Channel Signs Wetsuits Aluminum Aircraft
A channel sign is made of individual letters that are fixed to a building or backdrop. The letters have internal channels that house either neon or led lights. At night, the channel letters light up and make a bold statement. Channel letters are three-dimensional and really stand out from the rest. The illuminated signs grab people's attention and convert them into potential customers. Channel letters are made from acrylic. The factory uses colored vinyl to tint them. An employee peels the liner from the vinyl, exposing the adhesive backing. He uses a roller to apply the vinyl to one side of the clear acrylic. The other side of the acrylic sheet is covered with a paper liner. A computerized router cuts the letters out on that side. The font style and size are custom-made for the client. After the letters are cut out, they remove the paper backing. The employees use nails to hold the letters in place as they work. The worker unrolls plastic trim cap and cuts it to fit around the letter. He lines the letter with trim and hammers in more nails, to keep everything in place. He makes cuts to the trim to form neat corners. The trim cap gives the letter a finished look. It also creates a surface for attaching the back letter enclosure, called the letter can. He seals the trim around the entire length with high-strength glue. Once it dries, he removes the nails. Now, it's ready for the letter can. To make the sides of the letter can, they feed a wide strip of aluminum into a computerized machine. It bends the aluminum to match the face of the letter. It also forms a lip at the bottom, to attach the can to the back wall. The side of each channel letter is called the return. It attaches the letter face to the back wall. The return also creates the channel which holds the lighting and directs the illumination. These are the dies that cut and shape the aluminum. Using a computerized machine, it takes the worker a few minutes to create the channel letter return. It would take four times longer to make the letter return by hand. Here is a completed channel letter return with the ends welded together. An employee slides the side structure over the back wall to form the letter can. He checks the fit, then clinches the back to the return. This completes the channel letter can. They run led lights throughout the can. In recent years, led lights have replaced neon tubes because they are more energy-efficient. An employee paints the aluminum can to match the vinyl on the letter's acrylic front. They test the lights. If they work, the technicians mount the letter can to the sign backdrop. The installer attaches the translucent acrylic face to the can. It takes about an hour to make one channel letter and a couple of days to make an entire channel sign. The final product is sure to be noticed. The wetsuit was invented in the mid-20th century. However, it wasn't an immediate hit. Made of a synthetic rubber called neoprene, the early wetsuits were hard to put on and irritated the skin. But recent neoprene improvements have made the wetsuit a popular choice for protection against the elements. When the surf is up, but the water temperature is down, a neoprene wetsuit is a practical swimwear choice. Even when wet, it keeps the body warm. Wetsuits fit like a second skin, so many surfers and divers have theirs custom-made. The tailor measures the client from the neck to the ankles. The suit allows a small amount of water to seep between it and the skin. Body heat warms the water, insulating the swimmer. Using the measurements, a team cuts out cardboard patterns. Then, a worker uses the patters to cut the neoprene pieces. They use neoprene because its cellular structure is a good insulator. The number of pieces in each suit varies, according to the style and size. Each suit has at least 15 pieces and can have as much as 30. Fabric for the wetsuits comes in a variety of colors. Some fabric will be used for accent panels, while others create the structural elements. The pieces fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. A worker heats one of the panels with a hot press. This slightly expands the neoprene. He places a decal of the company logo on the panel. He lowers the press again to fuse the logo to the panel. As the neoprene cools, it shrinks to its original size, making the lettering less likely to crack. Next, a worker applies waterproof rubberized glue to the edges of the neoprene panels. This is one of the most important parts of the wetsuit's construction. Too little glue could affect both the adhesion of the panels and the waterproofing of the seams. But if he applies too much glue, it could bleed into the colored panels. He pushes the glued panels together at the seams. The panels adhere instantly, and the wetsuit comes together quickly. It takes him about 45 minutes to put a wetsuit together. He inserts paper in the bottom half of the wetsuit. This prevents the front of the suit from sticking to the back as he joins the top assembly to the bottom. He lets the glue dry for a few minutes. Then, a seamstress turns the suit inside out and stitches the seams. She uses a curved needle, so it doesn't go all the way through the fabric. This is called blind stitching. It doesn't puncture the fabric. It also creates flat seams. Using a hot roller, she applies nylon tape to the back of the seams for extra waterproofing. A nozzle blows hot air to melt the adhesive onto the fabric. She sews a plastic zipper onto the back of the wetsuit and attaches a hook-and-loop stopper, to prevent unzipping. Another team member brushes rubberized glue around the zipper. He presses the edges of a neoprene panel to the glued area, creating a waterproof barrier around the zipper. He trims the end of the panel. This custom neoprene wetsuit is complete. From start to finish, the process takes 5 to 6 hours. He tests the zipper and closely scrutinizes the workmanship. After passing an initial inspection, this wetsuit is ready for a fitting. A good fit is crucial to its performance. If the wetsuit doesn't fit properly, cold water will pass through it and the suit will fail to keep the surfer warm. It meets expectations, so she's ready to test the water with this custom neoprene wetsuit. Airplanes need to be durable, to withstand the wear and tear of frequent flying and the dangers of landing on rugged airstrips. Most small airplanes are made with aluminum because it's both sturdy and lightweight. Some aluminum aircraft are twin engines, meaning they have a propeller on each wing. Single-engine models, like this one, have one propeller, typically on the nose. This airplane also has a pressurized cabin, so it can reach an altitude of about 30,000 feet. It also has a deicing system for the wings, tail, and propeller blades, so it can fly safely in cold, wet conditions. The aluminum is delivered to the factory in long rolls. They unwind each roll and feed the aluminum through a series of heavy rollers, to press out the curl. A blade at the end of the machine automatically slices the flat aluminum into smaller pieces. The thickness of the aluminum varies, depending on the part they're making. They use a 3-millimeter sheet of aluminum to make the cockpit instrument panel. A computer-guided mill cuts the profile, drills screw holes for installation, and cuts all the openings for the instrumentation. The sheet goes from this to this. A computer-guided router cuts out most of the wing components. Workers feed it between machine rollers that slowly bend it to a specific angle. Once the bend is complete, they use templates to check both sides and make sure it meets specifications. During production, residue from the factory machines contaminate the aluminum pieces, so, once all the parts are created, they are thoroughly cleaned. The machine washes them in soapy water twice and then rinses them off. Once the parts are clean, the machine submerges them in an acid bath. This preps the surface for a coat of protective primer. Once it's primed, workers clean the surface with solvent. Then, they lay the part on a sheet of epoxy adhesive and cut along the perimeter, to create an adhesive backing. Later, they'll activate the adhesive with heat and pressure. Once all the parts have their custom-cut adhesive, workers assemble them on a bonding fixture. Metal clamps hold the parts in position. This assembly is the internal structure of the wing's leading edge. The long pieces are called stringers. They're clamped to oval access panels that enable maintenance technicians to get inside the wing. Next, workers position and clamp the skin of the leading edge on top of the internal wing structure. They heat the entire assembly in an oven for 2 hours at 275° fahrenheit. This activates the adhesive and bonds all the assembled parts together. Meanwhile, another team assembles the aluminum frame of the airplane's fuselage section. They load the parts onto an assembly fixture and rivet them together. When we return, they'll apply an aluminum cover to the frame. The aluminum skin of an airplane consists of numerous panels, so the body is easier to repair. Technicians simply remove the damaged panel, instead of replacing the entire section. Workers start by applying an airtight sealant to close any gaps between the skin and the frame. The fuselage must be sealed, so the cabin can be pressurized. A pressurized cabin allows passengers to breathe comfortably at higher altitudes. Once the sealing is complete, they attach the corresponding aluminum skin panel. It has already been primed for paint. They apply cleko fasteners, to properly align the panel until it's riveted to the frame. Then, they select the rivets. They'll need rivets of various sizes and strengths for the different parts of the plane. They begin riveting the holes that don't have cleko fasteners in them. Then, they remove the clekos and rivet those holes as well. The fuselage is built in six sections. The front section houses the engine compartment. All the sections have attachment panels that fit in between the frame and skin of the adjacent part. Workers rivet the sections together. Once the back sections are installed, they rivet the completed fuselage to the main spar that connects the wings. They install the retractable landing gear, the tail-section rudder, and stabilizers. They also install the moving flaps and ailerons. Workers weld together steel tubes to create the engine mount. The mount will be installed in the engine compartment in the front of the fuselage. This section also houses the nose landing gear. They prime and paint the steel engine mount, to prevent corrosion. This plane has a 500-horsepower turbine engine. Workers bolt it to the engine mount. Then, they bolt the engine mount to the airplane's engine compartment. The engine rotates a shaft which spins the propeller. Meanwhile, all the airplane's electrical wiring is mapped out on an assembly board. Each wire has a number. The wires are arranged in a specific configuration. Then, workers group the wires by their location in the airplane and tie them in a wiring harness. These wires are for the back of the instrument panel. The circuit breakers are located on either side of the flight display panel. With the push of a button, the pilot can customize the information displayed on the center screen. Technicians thoroughly test all the electronic functions, as well as the autopilot system. One pilot can operate this plane, but it comes with an extra yoke, to accommodate a copilot. Workers install the interior and the windows. Then, mechanics verify the flight control surfaces, the moving parts on the wings and tail that change altitude or direction. Here, they're checking the ailerons. A mechanic in the cockpit turns the yoke while another uses a rigging board to measure how the aileron responds. If the angle's off, he makes an adjustment. They check the landing gear, to make sure it drops down from the wing and engine compartment. Then, they mask the windows and apply a second coat of primer, for extra protection against corrosion. When the primer dries, they paint the plane to the customer's specifications. Then, they paint the plane's registration number on both sides, as required by law. The airplane's deicing system heats the propeller blades to melt ice buildup. It also uses inflatable rubber bladders attached to the wing and tail. The pilot throws a switch to inflate the bladders and break any ice, ensuring a smooth, safe ride, even in poor weather conditions.