How It's Made (2001) s01e11 Episode Script

1
--Captions by vitac--
captions paid for by
discovery communications, inc.
Narrator: Today,
on "how it's made"
plastic bags --
it's trash and carry.
Solar panels -- reflecting
on energy efficiency.
Plastic gas
containers -- fuel to go.
And hockey sticks --
mind if we take a
shot at this one?
You can use them for groceries,
for shopping, for
taking out the trash.
Chances are there's
a growing pile of them
somewhere in your kitchen.
With so many everyday uses,
it's easy to see how people
can get "carried away"
with plastic bags.
The plastic bags
we use every day
are made from granules
of linear polyethylene resin
that will be melted.
They combine the
linear polyethylene
with another low-density
one in this mixer.
The granules are
perfectly blended
into a homogenous material.
Granules melt in the extruder,
which heats them
to a temperature
varying between
356 and 465 degrees.
This produces a
film of polyethylene
in the form of a tube.
It is several hundred feet long,
has a minimum thickness
of .0002 of an inch
and a circumference
of 20 inches.
The plastic tube
gradually cools down.
Rollers then flatten
out the plastic tube.
The polyethylene film
is now easy to work.
And now they cut
the tube on two sides
to obtain different rolls.
This knife then cuts the
film to the required width.
The excess strip is
salvaged in this tube.
Several hundred of feet of
film are produced and rolled up.
This particular roll contains
the required quantity of film.
When the roll is
full, the film is cut.
This roll moves forward
and can be transported
to another department.
An empty roll begins
to fill up automatically.
A full roll weighs 348 pounds
and can produce 35,000 bags.
The next step --
printing on the bags.
This alcohol-based ink
circulates continuously
to retain its viscosity.
Impressions are
made by inking rollers.
Here another color is
being applied on the bags.
Once printing is over, the
plastic film is rolled up again.
The roll is now full, and the
cutting of bags can get started.
This machine makes
150 bags per minute.
A sealer bonds the edges
of the bag together with heat.
The wheel picks up the bag
and puts them on 2 spindles
that can hold 250 each.
Here, they're making
bags with a hermetic zipper.
The zipper is made
from a plastic pad
which inserts into a slot.
The zipper is made in advance
and is unrolled progressively.
The zipper strip is cut
and heat-bonded to
the bag at 356 degrees.
And here's the
zippered bag, all finished.
In this other
department of the plant,
they make plastic
bags with handles.
Printed bags circulate
on these rollers.
The machine that welds the sides
gives the bags
the desired shape.
Then another machine, with a
punch, cuts the handle holes.
Bags are heat-sealed
and cut at 302 degrees.
Here, they fabricate another
product -- packaging bags.
One end of the
bag is heat-sealed.
This machine makes holes
that let air out of the
bag when it is being filled,
to allow them to be
generously filled with items.
At this stage, a stamper
cuts the handle holes.
Bags are cut to
the required size,
automatically sealing
the other side of it.
This plant makes
eight types of bags,
for an overall total of
over one million a day.
Narrator: Not so long ago,
solar energy was a concept
that seemed to be
torn from the pages
of a science-fiction novel.
But the time has come for
this non-polluting energy source
to step into the limelight --
or should we say the sunlight?
The future of solar
panels is bright.
The sun is able to
produce electricity.
Panels covered
with photovoltaic cells
convert sunlight
into electricity.
This blue plate is a module
made of crystalline silicon.
The grooves are the conductors,
and the silicon crystals
glisten at its surface.
To make a solar panel,
several modules have
to be connected together.
Then they apply a soldering
flux on each module.
The soldering wire
is heated with an iron.
The modules are placed
on a special support.
Once the soldering is done,
the modules are
cleaned by ultrasound,
in water, at 140 degrees.
When dried, the
perfectly clean modules
are ready to be assembled.
Now they can proceed with
soldering the modules by groups.
First, a flux is applied
which improves the
quality of the soldering.
With great dexterity,
they assemble four groups
composed of nine modules each.
In this way,
36 modules are soldered
and connected in series.
Modules are
assembled end to end.
They have to be
handled with great care.
Using a voltmeter, the voltage
of each module is verified.
At this stage, it's easy to
remake a solder connection
if there's a problem.
If the voltage is adequate,
they use suction grips
to make handling of the
nine rows of modules easier
and to keep them clean.
The modules are
placed into position.
Then this metallic
strip is inserted.
It is a conductor that will link
the four groups of nine modules.
Solder connections are made
to link the modules
to the metallic strip.
Then they put on
this transparent sheet
of layered glass.
It serves as a rigid
transparent form
which will support the modules.
The superposing of
parts forms a laminate,
that increases the rigidity
and solidity of the panel.
Finally, a sealing film is
applied to protect the module.
To laminate and
stiffen the solar panel,
it's placed in a heated oven
from which air has
been vacuumed out.
The panel will cook at
176 degrees for 15 minutes.
The oven hermetically reseals
to proceed with the
vacuuming out of air.
And here's the finished panel.
All the components
are bonded together.
They now proceed with a test.
The panel is placed
in a solar simulator.
Negative and positive
contacts of the solar panel
are connected to a voltmeter.
The panel is inserted
into the simulator,
and a powerful
lamp will illuminate it.
The voltmeter is
read to make sure
that panels supply the
electric current required.
Here now is the assembly
of another kind of solar panel
called the amorphous
silicon type.
Its components were
made in Europe and Asia.
These are the positive and
negative connecting wires
of the solar panel.
The panel is placed
into a plastic frame
and glued in place.
Then the frame is screwed
tight so that it won't move.
The solar panel, made up
of crystalline silicon modules,
is put onto an
A.B.S. Plastic frame.
It is now finished.
Fabricating this panel will have
required about one hour of work.
Six of them are
made here every day.
Narrator: Your needle's
dipping past empty,
but you're gambling you'll
have enough gas in the tank
to make it just
a little further.
Well, when you're on that long
walk to the nearest gas station,
you'll be glad someone
had the bright idea
of manufacturing these
handy plastic gas containers.
Plastic gas containers are
made from these granules
composed of a
concentrated colorant
and a U.V.-resistant additive.
They're mixed
with white granules,
which is the primary material,
called high-density
polyethylene,
and recycled plastic, which has
been ground up on a granulator.
It's all dumped into
this milling machine.
These granules are all
mixed together and melted.
The melted plastic
will be blown in
and will take shape
within this mold,
made of very high-quality dense
aluminum, called aviation type.
Blow-molding continues and
produces a soft plastic tube.
This is cut and
placed in the mold.
Then this nozzle pumps
the plastic into the mold shell.
The container is unmolded
and moves along on a conveyor.
There's another way to
mold plastic -- by rotation.
This previously colored
powder has a 35 mesh size,
which is just a little
larger than flour.
Low-density linear polyethylene
is poured into the
bottom of the mold.
The mold has a cover
that will be closed,
then placed on a steel support.
This support is
articulated by an arm
on two rotation
axes simultaneously.
This action allows
the plastic powder
to distribute itself thoroughly
throughout the mold.
The mold is placed in an oven
which generates a
temperature of 590 degrees.
About 15 minutes is needed for
the polyethylene powder to melt
and another 15 minutes to
allow the piece to adequately cool
before unmolding it.
The mold cover is lifted off,
and the plastic
piece is unmolded.
Gloves must be worn,
since the piece and the
mold are still very hot.
Here they fabricate a mechanism
cover for a stationary bicycle.
It's held in place
by a cutting pattern,
and openings are cut
with a pneumatic tool.
Holes are made with a drill.
The casing is now completed.
Now we get back to the
previous blow-molding process.
This type of molding
produces residues
that have to be eliminated.
These surplus pieces
are cut with this small saw.
The now-hardened scraps
are sent to the granulator
to be reduced into granules,
which will be newly
added into the mixer
to make other
plastic containers.
This small pneumatic drill
pierces the
container's vent hole.
The container circulates
from one step to another
on the conveyor.
The next steps will be
accomplished by robotic arms.
And then the final
elements are attached,
such as the pouring spout.
Then a sealing stopper,
equipped with a rubber washer,
prevents leaks.
And finally, the cap of the neck
is automatically
screwed into place.
Depending on the
thickness of the mold,
the blowing procedure
allows the production
of between 30 and
120 containers an hour.
The rotation process takes
between 45 and 60 minutes
to make a unit.
Finished containers
are now ready
for packing and delivery.
Narrator: Few things are as
elegant as curved, polished wood
Especially at 100 miles an hour
and driving a slap shot
right past the goalie.
A lot of engineering goes
into packing that punch.
Call it the science behind
"he shoots, he scores."
The Irish, some 1,200 years
ago, were playing hurling,
a form of hockey on grass
with simple goal zones.
In the 17th century, American
Indians used curved sticks
in a game they
called "battagaway."
The sport we play today was
developed by British soldiers
in 1855 in Ontario, Canada,
as a pastime during
long northern winters.
Making a hockey stick
requires the assembly
of several pieces of
wood and fiberglass.
These sticks are all replicas
of those of great
hockey professionals.
The shaft is made
of a piece of poplar
onto which they glue
two thin strips of birch.
This is placed on
a circular conveyor
equipped with a press that
holds the pieces together
while the glue dries.
Then this multibladed saw
cuts the wood into three
identical stick-shaft pieces.
The shafts are moved
to a precision sander.
The shaft has to be
reinforced with fiberglass.
With a roller, they apply a coat
of epoxy resin, a kind of glue,
onto which they place
carbon-reinforced fiberglass.
The resin has to dry and harden.
The stick shaft is placed
in an individual mold
and cooked in this press, heated
to 176 degrees for 12 minutes.
The shaft then goes
to a milling machine
equipped with diamond-headed
knives that round the edges.
A finish is applied to the
shaft for a second sanding,
which brings out
the grain of the wood.
Now they glue small
blocks to the end of the shaft
in order to attach the blade.
Urethane glue is used.
It resists water and humidity
and is specially
made for hockey sticks.
This glue dries in 15
minutes at 100 degrees.
This slitter cuts the
shaft and wood blocks
in order to slide in the blade.
This machine inserts
the glue and the blade
into the stick shaft.
The stick is placed
on a conveyor
leading it to the next step
and giving the glue
a chance to dry well.
Then both sides of the
blade are sanded to thin them.
The sticks are replicas of those
used by hockey professionals.
This computer-controlled
digital lathe cuts the blade.
Data on all the cuts are
in the computer's memory.
The blade now has to be curved.
It's steamed for a minute,
allowing humidity to penetrate
the wood and make it flexible.
Then the blade is
placed in this curved mold,
where it is heated for 50
seconds at 131 degrees.
The blade is then
worked by hand.
The new blade is
compared with the pattern
of a hockey player's stick
to obtain precisely
the same curvature.
This is why the company
keeps 6,000 blades on hand.
Now the blade is sanded
down to the desired thickness.
The blade must
also be reinforced.
Fiberglass cloth is
soaked with epoxy resin.
Then they place
the cloth on the blade
and leave a good
margin around it.
They get rid of air bubbles,
then put it into an oven to dry
at 90 degrees over 24 hours.
The surplus fiberglass hardens
and is cut with a band saw.
This step requires quite a
degree of manual dexterity.
Finishing is done with
this circular sander.
Finally, the blade is
dipped into this epoxy resin
to give it a nice luster.
All that remains
is to paint the stick.
Here, the company logos
are applied via silk-screening.
Besides the 6,000
personal models
of professional hockey players,
this company produces 65
other models of hockey sticks.
Each week, they make
about 40,000 sticks,
for an annual
total of 1,600,000.
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