure,
he removes the tape

That's protected
the metal frame

And wood decking
during the caulking process.

They're now ready to assemble
the planks into a gangway.

They move the upside-down planks
into position

And then drive thick pins
into the hinges

To attach one plank to the next.

He then installs
the hydraulic cylinder

That powers
the folding mechanism.

He links it to the hinges
with a long, thick pin.

He equips one section
of the gangway

With telescoping hydraulics

That allow the gangway
to extend and retract.

He runs the hoses
for the hydraulic fluids

Through the gangway
into the cylinder.

And he installs locking valves

To ensure the cylinder
stays in position

When a load is applied.

The gangway is now
completely assembled.

They secure one end
in a thick concrete fixture

To simulate the weight
of the yacht it's been made for.

This allows them to fully test
the telescoping action

And the load-bearing capacity.

Seven months in the making,

This gangway is now ready
to go to any length

To link ship to shore.

♪♪

Narrator: a pearl forms

When a foreign object enters
the shell of a living mollusk.

To protect its soft body
from irritation,

The animal coats the intruder
with layers of iridescent nacre.

Most pearls today
are cultured pearls.

They can be round, oval or,
like mabe pearls, semispherical.

Pearl cultivation started
in 13th century china

When people realized
they could put foreign objects

Inside mollusks

To encourage nacre growth.

It's the mollusk's species
and its home waters

That determine the pearl's shape
and color.

Fake pearls have
an unnaturally smooth surface.

Natural pearls are slightly
gritty and very delicate.

Even gentle rubbing can remove
the precious nacre layer.

Mabe pearls are flat-bottomed,
semispherical cultured pearls.

They grow attached
to the inner shell

Of a pearl oyster

When a foreign object
is implanted in a shell.

In the nursery, oysters start
their lives as tiny larvae.

When the larvae are big enough,

They can be released outside
in the pearl culturing farm.

The farm is actually
a big raft structure

That floats on the sea.

Oyster larvae
naturally attach themselves

To natural
or man-made structures,

At which point
they start growing their shell.

This net acts as a trap
for the developing oysters.

Juveniles are moved
to underwater cages,

Where they will grow
for several months.

The oyster on the right
is about 6 months old.

In another 6 months,
it will be large enough to start

Growing a pearl,
suspended on ropes underwater.

To grow a pearl,

Each oyster must first
receive a plastic nucleus.

Workers use wedges and speculums
to keep the shells open

As they work.

They gently move the animal
to the side,

Looking for a suitable position
for the nucleus implantation.

The nucleus size depends
on the size of the oyster.

Following implantation,
the oyster

Will start secreting nacre
over the surface of the nucleus.

Workers drill a hole
in the oyster's hinge.

This does not hurt the animal.

They fasten each shell to a rope
using stainless steel wire.

Each rope holds between three
and five oysters.

They fasten those ropes
to the raft structure.

Oysters will spend at least
another year underwater,

Feeding on plankton
and growing the pearl.

Every 2 or 3 months,

They remove the oysters
from the water to clean them.

Tropical waters are rich in food
and teeming with life.

So each oyster
becomes a microhabitat

For smaller plants and animals.

These organisms could prevent
the oyster shell

From opening and closing freely,
hampering its feeding.

Using a cleaver knife,
they eliminate the thick crust

Of sea moss, barnacles,
and other marine organisms.

Once the oysters have grown
to a suitable size,

It's time to harvest the pearls.

Using a thin paring knife,
she opens the oysters

And removes the animals
from their shells.

Mabe pearls are most often used
in certain rings or earrings,

Where their dome shape
is desirable.

Using a diamond saw,

They cut the shell
around the pearl.

After cutting, the nucleus
will be removed and replaced

With a mixture of resin
to improve strength and luster.

They use a grinding machine
to shape the pearl.

Then, they polish it to enhance
its natural beauty.

Jewelers working with pearls
arrange them

According to size and quality.

This artisan is creating a tiara

For an international
beauty pageant.

She uses a magnifying glass
to control the quality

Of the various gemstones
and pearls.

For other jewelry pieces,

They use spherical pearls,
such as this south sea pearl.

They insert a miniature screw
in the hole.

That screw is endowed with
a proprietary double-lock system

Which secures the pearl
in its setting.

The pearl farmers
have been growing pearls

For three generations.

Today, they farm
three species of oysters

And produce a total of about


Even though cultured pearls
require human intervention,

They are all real pearls.

Their color, luster
and shape may vary slightly.

But each pearl is unique
and naturally beautiful.