Wooden Barrels Fire Hydrants Automotive Seats Cathode Ray Tubes
Today on "how it's made"... Wooden barrels... Fire hydrants... Automotive seats... And cathode-ray tubes. In the old days, wooden barrels stored all kinds of goods, simply because they were easy to move. If you couldn't lift them, you could roll them. Today modern machinery has made barrels obsolete, except for storing fine wine and spirits. And so the time-honored tradition of barrel making lives on. These wooden barrels are for storing whiskey. They're made from american white oak cut into pieces called staves. The staves go into a planer that shaves them to about an inch thick. Next, a machine punches two quarter-inch holes on either side of each stave. Dowel pins made of hickory, a very strong wood, go into these holes to hold the staves together. Workers take the staves, place them on a guide, and press them together. A smaller piece completes the shape. Now it's onto the rounder, a machine that cuts it into a circular shape. This creates the barrel's lid, or head, as it's called. And each barrel requires two, one for the top and one for the bottom. The barrel head now goes onto a contraption called the char tunnel. Its gas burners scorch the wood. This charring not only changes the wood's appearance, it also gives color, flavor, and aroma to the whiskey this barrel will hold. The workers coat the head's edge with liquid beeswax, which helps them set it snugly into the barrel body. They run the staves against this machine to narrow their ends. This gives the barrel its characteristic shape, with a smaller radius at the ends than in the middle. At the barrel-raising station, a worker positions an iron hoop and starts to assemble the barrel inside it. He selects staves that vary in width in order to use as few as possible. This reduces the numbers of joints and potential leak points. He has to be gentle as he lassos the barrel together. If he pulls that dry wood too tight, it'll break into pieces. A loose hoop gives the wood room to expand. Next, the barrels pass through a steam tunnel for about 15 minutes. This adds moisture to the wood so it can flex without snapping. Workers pull out the barrel and remove the top and bottom hoops. Sturdier hoops replace them and are hammered into place. Without them, the barrel would spring apart. Next, two more hoops around the body. The wood groans from the intense pressure that forces the staves together, but there can't be any gaps between the staves, or else the barrel will leak. The barrels pass over a gas burner that blasts a flame inside each one to char its interior. Seconds later, water shoots into the barrel to put out the flames. An automated saw cuts a v-shaped notch into the top and bottom of each barrel. This is where the barrel head will slide in. A fan blows away the sawdust. Now a machine removes the iron hoop on each end. A worker pours in a gallon of water to cool the barrel, still hot from the charring process. Then he puts on a barrel head and stronger, permanent iron hoops on both ends. Now machines remove the two iron body hoops and replace them with stronger ones. These barrels hold their shape by sheer pressure. There's not a drop of glue holding them together. That gallon of water is still inside the barrel. Workers drill a hole in the side, then plug it by hammering in a rubber stopper with a spout. An inspector checks the barrel for leaks, stamps it approved, and labels it with a bar code for inventory. Then they remove the stopper and out comes the water, turned to steam because of the heat. The barrels are now ready to go on to the distillery, where they'll get their fill of some fine kentucky whiskey. When we return, you see them on every street corner, but how are they made? Fire hydrants have been in use for more than 200 years. In the old days, their main purpose was to supply water to fight fires, but they also provided the public with a handy water supply. Today fire crews rely on the nearest hydrant to help them douse flames whenever and wherever they break out. Fire hydrants are essential to every community. They need to be instantly recognizable, easily accessible, and simple to operate. The ones in residential areas are designed to deliver an impressive 1,500 gallons a minute. The hydrant-making process starts with recycled scrap iron, along with steel and raw iron. Using a magnetic crane, workers load the metals into a furnace and melt them at 2,800 degrees fahrenheit. This turns the scrap metal into molten iron. This superhot mixture is transferred into a remote-controlled ladle... And emptied into an automated pouring system. To cast the hydrants, workers first make two-part molds by compressing a mixture of sand and bonding materials. One part, called the mold, forms the hydrant's exterior shape, while the other part, called the core, forms the interior shape. An automatic core setter positions a core in each mold. Then a conveyer advances the mold under the pouring box, which fills the cavity between the mold and core with molten iron. After the iron cools and solidifies, the molds enter a tumbling barrel. As they revolve, the sand gradually disintegrates, freeing the iron casting inside. Workers drill and thread the hydrant castings to prepare them for assembly. Then they preassemble and paint them. The fire hydrant's internal workings, called the valve assembly, allow water to flow through when the hydrant's open. A series of rubber "o" rings on the main valve will prevent leaks when the hydrant is closed. Now the hydrant is ready for final assembly. Workers attach the nozzle section to the top of the hydrant barrel and fasten nozzle cap chains with a crimping tool. Using a torque wrench, they attach cast-iron safety rings. These rings are designed to disengage the top from the bottom of the hydrant so it doesn't get damaged if a vehicle hits it. Workers clamp the water-main connector into place and pressurize the hydrant to normal city pressure to check for leaks. Using a hoist, they lower the preassembled nozzle section over the stem... And fasten it to the water-main connector with stainless steel bolts. They lower the bonnet into place... Bolt it to the nozzle section... Then open the hydrant for a high-pressure test. They turn the operating nut to allow water to flow through. But first, they have to force out the air inside the hydrant with water. Workers transfer the finished hydrant to a pallet and apply final paint touch-ups. Some fire hydrants that were installed more than 100 years ago are still in use today. Coming up, it's a cushy job, but somebody's got to do it. Most people don't pay too much attention to car seating, but this feature has come a long way since the car was invented in the 19th century. Back then, seats had no springs and not much padding. So you could feel every bump on the road. In today's car seats, we have a much easier ride. Padded and belted, modern automotive seats are designed to be safe and comfortable. The components are manufactured separately and shipped to this factory for assembly. They arrive as needed on the production line so there's not a lot of stockpiling. It means the flow of parts into this plant has to be highly organized because they make over 400 seat variations here. The parts are carted to the assembly line in the order they're needed. On this assembly line, there are 60 workers, each with specific tasks to perform. They receive a build ticket for each part and scan it. This allows a central computer to track production and verify that the right parts are being used to build the right seat. An operator tucks the seat-warmer pad and cables into the cushioning for the bottom half of the seat. She loosely places the fabric cover over the assembly and attaches it with wire. Then it's over to the next station, where the operator completes the upholstery job. Each worker has just 88 seconds to perform his or her tasks, so there's no sitting down on this job. They install a seat-warmer system on the backrest section of the seat and cover it. Then they slide an air bag into a special sleeve. These seats come with springs that clip on to their metal framework to provide lumbar support. Workers fit the cushion assembly onto the spring framework and pull it tight. They smooth out any wrinkles, a process called finessing. Then they install the headrest. Next they tackle the lower framework. They equip it with a mechanism that adjusts the height of the seat. Electrical connectors go in next. Then they bolt the lower framework to the cushioned backrest. They attach the pretensioner apparatus, which locks the seat belt into position, then wire the connector box. They fit the lower cushioning on the framework and add the recliner spring. A plastic valance makes it all look neater. Now it's time to take this driver's seat for a test run. Inspectors hook it up to a power source and make sure the air bag and seat warmer are operational. They iron out all the wrinkles because the automaker will reject any seat that's less than perfect. Then they slide and tilt the seat to make sure the adjustment mechanisms are working properly. Workers assemble the rear seats using the same techniques. Again, each operator gets exactly 88 seconds to complete his or her job. When you add it all up, an entire seat set takes just 62 minutes to assemble. Before they ship the seat set to the car factory, they snap a photo as a production record. It proves each set was in perfect condition when it left the factory. Now these seats are ready to hit the road. Workers strap them onto delivery pallets and load them into a big truck, 60 sets at a time. They'll arrive at the car plant just as the vehicles they were made for are rolling off the assembly line. Once they're installed, all you need to do is sit back and enjoy the ride. Next, making the tubes that bring tvs to life. The crt, short for cathode-ray tube, produces the image that we see on our tvs and computer monitors-- the ones that aren't lcd or plasma, that is. Believe it or not, the cathode-ray tube was invented back in 1879. A crt is made up of two main components, a large glass bulb and an electric gun. Crts start with a molded glass bulb. Workers remove microscopic debris with a high-pressure water rinse. Then they spray hydrofluoric acid to clean the glass at an atomic level. Phosphor solution is poured into the bulb. Phosphor is an organic compound that emits light when struck by electrons. The phosphor particles settle and form a chemical bond with the bulb face. Workers pour off the excess solution... And clamp the bulb over a nozzle that sprays clear lacquer over the phosphor. The centrifugal force guarantees an even coat. This worker paints a conductive coating over the anode button which will provide a flow path for the electrons that will light up the phosphor particles. Meanwhile, another worker drops an aluminum pellet into a tungsten coil. He places the bulb over a vacuum device and draws out the air. Then he applies an electrical current to the coil. It evaporates the aluminum pellet, which spreads a mirrorlike coating on the inside of the bulb. Now they heat the bulb to 425 degrees fahrenheit for one hour. This bakes out the lacquer and any trace of moisture. Using a high-temperature flame, a worker aligns and fuses a glass neck to the bulb. Then he paints it with the same conductive coating. This assembly is part of the electron gun that goes inside the bulb. It shoots electrons at the bulb's phosphor particles that lights them up, creating the image we see on screen. Workers stack the grip cups that focus the electrons on the screen. Then, using beading glass, they align and fuse them into position. Robots heat and affix the beading glass to assemble the electron-gun components. Then the gun is cooled with pressurized air. Once cool, a worker builds up the gun and inserts the completed gun assembly into the bulb. Next he positions the bulb on a glass-blowing lathe and cuts excess glass from the neck. Using a graphite paddle and a high-temperature torch, he mates the glass neck to the electron-gun stem. This ceramic heating coil melts that green glass pellet to keep the bulb under vacuum. The tube is heated to 750 degrees fahrenheit for two hours, and once again a vacuum is drawn. To minimize image flicker over the tube's life-span, workers condition the bulb using a high-voltage coil. It smoothes any rough surfaces that might remain on the electron gun. Finally, workers apply electrical connections to the electron gun to bring the cathode-ray tube to life.