Gas Barbecues Mattress Pads Ear Prostheses
Gas barbecues were invented in the 1960s by an arkansas gas company. They redesigned a charcoal grill to run on bottled propane. People were drawn to the instant flame, and the gas barbecue became a hot commodity. Gas barbecues run from basic to extremely high-end. There's no fussing with charcoal briquettes. You just press the starter button and adjust the flame to the desired intensity. Then close the lid, and you're cooking with gas. Making a gas barbecue begins with a laser. It cuts holes for screws, knobs, and piping into a sheet of high-gauge steel. It will take approximately 50 steel sheets to make the entire gas barbecue. This sheet will be used for the grill's front hood. Computerized tools punch out various holes in the next steel sheet. It will be used to make the barbecue's cart. The holes are strategically placed for vents and other features. Once holes are punched, the team transfers the sheet to a press brake. They place it between the jaws repeatedly to make numerous bends. The first set of bends create a ledge for the grill to sit on. Other bends transform the flat sheet into a three-wall box that will serve as the back and sides of the barbecue's cart. The next employee places a sheet within the walls of the box. This will serve as the base of the barbecue's cart. He clamps cross braces to the cart and welds the parts together. The barbecue cart has taken shape. They return to the front hood piece. It's been rounded since we last saw it. A worker assembles two steel side panels to the hood. The side panels are made of thicker steel than the rest of the barbecue because they will need to support hinges and springs. An employee presses a belt sander against the welded seams to clean them up. Then he sands the entire surface of the hood so that the seams disappear. He inserts the temperature gauge and secures it to the hood from the inside. Down the line, another team member joins the rear part of the hood with the barbecue's firebox. He installs the gas manifold system, complete with valves that control the burners. He hooks up the gas line that will fuel the barbecue's rotisserie. He covers the manifold with a plate that has holes for the valves. He places infrared ceramic burners inside the firebox. He connects the ignitor system for lighting the gas barbecue... And fastens all the cables together. Now he fires up the barbecue and inspects it for leaks or any other operational problems. Once the barbecue passes inspection, the employee mounts a glossy steel panel to the front. He attaches a knob to the end of the ignitor. He installs stainless-steel grates above the burners. He hinges the front hood to the back one. Once the hinges have been secured, he lowers the lid to confirm that it closes tightly over the firebox. The team transfers the barbecue to the cart. The cart has been equipped with doors and drawers. After they weld the firebox to the cart, this gas barbecue is on its way to a patio near you. 15 hours in the making, it will provide years of grilling pleasure. No need to slave over a hot stove in the kitchen. Just turn on the grill and enjoy the great outdoors. A mattress pad protects and preserves a mattress, ensuring that it lasts longer. Quilted with plush filling, a mattress pad can also provide an extra layer of comfort for those who prefer a softer mattress. Purchasing a comfortable mattress is an investment in a good night's sleep. A mattress pad can protect that investment. To manufacture a mattress pad, a crew first cuts straps to keep the fibers compressed. Then they feed the clumps of fibers into a revolving drum with steel spikes. The spikes fluff up the fibers. This starts the process of opening and separating the strands. Fans propel the fibers through ductwork in the ceiling and into a chamber where they tumble around. This process introduces more air, further separating the fibers. It also helps mix the new and recycled fibers together with a polyester binder. Next, rollers with small metal teeth align the fibers. Two streams of combined fibers merge and enter a machine called a crosslapper. Here carriages lay the fibers perpendicular to each other. Multiple layers of crisscrossed fibers accumulate, creating a thick pile of polyester. Rollers compress the layers of polyester, then the padding travels through a long oven that's heated to just under 400 degrees. The heat activates the binder and unites the polyester fibers. The polyester exits the oven and is taken up by a big spool. In the next stage, the polyester wadding unrolls and travels between sheets of embossed fabric. At the same time, thread unwinds from 22 bobbins. The thread and polyester wadding head into a quilting machine. Here 22 needles chain-stitch a design into the fabric and polyester wadding. The stitching creates pockets that hold the filling in place. Without it, the stuffing would slide around between the sheets of fabric. A circular blade slices the quilted fabric to a width of 60 inches, the standard for a queen-size mattress. The edges of the quilted layers are left open for inspection. At the next station, fabric for the skirt unwinds into a large, automated sewing machine. It pulls elastic threads tight as it sews them into the nylon material, creating a ribbed pattern. This turns the fabric into a stretchy material. A seamstress stitches the stretchy material to the quilted rectangles. She uses an industrial sewing machine that trims excess fabric as it sews. She also sews a label into the seam. It contains manufacturing information and washing instructions. These overlock stitches will encapsulate the seam so that the fabric will not unravel. She trims the bottom of the skirt by hand and hems it. The mattress pad is complete and ready for the quality control department. Here an employee does random checks of the workmanship. He examines the fit of the pad to a mattress and looks for missing stitches or defects. With his approval, the mattress pad is ready to leave the factory. It takes about 30 minutes to make one of these mattress pads. With the job complete, it's nap time. A prosthesis can help restore the physical appearance of a person who has lost a part of their face to an accident or illness. Everyone's face is unique, so the prosthesis must be custom-designed for the patient by an anaplastologist. Anaplastologists combine anatomical knowledge, technical skill, and artistic talent. They can create an artificial ear, nose, or eye that looks remarkably realistic. Entirely custom-made, the prosthesis blends seamlessly with the patient's skin coloring. The prosthesis is durable, easy for the patient to apply, and comfortable to wear. To securely attach an ear prosthesis to a patient, surgeons implant titanium fixtures into the bone around the ear area. Once bone has grown over the implant, the anaplastologist attaches metal markers called impression copings to the titanium implants' abutments. These markers register the abutment locations in the impression the surgeon will now take of the ear area. The material she is using for the impression is the same material dentists use to make models of teeth. She then attaches abutment replicas to the copings with guide pins. After taking photos of the patient's other ear, the surgeon sends the patient home and begins the process of making a plaster model of the missing ear area. She mixes the plaster and vacuums out any air pockets. This is to prevent holes from appearing in the plaster once it sets. Next, she gently presses the ear-area impression that she took from the patient into the plaster. Once the plaster hardens, she unscrews the guide pins that connect the implant abutment replicas to the impression copings. Then she removes the impression. She now has a plaster model of the patient's ear area. She sends this model to an outside laboratory. The lab produces a solid gold bar that is custom-fitted to the abutment replicas. She screws the gold bar into the abutment replicas, then fills in the gap between the gold bar in the plaster model with heated wax. This will create an air space in the prosthesis so the patient's skin can breathe. She traces the impression on the plaster with a pencil and bends a strip of wax along the pencil line. Then she fills the wax-enclosed shape with flesh-colored acrylic. It takes an hour for the acrylic to solidify. She removes the wax strip and shaves off any excess acrylic, then cleans the newly formed acrylic plate. It will form the rigid internal structure of the prosthesis. She drills holes for attaching the prosthetic ear and installs tiny clips. These clips allow the acrylic plate to snap onto the gold bar that is on the patient's ear. Now comes the artistic part-- designing a wax prototype of the prosthetic ear. The anaplastologist places the acrylic plate and bar onto the plaster model of the patient's ear area. With fine sculpting tools and her fingers, she begins sculpting a wax ear. She refers to photographs of the patient's existing ear to try to sculpt a perfect match. Sculpting the wax prototype can take an entire day. When she's done, she carefully removes the wax ear from the plaster model. The acrylic plate is now lodged inside. The patient returns for his next appointment. Here the anaplastologist snaps on the wax prototype and compares it to the patient's existing ear. She makes whatever modifications are required to perfect the fit and appearance. This sculpting process can take two or three hours to complete, and the patient must be present. Once the anaplastologist is satisfied with the prototype, she conducts a comprehensive final inspection from every angle. Then she moves on to the last phase using the wax prototype to make a silicone prosthetic ear. A prosthetic ear is made of medical-grade silicone. The material can be molded into any shape and colored to match any skin tone. It does not react to temperature change or irritate the skin, allowing for a natural-looking prosthesis that's comfortable to wear. To cast a silicone prosthetic ear, the anaplastologist makes a three-part mold. She reattaches the wax prototype ear to the plaster model of the patient's ear area. Then she tops the combination with colored dental plaster. Once the plaster sets, she transfers everything into a taller container and pours in more dental plaster. Once that sets, she pours boiling water over the mold to melt the wax prototype that is inside. This leaves an ear-shaped cavity in what is now a three-part plaster mold. Next, she mixes one to two ounces of medical-grade silicone with a catalyst. She removes a small quantity and mixes it with opaque powder in a separate cup to make it less transparent. Then she mixes this opaque mixture with the rest of the silicone. At the patient's next appointment, the anaplastologist colors the silicone to match his skin tone. She works with an array of pigment powders diluted in silicone fluid. The first step is to produce a base color that's a perfect match to the patient's complexion. There's no exact formula for doing this. It requires an artist's eye. She needs the patient right beside her so she can check samples against his skin. Once she has the overall base color, she transfers a small amount to a separate cup, adds a drop of thickener, and mixes. Then she chooses from her color palette to produce a few deeper shades. Every ear has natural color variations. So for the prosthesis to look real, it has to have variations, as well. She uses the patient's other ear to match these more pronounced skin tones. Once all the colors are ready, she applies the deeper tones in specific areas of the ear. Next, to simulate veins, she applies a few fine, red rayon fibers. She repeats this coloring process for the back of the silicone ear. Then she puts that part, along with the acrylic plate, on the plaster model of the ear area. She fills a syringe with a base color and injects it into the mold cavity. She completely fills the cavity, getting every nook and cranny... Then closes the mold firmly. She wipes away any excess silicone... Clamps the mold tightly in a press... And puts the press in an oven. The oven cures the silicone for 2 hours at about 200 degrees. Once the mold cools to room temperature, she opens it and extracts the finished prosthetic ear. It's identical in shape to the wax prototype and looks remarkably realistic. The patient returns for his final visit. She snaps on the prosthesis... And checks that the edges adhere well to the surrounding skin. The life-span of a prosthetic ear depends on how it's handled. Sun exposure can wear out the silicone or fade its coloring. A patient typically returns for a new prosthesis every two to four years.