Petanque Balls Biologic Medicines Asphalt Pavers Basque Espadrilles
today on "how it's made"-- pétanque balls... Biologic medicines... Asphalt pavers... And basque espadrilles. the french game of pétanque is somewhat similar to the italian game of bocce and the british game of lawn bowling. It's played with hollow steel balls called boules on a dirt or gravel surface. The object of the game is to toss the balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball. The first pétanque players carved their balls from wood. By the late 1800s, players hammered in nails to make their balls heftier and less likely to crack when hitting other balls. Then came brass balls and later the hollow steel balls used today. Manufacturing begins with long bars of carbon or stainless steel, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. This is stainless steel. An automated saw cuts pieces about 1 3/4 inch long. Workers place the pieces on a conveyer, which moves them into an induction oven. The oven heats them to between 1,650 and 2,190 degrees fahrenheit, softening the steel. As soon as a piece comes out of the oven, the forging press strikes it three times, first flattening it into a disk. Next, thinning the disk, then stamping the disk into a half sphere. Workers mill the forged half sphere on a lathe to refine the shape and to create a gap they later fill with metal wire when they weld this half to another half to form the ball. A worker drops the milled halves down two separate chutes and deliver two halves at a time to an automated welding machine. The machine clamps the halves together and welds them to each other. A robot removes the ball from the welding machine and transfers it to a computer-guided milling machine. As the machine's lathe spins the ball, a knife shaves off thin layers of steel to smooth the ball and make the weld invisible. This also puts the ball within a specific diameter and weight range in accordance with international rules governing the sport. The machine also engraves a pattern to help identify whose balls are whose. International pétanque rules require a ball to have four items engraved into its surface-- the brand name, the pattern name, the weight of the ball, and a serial number for the set to which it belongs. Once the brand, pattern and weight are engraved, the balls move along a conveyor toward the tempering station. Cutting, heating, forging, and machining steel makes it brittle and weak. Tempering is the process of hardening it to restore its strength. After heating the ball to between 1,470 and 1,830 degrees fahrenheit, they immediately cool it in water that's about 104 degrees, a process known as quenching. After tempering the steel, manufacturers polish the ball with an automated sander. The finished balls do vary slightly, so this last automated machine weighs each one and sorts it in rows of identical weight. Then, equal weight balls are grouped in sets of three and are engraved with the same serial number. These pétanque balls are made of carbon steel. To prevent oxidation and corrosion, the factory electroplates its carbon steel balls with a protective layer of chromium. It submerges the balls in a series of chemical baths and water baths to prep the surface for the final dip in an electroplating tank in which an electrical current draws chromium particles through the water and deposits them onto the ball's surface. The chromium treatment leaves a white film. This brushing machine removes it and restores the shiny finish. International rules require pétanque balls to be 2 3/4 to just over 3 inches in diameter and weigh between 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds. The retail box contains three identical balls engraved with the same serial number, along with the wood target ball, a cleaning cloth, and a warranty card. The goal of the game is to toss the balls as close as possible to the target ball while knocking the opponents' balls away from it. And the player's feet must remain planted inside a small circle when tossing. You can play pétanque indoors in a venue known as a boulodrome or boule bar, or you can play outdoors anywhere there's a patch of relatively flat ground. Biologic medicines are proteins produced inside living cells, which are mini factories generating the genetically engineered protein treatments. It's a different approach from traditional drugs, which are manufactured using chemical synthesis. Biologics offer hope where other therapies have failed. To mass-produce these biologic medicines, scientists use the molecular machinery inside living cells. The process starts with the insertion of genetic material into chinese hamster ovarian cells. They're known as cho cells. They keep them frozen in liquid nitrogen until the next step. In the seed lab, a technician thaws the cells in warm water. He transfers them to a glass flask that contains growth media. The growth media is comprised of hundreds of nutrients, including vitamins and minerals. It's a recipe to help the cells multiply. A worker transfers the flask that contains the cells to the production side of the plant. The team injects the mixture into a 5-gallon-capacity bioreactor. Inside, a propeller agitates the mixture to stimulate growth. Over a 3-week period, the number of cells increases exponentially. Each new cell is programmed to produce the target biologic protein. A worker sterilizes this 21-gallon-capacity bioreactor to prepare it to receive the cell mixture. Under precisely controlled conditions in the bioreactor, the cells multiply substantially. Over several weeks, the team transfers the cells to progressively larger bioreactors. The cells grow until there are trillions, each producing the target protein. Next, a technician measures salts and other dry ingredients. He's preparing a recipe for purifying the protein liquid once it's been separated from the cells. He labels the bag and records the information separately as required by government regulations. He adds the ingredients to purified water in a mixing tank. An automated system keeps tabs on the condition of the purification solution. After separating cellular material from the protein mixture, the team pumps it through steel and glass columns. Here, the purification solution works with resin beads to separate the protein from the impurities. The purified protein is stored in steel tanks at -4 degrees fahrenheit. It keeps the biologic medicine in a stable state. Meanwhile, in the quality control lab, a technician injects a sample into glass capsules. She places the capsules into a robotic analytical instrument. This sophisticated equipment measures the potency and purity of the biologic medicine. Once the biologic medicine passes the tests, they prepare glass vials to receive it. That means an intensive cleaning. The automated system loads the vials into individual slots, and sprayers rinse them. The system then transports the vials through a heat tunnel that sterilizes them to remove any potentially harmful toxins. Moving through an isolated sterile zone, the vials funnel into a fill station. Nozzles dispense a specific dose of biologic medicine into the vials. Here, plungers insert stoppers in the vials. A camera then takes a picture, and a computer instantly analyzes it to confirm that the stoppers have been correctly installed. The system then caps the stoppers to completely seal them from contaminants. This machinery hygienically fills and caps over 100 vials per minute. A worker visually inspects each vial. He carefully swirls the contents as he looks for impurities. If he sees any, the vial of medicine will be rejected. Finally, this technician takes a sample and conducts a test to ensure the medicine is sterile. Grown in living cells, these biologic medicines are now on their way to potentially making a difference in people's lives. The development of the asphalt paver in the early part of the 20th century changed the way roads were built. The paving machine took over from large crews who paved surfaces manually using picks and shovels. This invention has made it a lot easier to pave the way. The asphalt paver transforms rough roads into smooth ones. This paving machine distributes asphalt, levels it, and also provides the initial compaction. Making one starts with a computerized plasma cutter. The operator programs it to cut out all the parts of the paver structure from heavy-gauge steel plates. It also configures the cutting to minimize waste. The plasma tooling also cuts and threads holes for bolting the parts together. Once the parts have been cut, a crane transfers them to a welding fixture. The fixture holds the parts for the paver frame in tight alignment while a welder tacks them together. He also tack welds smaller parts like engine mounts to the structure. Once the tack welds are done, he does full welds throughout, creating strong, thick seams. A team loads more steel into a computerized press break. It clamps the steel plate between a matching punch and die. Then, using hydraulic power, the press break makes precise bends to shape the steel into a section of the paver hopper. With the first bend done, one of the workers measures the angle with a digital level to confirm that it's exactly right. The team then moves the steel plate into position for the next bends. They make a total of three in the hopper part. Those three bends must be perfectly angled and positioned to fit the rest of the hopper. It's why precision is critical. They do a final check of the three bends using a template. Next, a welder joins a side panel to the hopper part with the three bends. These two parts form the left side of the hopper. After an acid wash, it's into the paint booth to coat the steel with an epoxy primer and urethane paint. The parts then spend time in an oven to accelerate the paint cure. Then it's over to the assembly line, where construction of the paver tractor is already underway. A worker bolts gear systems to the sides. These gears will drive the paver wheels. With the help of a crane, the team guides the engine into position. The engine's mounting structure mates to bushings in four locations. They now assemble the hopper to the front of the paving machine. Hinge tubes on the hopper part intermesh with tubes on the center conveyor framework. They'll run a long pin through these hinge tubes to complete the assembly. With everything in good working order, they're ready to build the screed, beginning with the base plate. The screed is a critical apparatus. Its system of vibrating extenders both levels and compacts the asphalt once it's deposited on the road. They're also equipped with heating elements to keep the asphalt workable. They run a battery of tests on all these components to confirm that the screed is fully operational. The screed is now ready to be mated to the paver tractor. They put the tractor in reverse and back it up to the screed until brackets on both meet in perfect alignment. Once the brackets have been bolted together, the asphalt paver is ready for work. The road ahead will be long and potentially winding, but it should be pretty smooth, thanks to this asphalt paver. Espadrilles have been a popular style of casual footwear for decades now, yet most people likely don't know the origin of this comfortable cloth shoe. Europeans have been wearing espadrilles since the 1300s. The basque region in northern spain is still famous for them. Espadrilles are fashion forward and a step back in time. The people of the basque region have been making these cloth and jute shoes for hundreds of years. They began reinforcing the soles with rubber in the early 1900s. Jute is a plant fiber that's spun into strong, coarse twine. For traditional basque espadrilles, they use twine that's about 1/10th of an inch thick. Large jute spools feed an automated braiding machine. Its five bobbins move in a circular pattern that produces a neat braid measuring roughly 3/4ths of an inch wide by a quarter of an inch thick. Right after exiting the braiding machine, the braid enters a calibration machine which applies tension to make the dimensions uniform. Each espadrille sole is hand-crafted by an artisan. He winds the braid on a form that's more than a century old. The positioning of the metal pegs in the holes correspond to the size of the shoe he's making. The closer the pegs are to each other, the smaller the shoe size. After nine rotations for this shoe size, he cuts the braid, then, using a large needle, ties off the end. He places the wound braid into a press which, as we see here in slow motion, compresses it into the shape of the sole. In real time, this step takes just a couple of seconds. Then he picks up the sole with a comb and feeds it into an automated sewing machine. Two large needles, one above, one below, simultaneously stitch all the way through the sole with thick jute thread, binding the wound jute braid. This machine sews more than 100 pairs of soles per hour. By now, the espadrilles' signature jute sole is formed and sewn, but it's not quite finished yet. To prevent it from wearing out, it needs a protective layer of rubber. The artisan now opens a mold for the corresponding shoe size and fills the sole-shaped cavities with a pre-measured quantity of colorless rubber granules. Then, he places the jute soles on top. He closes the mold and places it in a press for 6 minutes. The press heats the mold to 300 degrees fahrenheit, melting the rubber granules. The liquid rubber spreads throughout the cavities, penetrates the jute fibers and vulcanizes, meaning it hardens and cures. This produces a rubber outer sole about 1/6th of an inch thick that protects the jute inner sole. The espadrilles' uppers are made of 100-percent-cotton canvas. The artisan stacks about 20 pieces and cuts them simultaneously with a razor-like blade. Each upper is comprised of a front piece and a back piece. A seamstress sews the upper entirely by hand. She wears a glove that has a copper cup built into the palm, which she uses to force the giant needle through the tough jute. After stitching the front and back pieces to the sole, she sews them to each other along the sides. She closes and reinforces the toe with three rows of stitches. All this with strong, thick thread made of braided cotton. This maker of basque espadrilles prides itself in using only natural materials, even in the paper packaging. The rubber used for the soles contains no colorants but is infused with citronella, a fragrant plant oil believed to help repel mosquitoes.