How It's Made (2001) s01e07 Episode Script

1
--Captions by vitac--
captions paid for by
discovery communications, inc.
Narrator:
Today on "how it's made"
Kayaks -- we'll tip you off
to how they're made.
Safety boots --
we'll walk you through
the manufacturing process.
Electronic signs --
a sign of the times.
And cereal --
we're milking this one big time.
In days gone by,
kayaks were made of wood
and animal skin
and used by people
who hunted to survive.
Fast-forward to today,
and you'll see that kayaks
have updated their image.
Now they're marvels
of molded plastic
coveted by sports enthusiasts
far and wide.
A kayak is formed
by the melting of plastic
on a mold of nickel.
This mold is made
in two parts --
an upper and a lower section.
The surface of the mold
is perfectly smooth
and has a mirror finish that
guarantees an excellent luster.
The graphics are laid on
the mold before molding begins.
This way, they're
well-impregnated in the plastic.
It's an operation that requires
quite a bit of dexterity
because, contrary
to self-adhering stickers,
these graphics
can't be lifted off
if they haven't been
well-positioned.
This is the yellow powder
they're going to melt --
linear polyethylene.
It comes in several colors.
The amount of powder
to be melted
is determined by the kayak model
to be made.
At the same time,
in other molds,
they're going to fabricate
other parts of the kayak,
such as the baggage
compartment cover,
the central support,
and the seats.
The polyethylene is poured
into the mold,
which is then closed.
All the other molds
are closed, as well.
Before entering the oven,
the molds are securely closed
with clamps
to avoid any loss
of polyethylene.
The kayak mold
is put onto a transporter
and placed facing the oven.
Because of the large dimensions
of the craft,
the oven had to be custom-made.
The whole kayak goes in.
The oven is 23 feet long and has
a diameter of about 6 feet.
The polyethylene melts
at 550 degrees.
To completely distribute
the powder throughout the mold,
it pivots on several axes.
It turns on itself
while the oven oscillates
30 degrees
towards the front and rear.
This procedure is termed
"rock 'n' roll"
and lasts 19 minutes.
Cooking is now over,
and the mold exits the oven.
But the plastic has to cool
in order to solidify.
To do this, they place the mold
in this cooling chamber.
It must not be cooled
too quickly or it deforms.
A 16-foot kayak
can lose up to 6 inches
of its length.
Now the cover of the mold
is lifted off.
Then they unmold the cover
and the other small parts.
The kayak is finally unmolded.
Now they can proceed
to machining it.
While inspecting the kayak,
they remove any plastic ridges
left by the joint
between the two halves
of the mold.
They now move to finishing.
This begins with the screwing on
of carrying handles.
Here, they cut the opening
for the baggage compartment.
And then
they install the trimming.
The central support
is positioned.
It plays an important role
because it links the bottom
and top portions of the craft.
All that remains now
is to finish
the baggage compartment.
They attach fasteners,
then put the cover in place
and hold it down
with a retaining strap.
Finally, the kayak is packaged,
ready for delivery.
This company makes 12 kayak
models of various dimensions.
Narrator: Here's a lesson
we hope you won't have to learn
the hard way.
Drop a hammer on the job,
and you might have a few
broken toes to show for it.
Enter the sturdy work boot.
Lace on a pair,
and chances are,
your feet will survive
even your klutziest moments.
Work boots are made from cowhide
that has undergone both mineral
and finishing tanning.
A waterproofing treatment
completes the preparation.
Let's follow the process.
This machine is a shaver.
It evens up the hide
and opens its pores
before it receives
other appropriate treatments.
They treat the hides
in this retanning drum.
Water, coloring products,
and retanning products
are at temperatures
varying from 90 to 180 degrees.
Hides are removed
from the retanning drum.
The leather will then
be vacuum-dried for 2 minutes
at a temperature of 160 degrees.
Then, the hide will be hung
for 24 to 48 hours.
Here, the hide is stretched
on a vacuum-drying plate.
It's evened out
to get rid of any creases.
A hide measures
almost 22 square feet.
They'll need about
4 square feet of leather
to make a boot.
They begin cutting
the boot parts.
This punch,
with the help of a press,
cuts the different pieces
of leather.
They also cut
brown fabric pieces --
the interior lining of the boot,
made from a foam base
and woven polyester fibers.
This paring machine thins
the edges before they're sewn.
During the cutting,
each piece of leather
is identified by its size.
They now begin assembly
of the boot.
The two sides of the boot are
sewn together on this machine.
Now the front part of the boot
is assembled.
Excess leather
is progressively cut away.
The eyelets -- made of steel,
brass, or aluminum --
are then positioned.
Here, they attach
a foot mount on a form
with tiny nails called tacks.
The last is placed in the boot
to facilitate
the assembly of the front part.
This carding machine
removes any unevenness
at the level of the lining
before proceeding
to the next step.
They now install
the tempered-steel toe cap.
The lining is pulled.
They insert the cap
and fix it well in place.
The leather is folded
beneath the boot,
the bottom secured with a tack,
and the sides fastened
with hot glue
on this seat and side
lasting machine.
The boot front is now finished.
We get a good view of
the application of the hot glue.
At this stage,
they remove the last
installed at the beginning.
It's no longer needed.
Now the sole will be installed.
The heel core is of pine.
It's put onto the sole,
which will soon be secured
into place.
Here, they proceed
with machining
and welding of the rubber sole
to the boot tip.
It's called vulcanization,
done at a temperature
of 330 degrees.
And the sole
is solidly installed.
This machine sands the edges
of the sole
to eliminate
any vulcanization residue.
They also apply a sealant.
They now place an insole
inside the boot.
Here, they install the laces
and stitch on the labels.
The boots now leave
for the packaging area.
Building a pair of boots
required no less than 123
different fabrication steps,
including packaging.
Each pair needs 330 feet
of nylon, cotton,
and polyester threads
and over 10 square feet
of thick and rugged leather.
Narrator: Take a stroll
down Tokyo's downtown drag,
and you'll get
the distinct impression
that neon is passé.
Today, electronic signs
are all the buzz --
futuristic miracles of light,
color, and animation
that make the world
their matinee screen.
Digital electronic signboards
are sometimes used
as giant television screens
or to post written messages.
They come in different sizes --
from a few feet
all the way up to many thousands
of square feet.
The creation of a sign
starts with plans
drawn by engineers
and architects.
Hundreds of plans
are created by computer,
among other methods,
and require between two days
or even a month of work.
Millions of tiny lights,
or light-emitting diodes
called elements,
make up the screen's surface.
These elements are made
of germanium, gallium nitrate,
and silicon semiconductors
covered with plastic.
These elements have to be placed
so as to form a matrix.
Each of the 20 machines
at this plant
can install and solder
1,500 elements an hour.
Lighting up an element requires
only 10 to 20 milliamps,
and they last
for about 150,000 hours.
All the wires are placed
behind the matrix
in the different
electrical connections.
This conceals everything
behind the sign
and shelters it
from the weather.
Depending upon the distance from
which the sign will be seen,
spaces between the elements
vary from 1/10 of an inch
to several inches.
A workman now makes
the electrical connections.
The wires have to be
solidly connected
to resist shaking caused by
movement of the signboard.
The matrices
must operate together
and require controllers,
which send information
from one to the other.
Thus, each group controls
its own image.
Each matrix has
to be electrically powered
and integrated to its own 5-volt
element-illuminating connector.
Sometimes the matrices
are made up in two pieces --
one supporting the elements and
the other having the components.
In this case,
it simply requires
two cards to establish
the contact.
Now they connect
the information cable
that lights up
and extinguishes the elements.
Each matrix
has two connectors --
one that supplies
the electric current
and the other that carries
the sign's information.
Here, they verify
the functioning of each matrix.
Then, they can begin
to join matrices together
to construct the signboard.
We see here
all the colors assembled
as they will be on the screen.
The boards
are sometimes installed outside
and are thus vulnerable
to the weather.
That's why they put on
this rubber strip,
which waterproofs it.
The matrices
are now assembled together.
Then, 10 matrices are joined
to make up a module.
At this stage, they insert
the signboard conductor.
Then the wires are connected.
These wires transmit
electric current
and all the information
relating to the sign.
The elements require
a very low-voltage current --
about 5 volts.
Each module is then provided
with its own converter
to maintain a steady voltage.
Then all the modules
are assembled
in the signboard support.
And the many electrical
connections
linking the different modules
are made.
This gigantic signboard
is a composition of 35 modules
and 12 matrices.
The signboard
is almost finished.
They now check the color,
the luminosity,
and the resolution
of the screen.
The signboard is made of 120,000
electrical light diodes
and took nearly
3 months of work.
Each year,
this company constructs
hundreds of digital signboards
requiring about 100 million
lighting elements.
Narrator: If you aren't the type
to rise at the crack of dawn
and wolf down
a hearty breakfast,
chances are you eat a bowl
of cereal
or a granola bar on the fly.
One of the best ways to beat
the early-morning blahs,
the goodness of cereal
now comes in as many forms
as our fast-paced
lifestyles demand.
Our breakfast cereals were born
out of the religious beliefs
of the seventh-day adventists.
The seventh-day adventists
are vegetarians who, in 1860,
founded a sanatorium
where patients
were fed only cereals --
wheat flakes invented
by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg.
His brother, William Keith,
saw a promising future
and built the first flakes
factory to market the product.
His success
would later be imitated
by the famous
Charles William post
of post cereals.
The making of
frosted corn flakes
starts in this cooker.
The corn kernels are cooked here
for 2 hours and 20 minutes.
Then the corn kernels
are ground up.
They're ground up
by this endless worm screw.
It also determines
the number of pounds of kernels
needed to make up
a cereal recipe.
The ground corn is next dried
in a dryer unit,
an important step
before they're cooked.
To give them
their nice, flat shape,
the corn kernels are crushed
in the flake roller.
Two rollers
turn opposite to each other,
and the kernels fall
into the constricted space
between them.
The flakes fall
onto this conveyor,
and the next step
will be cooking.
The flakes arrive
at the cooking oven.
They're shaken to make sure
they will be uniformly browned.
The flakes exit the oven
well-browned.
They then fall into this chute
and head in the direction
of the next step.
This vibrating conveyor
sorts the flakes
and retains
only the right-sized ones.
This drum mixes the flakes
and sprays them
with a sweet solution
boiling at 445 degrees.
The sweet solution is dried,
and a rake uniformly spreads out
the frosted flakes
on the canvas.
Now they add in vitamins.
The cereals are placed
into this rotating drum.
The vitamins are sprayed onto
the flakes by a series of jets.
The cereals are now finished,
and they head
toward the packaging site.
This packager
fills the bags with cereal.
It handles
between 40 and 45 bags a minute
before they head off
for final packaging.
This plant doesn't only
make cereals.
It also makes soft cereal bars.
This kneader
mixes the ingredients --
oat flakes, rice, and syrup.
The preparation is mixed
twice a minute.
When well-mixed,
the preparation is poured
into a large container.
They will now proceed
with the molding of the bars.
The contents of the bin
are emptied onto a conveyor.
And the mixture is spread out.
Here, they add chocolate chips
to the mixture.
The mix is compressed
to the desired bar thickness
by this roller.
The bar separator
then divides the mix
into 35 equal strips.
And then a guillotine cuts
the bars to their proper length.
The bars continue circulating.
This equipment
is used to line up the bars
and make
the packaging process easier.
Side by side,
the bars are turned here
so that they run
one behind the other.
This roller applies a delicious
caramel fondant to the bars.
This caramel fondant
then cools and sets.
They're now at
the final stage of production --
coating with chocolate.
About 400 pounds of chocolate
are needed for the bar recipe.
Now finished, the bars
are ready for packaging.
This machine
individually bags the bars.
Finally, they proceed
with the packaging.
These tasty bars will be
enjoyed by children,
as well as adults.
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