Armored Vehicles Tension Fabric Buildings Rowers Sculpture Enlargements
The first armored car was developed in the late 19th century. First used as scouting vehicles, they quickly became a source of protection in modern warfare. Today, private armored vehicles are made for celebrities, c.e.o.s, and government officials. This armored s.u.v. looks like an ordinary car, but it's reinforced with bulletproof steel and has transparent armor windows. A designer integrates armored parts into the original design of the car using a 3d cad system. A c.n.c. precision laser cutter shapes the armored parts out of a ballistic steel sheet. A mechanic tests the steel's ballistic resistance using a high-power rifle. He makes sure the armor meets international ballistic impact standards. A mechanic starts by removing the inside covers and liners of the car, stripping it down to the chassis frame. Now the mechanics can install the armor. They weld bulletproof steel sheets to the chassis frame. They reinforce the car floor with blast-absorbent steel sheets and install ballistic armored steel to cover the interior cabin walls. A mechanic now uses an electric grinder to remove the standard-steel panels from the door. Armored steel plates designed to fit to the chassis are welded in place. At the end of the process, the vehicle is armored from top to bottom. The armor adds around two tons of weight to the vehicle, depending on the model, so each vehicle is equipped with an adapted suspension system. A welder assembles a fuel-tank casing using ballistic steel. He arranges the metal to form a protective shell around the tank then welds the pieces together. Another worker applies electrostatic, anti-rust, and flame-retardant paint, designed to prevent the tank from exploding if exposed to open flames. A welder attaches the fuel pan to the bulletproof casing. He uses a mig torch to tack-weld the pan onto the armored steel. The c.n.c.-designed casing fits perfectly around the tank. Mechanics now reassemble the interior fitting, air-conditioning system, and electrical wiring running through the roof. Another worker reattaches the original panels to the armored door frame and puts the door-lock and window controls back in place. They cover the blast-absorbent steel with floor mats, then they bring in the rear bulkhead door, which is upholstered to match the original interior. The bulletproof door can be used as an emergency escape hatch. It opens horizontally because the door is too heavy for hatch lifts to support. Now they install the windshield. It's made of transparent armored glass. The thickness of the glass depends on the ballistic standard the car needs to meet. He installs runflat devices made of composite plastic inside the wheels. This allows the car to keep rolling on a flat tire for 40 to 50 miles at a speed of up to 50 miles per hour. A mechanic tightens the device around the rim before a robotic arm attaches the tire to the wheel. He labels the reinforced wheel with the specifications of the runflat device and mounts it back on the car. A keen observer may see the overlap between the edge of the doorframe and the main chassis or notice the unusual thickness of the windows, but the design of these cars makes them look perfectly normal to most people, even though they are as protected as armored tanks. A tension fabric building combines the benefits of a tent and a building into a single structure. It has a strong, load-resistant roof and a sturdy steel structure but can be quickly dismantled and reconstructed at a new location. You often see tension fabric buildings on farms or at public works yards. They're often used to store equipment and bulk materials like gravel or road salt. Tension fabric buildings can also house small factories. The fabric cover is high-density polyethylene, a material known for its exceptional strength. It can withstand strong winds and heavy snow accumulation. Following the engineer's plan, workers cut the required sheets of fabric. Then, the assembly process begins. They flatten and tape down the first sheet to immobilize it then overlap the second sheet by two inches. They tape down that sheet to keep it in position. Then, with a hot-air welder, they melt the overlapping edges and press them together with heavy wheels. This fuses the edges into a strong seam. Workers use this same process to weld on tension pockets two feet in from the bottom and sides. Each pocket will contain a steel or pvc tube holding nylon straps. The straps are spaced 2 to 10 feet apart, depending on the building size. They apply tension to fasten the fabric down over the steel structure. The assembled sheets form a single cover that goes over the sides and roof of the building. Separate covers are made for the front and back walls. The covers of larger buildings are made differently. Workers connect multiple covers with a keter system. Keter is an ultra-strong pvc or nylon rope. An automated hot-air welder folds the edges of each cover over the keter. The fabric-sealed rope edge will slide snugly into an aluminum channel in the building's roof structure. When the cover is finished, workers fan-fold it... Then roll it up for transport to the installation site. For the building's steel structure, the factory orders steel tubing and cuts pieces to the required lengths. The steel is coated with zinc to prevent corrosion. Works put the tubes into a press to flatten the ends into connectable surfaces. At the same time, the press punches holes for bolts. For buildings with a rounded top, works bend tubes for the trusses, a main component of the roof framing. The operator programs in the required radius, and the machine automatically adjusts the dies to curve the tube accordingly. Workers then place the parts for each truss segment in an assembly jig to prepare for welding. They tack-weld the parts together so they come off the jig as a single unit. At the next station, workers finish the welding. This truss segment will connect with six others, forming a 200-foot truss running the full width of the building. To keep up with the high demand, robots do all the welding for this factory's most-popular models. Welding removes the galvanization, which keeps the steel corrosion-resistant, so the last step is to spray zinc-rich paint on the welds to restore that protection. A tension fabric building typically takes a team of four just a few days to set up. It can be customized to attach to different types of foundations and be designed with windows and garage doors. Rowing machines were invented in the late 1800s. These early versions were rudimentary but helped competitive rowers train in the off-season. As technology improved, rowing machines gained a much wider appeal. Today's machines offer a realistic rowing experience without putting an oar in the water. When the weather is bad, a rowing machine can bring the workout indoors. To make a rower, a computerized tool punches assembly holes in high-carbon steel. Then, a laser carves out the parts around the holes. These parts will be used to create the housing for the rower's flywheel and brakes. They fold the edges using a bench press, making neat flaps. Next up is the main tube for the rower. All the other components will attach to this part. A punch cuts assembly holes into the steel tube. Then, an employee places the tube in a welding fixture. He positions the stand of the seat frame at one end. A robot welds the stand to the tube and welds mounts for the seat rail. They apply a powder-coat finish to the assembly, making it corrosion-resistant. An employee places the flywheel housing parts in a fixture and activates an automated welder, which fuses them together at the seams. They powder-coat this assembly, too. Plastic wheels with metal bearings allow the seat to slide on the rails. A worker screws four wheels to the carrier plate under the rower seat. Now an employee applies a decal with the company name to the main tube. He inserts a pulley in a notch at the end of the tube. Next, he sets the chrome seat rail on the mounts and secures it with screws. He attaches the ends of the chrome rail to eyelets on the stand. He screws plastic feet to the bottom of the stand. At another station, a worker places a bearing in the center of the flywheel and uses a press to secure it. Next, he pulls a black, plastic cord through a spool and knots it at the end. He also pulls a white, rubberized cord through, then mounts the spool to a shaft in the flywheel. He locks the spool to the shaft with a special steel ring and winds the black cord around the spool. He puts the flywheel in the steel housing and screws it in place. Using a hooked tool, he grabs a spring linked to the magnetic braking system. He fastens this end of the spring to a hole in the flywheel housing. A team now threads the white pull cord through the main tube and uses the pulley at the end to loop it back. A piece of metal cable attached the end of the pull cord makes it easier to snake the cord through the tube. Now a worker unwinds some of the black cord. He threads it through a guide on the flywheel housing and attaches it to the handlebar, also known as the oar. He pushes caps into the ends of the handlebar, then rests it on top of the flywheel housing. Another employee builds a protective outer structure around the flywheel steel housing using molded plastic parts. He installs a port for the electrical system that powers the workout computer. The top part of the casing contains the computer. The computer measures row strokes and calories burned. After making all the necessary connections, he screws it in place. A plastic cradle supports the assembly. It snaps into place. Once the seat is attached, this rowing machine is ready for a workout. Until recently, if a sculptor wanted to create a large statue, they had to make their model by hand, but now an artist can make a small-scale replica of their statue and have a large copy made in foam. The artist can then use this model to make their full-size sculpture, saving them a lot of time and money. A full-size sculpture starts out as a small clay model. The artist uses the clay model to make a mold out of wax, plaster, or resin. The artist then sends the copy, called a maquette to a specialist, who produces a foam enlargement to be used as a model to cast the full-size sculpture. The specialist places the maquette on a turntable. He spins it at an event pace while scanning it. The scanner's five cameras take continuous high-resolution photos and upload them to a computer. The computer then converts these photos into a 3d image. He scans the maquette several times to make sure he captures every detail. Then, he combines the pictures together and divides the sculpture into sections. He uses another program to calculate the scale of enlargement. This helps him determine how many and what size blocks of foam he needs to produce each section. He uses a dense foam with a fine grain called extruded polystyrene. He secures the foam with tape, then uses a computer-guided router to carve the enlarged sections of the sculpture. The larger and more detailed the part, the longer this process takes. For example, this half of the dog's head took 45 minutes, while carving half a leg would take just eight minutes. He uses a hot-wire machine to slice through the block and free the carved part. The specialist removes excess foam with a sanding block. He makes sure adjacent sections line up properly, then tapes them together. He scrapes off the seam with a horse-grooming comb, then sands it down. Next, he measures the sections so he can cut a steel pipe to the correct length. The steel pipe is used as a stiffener to make the sections more rigid. It also connects adjacent sections together. He uses a standard pipe bender to match the stiffeners to the sections they're going into. To embed the stiffener in the dog's leg, he first traces it on one side of the leg, then he carves out a trough to the depth of the stiffener's diameter. He cleans out the loose foam with a narrow brush. He checks to make sure the stiffener will fit. Then, he applies an adhesive designed especially for foam and inserts the stiffener. He places the other half of the leg on top, encasing the stiffener. He leaves about six inches sticking out of the leg. He inserts the protruding steel rod into a hole drilled in the enlargement. Once he has assembled all the sections, he tapes them together to check their alignment. The completed sculpture enlargement is about four times bigger than the original maquette. It's now ready to be sent back to the sculptor, where he or she will cover it with clay and add fine details that can't be reproduced in foam. Once this is done, the sculptor sends the clay model to a mold maker, who casts a mold and sends it to a metal foundry to create the final sculpture.