Spinning Reels Plasma Protein Therapies 3D Cups Stainless Steel Beer Kegs
Spinning reels are also called fixed spool reels. That's because the spool on this fishing reel doesn't rotate. Instead, a device around the spool does the spinning, which winds the fishing line. The advantage of using a non-spinning spool is there's no backlash of the line. A spinning reel provides a unique twist on fishing. Unlike other reels, the spool doesn't rotate. Instead, a pivoting, u-shaped wire called a bail spins around the spool to wrap the line. Making a spinning reel starts with a cylindrical chunk of aluminum. Computerized cutters carve the cylinder into the rotor that spins the bail around the reel spool. The transformation is complete. The cutter sculpts side arms onto the rotor to hold the bail, carving a hole for the spool shaft. Then a protective finish is applied to the rotor, and the bail is attached. Next, a craftsman heats a cylindrical piece of steel in a furnace until it's hot and flexible. Then it's transferred over to a press that flattens the cylinder. The worker inserts the hot steel puck into a mold. The top half descends and forces the steel into the crevices. Tools cut teeth into the part, completing the transformation into a gear. Next, the gear housing is formed using aluminum alloy. To trim the excess material from around the edges, designers use a die cutter. It punches down a part, which then slides down a chute into a bin. At another station, a laser etches the company name and the product number into the part. The gear system is now ready to be assembled. The technician brushes oil on a transmission gear... Installs it in the gear housing and screws it in place. Next, a part called a slider is placed on top of the gear. The ends of the slider are attached to the spinning reel body using thick pins. The slider moves the spool up and down as the bail spins the line. Oil is applied onto the neck of the gear body, and a helical pinion is inserted into the gear. Next, the technician installs a roller element on the extended part of the pinion gear. A retaining ring is positioned between the bearing and the gear body. Then a wider steel ring is placed onto the outside of the neck. An outer metal sleeve holds the part together. The threaded end of the pinion gear is set on top. Next, the rotor is attached on the end of the pinion gear and secured with a nut. This connects the rotor to the gear. The rotor is tested to confirm that it's operating smoothly. Another operator places the main gear in the gear body so that the lower teeth engage with the other gears. The operator slides a metal washer on the gear shaft and links a main axle shaft to the slider. The operator screws the end of the shaft to the slider... And inserts thick pins into the gear housing. They'll prevent the main gear from turning in the wrong direction. The spinning reel gear system is now complete. Next, an operator attaches a side plate to the gear body. This encases the spinning reel's gear system. The threaded fitting will enable the gears to be linked to a handle. The reel spool has a drag system inside so the line will slip instead of breaking when pulled by a powerful fish. A drag adjustment knob is screwed to the end of the spool, then the technician fastens the handle to the fitting in the gear body and checks to confirm it operates smoothly. An automated testing system turns the handle while water flows over the gear body. This exposes any leaks that could compromise the internal gear system. Finally, this spinning reel is ready for action. Plasma is a yellow-colored liquid component of blood that holds blood cells in suspension. It's 90% water and contains critical proteins. Companies harvest these proteins from donated plasma to manufacture medical treatments. Proteins from human plasma are used to treat shock, bleeding disorders, and immune deficiencies. First, the plasma is separated from the blood cells and placed in a freezer at a temperature of minus-4 degrees fahrenheit. This process preserves it until scientists can test its quality. A computer monitors the temperature and prints out measurements so the team can ensure the plasma remains adequately frozen. Ready for production, the plasma goes from a freezer to a cooler, and then a warming bath to thaw the outer layer. A machine collects the bottles and moves them into slots. A blade slices them open to release the plasma. The outer layer of plasma has liquefied, but the cores are still frozen. Then the plasma travels forward to a heated mixing tank. The agitator and heat break up the chunks, and the plasma becomes liquid. Transferred to other tanks, technicians expose the plasma to conditions that cause the proteins to become insoluble. They're pressed into slabs. In this form, the proteins are known as precipitate. A technician scrapes the precipitate off the filter sheets and into a plastic-lined container. An automated system retrieves the filter sheets and takes them through wash stations to remove residual precipitate. Once thoroughly washed, the filter sheets are ready for the next filtration. A technician breaks the protein chunks into smaller pieces and bags them for freezing. This protein is called albumin. Albumin helps maintain and repair tissue growth. Next, technicians dissolve the albumin protein in water. They remove the precipitate from the freezer and pound the outside of the bag to further reduce the size of the pieces inside. Then the bags of precipitate are emptied into the mixer, causing the particles to disperse. Over the next day and a half, processing continues to purify and concentrate the albumin. At the same time, glass bottles enter into a chamber with cameras to take pictures of each bottle. A computer locates defective bottles and signals a mechanism to knock them out of the line. The bottles cycle through a washing machine, and then a hot tunnel for sterilization. They're now ready for the albumin protein. Needles inject the protein into the bottles, filling eight bottles simultaneously. A robotic arm inserts stoppers in the neck of the bottles. Then a machine installs aluminum seals with flip caps. They crimp the seals around the necks for extra protection. Technicians load racks of the bottled albumin into a pasteurizer. The chamber fills with water heated to 140 degrees fahrenheit. This kills any potential pathogens. The glass vials slowly spin by a magnifying glass as inspectors scrutinize them for cracks, missing stoppers, broken seals, and other defects. A technician takes out any product with physical flaws. As the remaining bottles continue down the line, an inspector examines them again. This time, visually checking the volume of the albumin protein. At the next station, labels unwind, and a camera takes a picture for a computer check of the batch information. The computer confirms that what's on the label is accurate. Next, specialists place a sample in a petri dish and incubate it for 14 days. If there are unwanted micro-organisms in the batch, they'll grow. But if not, the protein therapy is cleared for use. This protein therapy is now ready for medical emergencies. Pictures on 3-d cups have depth and appear to move, depending on the angle you view them. It's a neat trick made possible by a technology known as lenticular printing. A sheet of tiny plastic lenses is applied to interlaced images, creating a kind of graphic magic to entertain you. A 3-d cup fools the eye. Viewed from different angles, the artwork seems to come to life. It's all a carefully crafted illusion. Making 3-d cups starts with clear plastic pellets. An extruder machine melts the pellets to a semi-liquid consistency. An engraving cylinder forms it into rows of tiny convex lenses. Water-chilled cylinders cool the sheet of lenses. This solidifies the plastic, then a gauge measures the lenses' thickness. A blower device dissipates static. An ink jet printer prints information on the edge. This indicates the optical resolution of the lenses, the type of plastic, and the lot number. Then a rotary blade cuts the plastic into sheets. The sheets land in a neat stack. To confirm their size and alignment, an inspector views them against a pitch test pattern. Another inspector magnifies a sample 100 times and measures the thickness of the lenses. Too thin or thick, and the lens display won't focus. With a lens strip clamped at both ends, the machine pulls it from the top. How far it stretches until it breaks is a measure of its strength. Meanwhile, a team designs and edits scenes on a computer. Designers copy the scene, divide it into very narrow strips, and then interlace the strips. Next, the strips are combined into a 2-dimensional, digital file. Designers now run test copies known as proofs. This process tests sheets of colored plastic film which will serve as ink. The technician layers the colored film in a cartridge with muslin paper. Next, the cartridge is placed in the printer which creates the proofs. The designer transfers them to an illuminated work surface and confirms that the images line up with the plastic lenses. Once the print plates are made, an operator loads them into the printer. A suctioning arm feeds the lenticular plastic sheets into the printer, reverse-side up. In this position, the images will be printed on the smooth side of the plastic. Rotating cylinders transfer ink from the printing plates to the sheets, one color at a time. This system prints several different 3-d cup images on each lenticular plastic sheet. The press ejects and stacks the printed sheets. The 3-d-printed sheets now head into a laminator. It applies a white film to the artwork. This film will protect the 3-d images during the cup-molding process. Next, the sheets are cut into cup-sized labels, placed on an illuminated table and inspected for any visual flaws. Once approved, the designer clears the the labels to be formed to plastic cups. Next, an operator loads the stacks of 3-d labels into the cup-forming machine. This machine will process four different labels onto cups at once. Each with a different 3-d image. A robot with suction grippers picks up the labels one at a time and transfers them to cup-shaped mandrels. The mandrel inserts the 3-d label into the mold of a cup. Molten polypropylene flows into the mold, and as it solidifies and becomes a cup, the 3-d label fuses to it together. Robots retrieve the 3-d cups and stack them on their sides to await final inspection. Then they're packaged for shipment. 3-d cups are no ordinary beverage container. Rather, they're a fun visual experience for any type of consumer. Commercial breweries not only bottle and can their beer, they also ship it in kegs to distributors, bars, and restaurants. Kegs are typically made of stainless steel-- a durable metal that doesn't produce oxides that adversely affect the taste of the beer. This beer keg is made from a food-grade steel commonly used for cookware. It's exceptionally durable and contains sufficient chromium and nickel to protect against corrosion. First, a technician coats a circular piece of stainless steel with lubricant. Then the steel is placed in a machine called a deep draw press. The press slowly draws the edges of the metal circle upward for 90 seconds, forming a cylinder with one opened and one closed end. Next, technicians place the cylinder in a trimming machine, which spins the cylinder against a blade. The machine cuts off half an inch of excess metal from the open end. Then the cylinder is flipped and placed in a punch press. The press knocks out a 2-inch hole in the closed end. Next, technicians put the cylinder on a fixture and secure a stainless steel neck to the hole. The neck is welded into place. This cylinder will form the bottom half of the keg. Technicians pair it with another cylinder which will form the top half of the keg. This cylinder has an open end and a closed end. They align the two open ends in a welding fixture and manually tack weld them together in six spots. They transfer the assembled keg to an automated machine which welds the tacked perimeter together. This press punches four holes into a 2-millimeter-thick strip of stainless steel to imprint the name of the brewery. Next, a roll machine curves the strip. Then a seam welder joins the ends to form a circle. This circle will become the handle on top of the keg, known as the chime. A technician places the circle on the chime-forming machine and brushes on some lubricant. Automated, hydraulically driven rollers then form the chime in three stages. Next, the chime is placed on a punch press with lubricant. The press then knocks out two handle holes. Technicians place another chime underneath the keg with one on top of this machine, appropriately named the keg crusher. The machine presses both chimes in place. Next, an automated lathe welder welds them to the keg simultaneously. The keg is put through a series of baths, then rinses. The acid removes the scorch marks left by the welding and render the stainless steel food safe by making it resistant to oxidation, which causes corrosion. The valve, which connects to the tapping system that draws out the beer, goes through the hole in the bottom cylinder. This clip ring holds it in place. Pressed deep into the neck with this tool. Every keg goes through quality control testing before it leaves the factory. This is a pressure test to ensure the keg doesn't leak. Technicians pump in compressed air to three times the pressure the keg would ever have to withstand. Then they spray the keg with a water-and-soap solution, checking for air bubbles, which would indicate a pinhole leak. Then the finishing touch. A silk screen machine prints the brewery's identification onto the keg. The keg goes into an oven for 45 seconds to cure the ink, which renders it wear-resistant. These beer kegs are designed to withstand a lifetime of handling because they're transported back and forth between the brewery and the establishments filling the beer glasses.