28x05 - Ultra Thin Glass, Pallet Dismantling Machines, Cupcakes, Seamless Stainless Steel Tube

[bunniefuu]

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

Thinner than a human hair,

Ultrathin glass flexes
like plastic.

It can also have greater
electrical sensitivity,

Making it useful for things

Like fingerprint scanning
on smartphones.

Manufacturers
have only just begun

To explore the potential
of this new class of glass.

When it comes
to sheer flexibility,

Thin is in.

Ultrathin glass bends
like a sheet of paper

And a chemical process ensures
that it's extremely robust.

To make ultrathin glass,

Manufacturers
use standard materials,

Such as lime, sand,
soda, and potash.

They store the ingredients
in separate silos,

Until it's time for production.

Then, inside the factory,
a long cable

Delivers electricity
to power a weigh cart.

As the dry ingredients flow out
of the silos and down chutes,

The cart moves forward
to collect them.

It weighs the ingredients

Until it has the correct amounts
for the glass recipe

And then closes
the lid automatically.

A worker measures the secondary,
smaller, ingredients manually

And adds them to the batch.

These ingredients
enhance qualities

Like optical clarity
or electrical sensitivity.

The cart transfers
the batch to a mixer.

As it blends
everything together,

They add bits of broken,
or waste, glass to it

For recycling purposes.

Once it's been thoroughly mixed,
a lift raises

A funnel-shaped container
up to the base of the mixer

And the mixer releases
the batch into it.

A worker hauls the batch-laden
funnel tank to the next station.

There, a crane takes over
and lowers the tank

Onto a feeder system just above
a gas-and-electric furnace.

A trapdoor opens
at the funnel's base

And the mixture flows
into the feeder mechanism.

It's a kind of shovel
that slowly pushes the mixture

Into the furnace,

Which has been fired
to a blazing 2,732° fahrenheit.

The shovel continuously
adds more ingredients

To keep production flowing.

Glass production runs 24/7.

The melting glass reaches
the consistency of honey.

The molten glass flows out
through a narrow slit

And this slit establishes

The ultrathin dimensions
of the glass.

Cooling the glass slowly

Relieves internal stresses
as the glass solidifies.

Ultrathin glass can be
just 25 microns thick.

That's finer than a hair.

And it's this thinness
that makes it so flexible.

The glass bends to loop
down and up across rollers

As it journeys forward

In a continuous,
nearly 2-foot-wide sheet

And, unlike ordinary glass,
it doesn't crack.

It then travels past
tiny cameras and laser sensors

That look for defects,
like bubbles.

A computer maps any flaws,
so they can be avoided

When the glass is cut
into smaller pieces.

A revolving spool
rolls up the glass,

Along with a plastic liner,

Which keeps the glass layers
from sticking to one another.

Once 546 yards of thin glass
has been wound onto the spool,

An automated system
cuts the glass

And slides the spool partway
off the core and onto a rack.

The operator gives it
a push to complete the transfer

And then rolls the rack
to the next station.

A lab technician slices off
a fragment of the glass

And inserts it in a micrometer.

It gauges the thickness
of the specimen

And confirms
that it's superthin.

Another lab worker places
a bigger segment of the glass

Under a cutter.

He aligns it correctly
and then activates the cutter.

It scribes the glass, so it
can be broken on this line,

Creating small screens for
smartphones and smartwatches.

A lab technician examines
the glass for scratches

Under a bright light and
confirms that it's undamaged.

With that out of the way,
it's time to have a little fun

With a strip
of this ultrathin glass.

A worker bends it
into a circle and ties it.

It's hard to believe
this is glass.

Later, a chemical treatment

Will further strengthen
the ultrathin glass,

So that the chance of cracks
or breaks will be very thin.

When wooden shipping pallets
break and need repair,

Or outlive their usefulness,
they can be taken apart

By pallet-dismantling machines,
which saw through the nails

To separate the wood
blocks and planks.

Salvageable pieces
become new pallets,

While broken pieces go
into a wood chipper.

With its powerful band saw,
this pallet-dismantling machine

Slices through the nails
that fasten

The pallet's wood blocks
to its transversal planks.

The machine's shell,
the equivalent

Of the body panels on a car,
is made of steel sheets.

A computer-guided laser cutter
cuts them to the required shape.

Then, workers bend the ends
on a brake press

To make edges
with perfectly formed corners.

Once shaped, the shell parts
go to a paint shop.

Workers build the structure
of the machine

Out of heavy-duty steel tubes.

After sawing them
to the length required,

They smooth the rough-cut edge
with a hand-grinder.

Workers mark where
they have to make openings

For various parts
and drill the holes.

They weld the tubes together
to assemble the structure.

They clean the surface with acid
to remove traces of lubricant.

Then, they spray paint
the structure.

The workers assemble
the mechanical parts

To the structure.

They bolt on a plate to support
the machine's electric engine.

Then, on each side,
they install a wheel.

Next, workers
install the motor reducer.

To that, they bolt
the machine's 2,800-rpm engine.

The motor reducer decreases
the speed of the engine

To the sawing speed required
to dismantle the pallet.

Just above the tires
on both sides,

They bolt a blade guide
to the structure.

They install the front
of the machine's shell

And lower the machine's heavy,
steel worktable.

Now, the band-saw blade,
which has a safety cover

Over its sharp teeth until
the machine is operational.

On each side of the worktable,

Workers align the blade
with a tire

And insert it between the wheels
of the blade guide.

The blade is steel,
with carbide tips

For added strength
and resistance to wear.

They turn this bolt
to adjust the tension.

They enclose the tire
and blade guides

In the side sections
of the machine's shell.

Then, workers install
two pneumatic cylinders

For raising and lowering
a safety cage

That goes over the worktable
to protect the machine operator.

Next, another
pneumatic cylinder,

This one, at the rear
for the machine's guide arm.

The guide arm, installed next,
helps move the pallet around

While the machine's
band-saw blade cuts it apart.

They install the safety cage
over the worktable,

Then hook up the cables
that feed compressed air

To the pneumatic cylinders.

They install another safety cage
over the back of the machine,

Then, a pressure regulator
for pneumatic cylinders.

They mount the machine's
control panel on the shell.

It's wired to the engine
and pneumatic system,

As well as a set of foot pedals
that moves the table up and down

And another pedal
that moves the guide arm.

The operator places the pallet
on the worktable

And lowers the safety cage.

With the foot pedal,
he moves the arm to the right

To angle the pallet
against the blade.

This lets it slice
through multiple nails

Holding the wood planks
and blocks together.

Often frosted
and adorned with sprinkles,

A cupcake is a sugary indulgence
that you don't have to share.

We don't really know
who invented them,

But cupcakes have been around
for a century or more,

Much to the satisfaction
of those

Who want a little cake
all to themselves.

These minicupcakes
are the sweetest little things

And there's plenty for everyone

Because they're mass-produced
in a factory.

The dairy and nut-free recipe
starts with canola oil.

A worker pours a measured amount
into a huger mixer bowl.

A blend of baking power,
sea salt,

And other microingredients
is next.

He then adds
a big bag of sugar.

They'll be making 15,000
minicupcakes in this batch.

Pastry flour flows into
the mixer from a silo nearby.

He adds cocoa,
for chocolate flavoring,

Then, activates the mixer,
to blend it all together.

Next are the eggs.

They'll act as a binding agent
for the chocolate batter

And will have a leavening
effect during baking.

A quick mix folds the eggs
into the chocolatey blend.

A pump now transfers the batter
to the next station.

The bakery's temperature
is critical during pumping.

Too warm, and the mixture
will be too thin to pump.

Too cool,
and it will be too thick.

The pump delivers
the batter to a hopper.

Down the line a bit, a conveyor
moves baking trays forward.

A machine uses
suctioning devices

To pick up paper liners,
flip them right-side-up,

And insert them
in the baking trays.

Valves open and dispense
the batter in the hopper

Into the cupcake liners
in the pans.

The system controls
the flow of batter,

So it only fills the liners
one-third of the way.

This leaves room for the cake
to rise during baking.

The pans move through
different levels,

With a range
of temperature zones

Over a period of 25 minutes,

Finally emerging
from the other side.

During baking, the cupcakes
have risen above the liners.

They now head
into a cooling chamber.

They stay in here
for 20 minutes,

While fans blow air onto them
to cool them down.

The cooling firms up the cakes.

A robot plunges pinlike
tentacles into the cupcakes

To lift them out of the pans
with the paper liners attached.

It transfers them
to the packaging conveyor line.

Workers pack them in clamshell
plastic containers,

A dozen to each one.

They leave
the containers open

Because they still need
to decorate these cupcakes.

Ahead, fluffy
chocolate icing flows

Out of a hopper
into applicators.

They deposit the icing
in a swirl onto the cupcakes,

Adding nearly an inch of height
and a lot more sweetness.

Down the line,
workers load sugary sprinkles

Into another hopper.

A feeder dispenses
a few more of the sprinkles

Onto each
of the frosted cupcakes.

The containers then ride by
a rail that folds the lids over.

A pusher device presses down on
the lids to close them tightly.

The containers of minicupcakes
then meet up with a roller

That applies the
adhesive-backed labeling.

Before the cupcakes
can leave the factory,

A technician tests a sample
from the production line.

He crumbles some
of the cake into pods

And places them in a machine.

The machine probes the water
content at a microscopic level

To determine if the cupcake
is moist enough.

Another test evaluates
the cupcake's texture.

When the samples pass
this technological scrutiny,

The cupcakes are ready
for human taste buds.

As a component
of mechanical equipment,

Seamless tube is stronger,
and therefore more resistant

To pressure and tension,
than tube with a welded seam.

That's because seamless tube
is manufactured

From a solid bar
of stainless steel,

Rather than from a strip
of stainless

That's rolled
and welded into a tube.

Seamless stainless-steel tube

Is used when reliability
is critical;

For example,
in aerospace engines,

Nuclear equipment,
and medical devices.

The manufacturer purchases
stainless-steel tubes

In a range of lengths,
diameters, and thicknesses.

Workers select the right
starting size

For the specific tube
the customer has ordered.

They check the length
with a measuring tape,

Then use a large micrometer
to measure the outside diameter.

They switch
to a smaller micrometer

To measure the wall thickness.

Then, they weigh the tubes.

If the raw material meets
all the specs,

Production can begin.

They insert one end of each tube
into this rotary swager.

It shapes the end to a point,

To enable it to fit through
a die with a smaller diameter.

Workers spread lubricant
into a steel bar,

Insert it into the other
end of the tube,

Then insert the pointed end
through a draw die.

This carriage then grabs
the protruding point

And draws the full length
of the tube

Through the die
and over the steel bar.

The die reduces the tube
to a smaller outside diameter,

While the bar sets
the desired inside diameter.

The tube walls thin out and the
tube elongates in the process.

The next machine's two rollers

Apply pressure to the outside
of the tube as it passes.

This expands the tube slightly,
creating a slight gap

Between the tube walls
and the bar inside.

This enables the next machine
to extract the bar.

Finally, workers saw
the point off the tube.

They place several tubes
at a time in a degreasing unit,

Which uses a cleaning solution
to remove all traces

Of lubricant the tubes picked up
during the draw process.

Workers then transfer the tubes
to drying tanks,

Positioning them
at a slight downward angle.

As air blows through the tubes
for about a half hour,

All of the cleaning solution
either drains or evaporates.

To further clean
the inside of the tubes,

Workers insert a felt wad
into each one,

Then squirt in some
cleaning solvent.

They sh**t in compressed air
to force the wad down the tube.

As the wad travels
the length of the tube,

It wipes the inside wall
with the cleaning solvent.

Next, workers
strap the tubes to a belt

That takes them on a 30-minute
trip through a furnace.

The temperature inside is more
than 1,800° fahrenheit.

This intense heat
softens the steel,

Which had hardened as a result

Of having been pulled
through the draw die earlier.

This process is called annealing
and it slightly warps the tubes,

So, next, they pass through
a straightening machine.

Then, the entire cycle repeats,

Until it's reduced
to precisely the diameter

And wall thickness
the customer ordered.

The finished tube can be

Up to 40 times
its original starting length.

To ensure the structural
integrity of each tube,

Workers run
an electrical current

Around the circumference.

A break in the current
indicates a defect,

Which workers
then cut out with a saw

Before cutting the tube
into the specific lengths

The customer ordered.

The saw cuts leave burns,
rough edges,

So workers insert the cut ends
in a deburring machine

Which grinds the edges smooth.

The last step is to submerge
the tubes in an acid solution,

To remove any iron particles
picked up from the processing.

This prevents the tubes
from rusting.

In addition to inspecting every
tube that leaves the factory,

Quality-control testing
of random samples

Ensures the product meets
all technical specifications.