Wood Garage Doors Sand and Salt Spreaders Animatronic Dinosaurs
A garage door is more than just a functional component of a house. It's part of the curb appeal, especially when the garage is prominently located at the front of the home. Garage doors are made from a variety of materials, wood being the high-end option. A wood garage door is pricier than standard steel, aluminum, or vinyl panel doors. But they offer the most design flexibility. Wood can be customized to any style and painted or stained any color. Western red cedar, mahogany, and hemlock are popular choices because they hold up particularly well outdoors. Garage doors start with the core structure. For the core surface, they use exterior-grade plywood so that the indoor-facing side of the core can be stained to match the decorative wood on the outdoor side. They build the core's internal structure out of finger-jointed yellow pine. Finger-jointed means each piece is made of several short, connected pieces. It is structurally stronger and less prone to twisting and bowing than a solid piece of wood. They build a core for each section of the garage door. The core structures can be designed to accommodate windows or other unique features. They insulate every core structure with pieces of polystyrene. This helps keep the garage warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Now they run two sheets of exterior-grade plywood through a machine that coats the top and bottom with glue. They lay the sheets onto a core structure and place a second core structure on top of the first. They repeat this process until they've stacked up enough core structures required for the door they are making. They put the stack into a press for a half-hour. The press applies 130,000 pounds while the glue cures. Then they load each section onto a machine, which cuts it to the width required. The machine also makes a lip to direct rain away from the door so that water doesn't run back into the garage. When a core section has windows, they cut the openings for them with a router. Using a template as a guide, they drill holes through the front of the core. With a countersink tool, they cut a wide opening around each hole. They insert "t" nuts into the holes. This enables hardware to be mounted on the inside of the garage door. At this point, the connected core sections can function as a structurally sound garage door. However, there's still aesthetic work left to do. The plywood on the front of the door serves as a blank canvas. They glue decorative wood trim to the front door to produce the design specified in the customer's order. For this door, they're using african mahogany. They've already cut pieces to the required dimensions, with tongue-and-groove edges that enable adjoining pieces to connect. Once the glue dries, they cut off the excess wood with a router. Then they sand the surface and prepare the wood to be stained or painted. They line up the remaining core section and glue on the corresponding wood trim. They secure the wood trim to the core with nails. After cutting off the last pieces of excess wood, they install the glass for the windows. The dealer will install the hardware upon delivery. Prior to installation, either the dealer or the customer will stain or paint the wood the desired color. Sand-and-salt spreaders were developed in the united states in the middle of the 20th century. Before that, crews kept winter roads safe by shoveling sand and salt from trucks. Things got easier when mechanical spreaders took over the heavy lifting. Winter storm brewing? Sand-and-salt spreaders have it covered. They distribute salt to melt the ice and sand for traction. They start with two big sheets of stainless steel. Computer-driven plasma torches carve the steel into the four panels that will be used to build the hopper. Next, the operator transfers the panels to another computerized machine. This one has numerous punch tools. They cut holes for nuts, bolts, bearings, and other components. Then it's over to a hydraulic press brake. It bends the bottom of the hopper panel to create a wide rim. This wide rim adds rigidity to the part. The team flips the hopper panel around so the press brake can bend the top. Computerized stops control the location of each bend. A worker clamps the hopper panel in a fixture to prop it up while he welds ribbed supports to the outside. He adds two or three ribs to each side panel, depending on the size of the spreader. Once all the ribs have been welded, a team joins the four hopper panels together. They clamp a bar across one end to square up the structure. Once it's aligned, they weld the spreader hopper at the seams. These tight seams create a rugged structure that will hold up under the burden of heavy road salt or sand. Now a worker builds the steel chute that the sand or salt will flow through. He attaches several brackets to the inside and outside of the chute. These brackets are for the adjustable steel flaps that direct the flow of salt onto the highway. Here he installs the adjuster bar for one of the flaps. He swings the flap to confirm it moves freely. A pin is inserted in the adjuster bar to set the flap at the desired spacing. He attaches a bearing to each side of the chute. He slides a long steel shaft through the bearings until it protrudes from the bottom. He secures the shaft to the bearings... And mounts a flexible plastic spinner to the protruding shaft. This spinner will spread the road salt or sand evenly across the road. Customers on tighter budgets sometimes choose salt spreaders made of mild steel instead of stainless. They spray a dry powder coat onto these units. Then they roll the part into an oven to bake it on. This durable finish will protect the hoppers from corrosion and general wear. Now back to the stainless-steel spreader. The team fastens a gearbox to the side of the hopper. It will drive the conveyer that delivers salt or sand to the chute. A worker temporarily powers the gearbox with a drill to assist in the installation of the conveyer. He pushes the conveyor forward until the gearbox takes over. He installs a feed gate at the opening and screws the lever to the side of the hopper. They stockpile hoppers, chutes, and motors separately until an order is placed. This allows the customer to choose individual components before the final assembly. For example, the customer way want a specific gas motor, or they may choose a hydraulic one. Once they've bolted the chute to the hopper, this sand-and-salt spreader is ready for an icy highway. It can spread material thick or thin, depending on the road conditions. Dinosaurs have long been extinct. But animatronics make models look, sound, and move like the real thing. Developed by walt disney in the 1960s, this technique is a combination of art and technology. The slit eyes, rows of sharp fangs, and a long, purposeful snout all look stunningly real. With his razor-sharp claws, this velociraptor figure looks ready to leap right at you. First, a designer uses 3-d sculpting software to create a detailed digital model of the raptor. Key features, such as the size, shape, and number of the teeth are thoroughly documented. The art director approves a small-scale 3-d printed model of the figure before an industrial robotic arm sculpts the full-size figure in four-pound foam. The density of the foam allows for very precise styling. An artist adds details by hand. He uses precision sculpting tools to draw wrinkles and lines. He brushes melted clay on top of the foam to bring out details and give more realism to the sculpture. The clay needs to solidify before the sculpture can be molded. A figure finisher prepares a mixture of monomer and polymer that is commonly used to make acrylic teeth. He pours the mixture into a mold shaped like the jaw of the raptor. He places the mold in a vacuum chamber. He seals the vacuum-chamber lid and starts the vacuum pump. The vacuum pump will lower the pressure inside, forcing air bubbles out from the acrylic mixture. This process makes for an even and consistent casting. These are sharp and strong velociraptor fangs. The figure finisher separates the teeth by hand, then takes a dremel tool to file down the excess around the base. The acrylic teeth accurately reproduce the shape of the predator's fangs. The figure finisher places the teeth back in the jaw mold. Massive teeth up to an inch long fill the reptile's ferocious mouth. The figure finisher covers the teeth with flesh-colored dental acrylic to form the gums and palate of the creature. Once the mold is filled with acrylic, he puts it in a vacuum chamber, where the gums and palate cure. During the vacuuming process, the gums and teeth bond together to form a complete velociraptor denture. To make the reptile's eyeballs, he places a transparent sheet in a vacuum thermoforming system. The vacuformer heats the plastic to make it malleable. The figure finisher pushes the sheet down on an eyeball shape and activates a vacuum pump. Thermoformed eyeballs come in various shapes and sizes. Now a plastics technician prepares the fiberglass mold. He uses a chopper gun to cover the inside of the plastic mold with flexible fiberglass strands. The technician bonds the strands together with resin. Once the resin has cured, the hard fiberglass shell takes the shape of the initial foam sculpture. Using a jigsaw, a worker cuts the shell at various articulation points. This will allow the figure to move seamlessly once it's assembled on its animated mechanical structure. The technician applies a primer coat with a spray gun. This shell will house the mechanical components, animating the dinosaur's long tail, its strong upper body and neck, the birdlike head, the handlike front limb, and its powerful hind legs. An encounter with a life-size animated dinosaur is quite an experience. An elaborate range of advanced special-effects techniques and animatronic technology brings them to life. A technician covers the fiberglass inner shell with a ripstop fabric lining. It will support and reinforce the silicone skin. She installs zippers on the liner to easily take off or put on the skin. The liner fits tightly over the fiberglass and takes the shape of the inner shell. Technicians use liquid-silicone rubber to make the figure's skin. One technician connects a tube to the shell's mold-injection port while the other technician operates a high-pressure injector. The machine pumps silicone into the mold. The silicone cures inside the mold for a few hours. Then a technician unfastens the bolts that are holding the shell tightly closed. Technicians take the silicone skin out of the injection shell mold. They inspect the skin to make sure there are no defects and that it mimics the features of the initial foam sculpture. They take the skin off the inner shell for manual touch-ups. A technician cleans up the edges of the skin by trimming off small silicone strips called flashing. With small precision scissors, she meticulously trims off all the flashing to make clean, seamless joints. A figure finisher inserts the molded acrylic denture to check its fit in the lower jaw skin. He checks the fit of the thermoformed eyeball between the skin and the shell. A character painter uses an airbrush to paint the skin with silicone paint. He adds multiple layers of paint, giving the finish much more detail and realism. A machinist mills a mechanical part for the metal frame. Thousands of stainless-steel and aluminum pieces need machining. He bores out holes for bearings inside each shaft. Each piece can be customized to suit virtually any design and assembly requirement. An electronics engineer tests a control card. Each animated component of the figure is controlled by a card like this one. The electronics engineer connects the card to an oscillator tester to verify that the cylinder responds accurately to the electronic-input signal. A program on the card allows precise control over the motion of the cylinder. The cylinders create motion, while the aluminum frame functions as the skeleton supporting the movement. An animator assembles various parts into the mechanical assembly. He connects a cylinder to the metal frame. Each cylinder is dedicated to a specific function in the mechanical assembly. This cylinder activates a finger in the hand assembly, allowing it to curl up in a smooth, seamless motion. The animator attaches the hand assembly to the arm, bolts it on at the elbow, and screws claws on the tip of each finger. The full frame of the figure is assembled on a test bench. A hydraulics-and-plumbing engineer opens the compressed-air valve, which powers the pneumatic cylinders. The show controller runs random programs to test the response of the animatronic dinosaur. They check air-pressure variations in the hydraulic-cylinder tubes, as well as electronic direction and amplitude commands. A creative director finally puts his seal of approval on the figure. A lot of effort goes into making such a complex machine look like a living creature.