Solid State Drives Eye Shadow Limousines Dead Blow Hammers
The drive in your computer saves and stores your data-- everything from documents to photos to software programs. The newer generation drives are solid state drives. They're gradually replacing traditional hard disk drives because they're compact, more durable, and process information much faster. Just like portable usb drives and camera memory cards, solid state drives store information on several memory chips installed on a circuit board. Each chip contains highly complex circuitry comprised of electrical pathways 2,000 times narrower than a human hair. To make those memory chips, they begin with a disk-shaped silicon wafer. Silicon is a non-metallic natural element that conducts electricity. It's highly susceptible to contamination, so the production area is virtually sterile to the point of being 1,000 times cleaner than the air in a hospital operating room. An automated robotic system moves the wafers through more than 800 operations, which take more than a month to complete. Each wafer receives layer after layer of materials-- some conductive, such as copper, some nonconductive, such as silicon dioxide. After applying each layer, the machine coats the wafer with a light-sensitive fluid then flashes u.v. light onto it through a glass stencil of the electrical circuitry pattern. In the areas where the fluid is exposed to the light, the chemicals break down and dissolve. Where the fluid was shielded from light by the stencil, the materials remain intact, effectively printing the circuitry pattern on the wafer. Chemical baths then wash away the exposed fluid and material. Each foot-wide wafer yields hundreds of microchips, which now have to be sliced apart. The robotic cutting machine covers the wafer with an adhesive film to hold the chips in place while they're being cut loose from each other. The next machine inserts each clip in a protective plastic housing. Meanwhile, six circuit boards at a time enter a machine which applies a thin layer of tin alloy solder paste onto the areas where the memory chips and other components will go. As the boards exit the machine, a robotic arm picks off the components required for each drive from feeder spools and deposits them at their respective locations on the circuit board. This particular model has 8 microchips, each able to store 64 gigabytes of data, giving the drive a capacity of 5,012 gigs. The circuit boards now enter a tunnel-shaped oven which melts the solder paste, fusing the components to the board. The brain of the solid state drive is now complete and ready for the first phase of quality-control testing. This machine performs an optical scan to verify that every component on the board is set in the right place. The next machine x-rays the board to verify that each component is securely soldered in the correct location. A later phase of quality-control testing will verify the drive's performance. Until now, six circuit boards have been attached to each other. An automated router now cuts them apart, and workers insert each board into a protective plastic housing. A slot on the outside of this housing reveals the board's connector by which the drive links to the computer. Solid state drives come in different sizes. This particular model is large enough to replace a traditional hard disk drive. However, many models are smaller, designed to fit where disk drives can't-- for example, in ultra-slim laptops. Every drive is labeled with its technical specs, model, and serial numbers and so on, along with a barcode for production tracking. Then they plug the drive's connector into a tester, which, after verifying that everything functions electronically, installs the drive's operating system. The drive moves to the next station, where it undergoes up to 60 hours of extensive performance testing to ensure that it stores and retrieves data correctly and at target speed. Packaging is twofold. First, a foil shield to prevent static electricity from damaging the drive, then a carton, and finally into a shipping box headed for a destination somewhere around the world. In ancient egypt, both men and women painted their eyes. It was thought that eye makeup made one less vulnerable to the evil eye, a gaze or stare meant to cause harm. Today, mostly women wear it. And of course, repelling evil is no longer a reason to wear eye shadow. With a palette of eye shadow, a woman can work a certain kind of magic. Skillful shading can add depth and drama to the eyes. This makeup can also create the illusion that the eyes are much larger than they really are. To make eye shadow, they follow specific recipes. A technician weighs the ingredients, beginning with mica, a mineral that acts as filler. The next ingredient is zinc stearate. It's a binder. A combination of pigments provides the desired color. These particular pigments are different shades of the mineral iron oxide. He transfers the measured ingredients to a big blender jar. As he pours the ingredients, they dust up, and a gas mask keeps him from breathing in the particles. He places the jar on the blender base, covers the top, and activates the blades. The blender mixes and grinds the powdered ingredients to a very fine state. Then it's into a very large mixer. He adds coconut oil-- just enough for the powdered ingredients to eventually coagulate into a cake form. More mica is next-- a lot more. Eye shadow is 80% mica. This mica is darker to add intensity to the color. It also has a bit of shimmer. He latches the lid to contain the ingredients and powers up this high-speed mixer. Inside, the mixing paddles swivel around for about 15 minutes to thoroughly mix the ingredients. The eye shadow mixture flows into a plastic bag. A technician examines it to confirm that the color has been evenly dispersed and that the powder is sufficiently moist. Another worker now pieces four eye shadow tins in pods on a metal platter. The platter rotates to deliver the tins to a mixing dispenser that's been filled with the eye shadow ingredients. The mixer pushes precise amounts through holes in the bottom and into the tins. A scraper levels off the tops. The next stop is a press with four circular heads. A ribbon of fabric keeps things hygienic as the press compresses the moist eye shadow powder and turns it into a cake-like form. Moving forward, the pods eject the tins, and an automated device pulls them off the machine. What a difference the compression has made. No longer a loose powder, the eye shadow ingredients have caked up nicely. The tins now move into a lane and come up against an abrasive belt that cleans the loose powder from the sides. A blast of air also gets rid of some of the residual powder. For one out of every 100 eye shadows produced, a technician does a drop test from a height of 18 inches. He checks for chipping or damage. And if he finds any, he'll add power to the press. For a color test, he brushes some eye shadow onto his arm, beginning with a laboratory standard. He then applies newly manufactured eye shadow to his arm and compares the two. It's a match. And with his approval, the batch is almost ready for retail. Another worker inserts the tins into more substantial plastic containers with magnets on the bottom to secure them. She screws the clear caps onto the jars, and the eye shadow is on its way to the cosmetic counter. They also manufacture entire palettes of eye shadow for a rainbow of choices. It takes about a day to manufacture eye shadow. And the result is truly a thing of beauty. The first stretch limousines, built around 1928, usually transported big bands and their musical equipment. Luxury sedans with an extended chassis are typically associated with special occasions such as weddings, proms, or a night on the town. It takes about 475 hours of work and painstaking detail to transform a luxury sedan into a stretch limo. Workers cut an ordinary-size car in half using cutting wheels. Before cutting begins, the inside of the car is stripped away, along with other components such as the gas tank and drive shaft. Workers cut away the inner support structure and cut across the floor of the car with a reciprocating saw. The car is now completely cut in half. Workers wheel the back half of the car away from the front half. They place the back half on the exact spot where the limousine will gradually be assembled. The construction department employees insert steel frame rails into the front half of the car. They insert the rails on both sides of the front half before inserting the rails into the back half of the car. They measure the length of the frame rails to make sure that the frame is square and that the two halves are the correct distance apart to build the limousine. A worker welds the rails to the frames of the front and back halves of the original car. They position the drive shaft tunnel, which houses the steel drive shaft and exhaust pipes, and weld it to the original vehicle tunnel. They position the floor, which is made of galvanized steel, and weld it to the frame rails and tunnel. They weld the steel roof rails into place. They connect the new rails to the roof rails in the original vehicle. A worked welds a vertical side post into place. With a level, he checks that the post of hardened steel is perfectly vertical before welding the base of the post to the floor frame. A roof panel made of galvanized steel is put in place. Workers install the limousine's bar. They've already installed the steel seat frames. Next, they install an outer body panel complete with a hardened steel crash bar. They screw the panel into place. The screws will be removed once the panel has bonded solidly to the limousine frame. A worker sprays on three coats of paint, then applies two coats of protective clear coating. Once the painting process is complete, workers install the laminated safety side glass. Another worker sprays contact cement on the roof of the limousine in preparation for the vinyl top. He stretches the vinyl across the roof and with his hand presses the fabric down into the crevices. Then he carefully trims off the excess. He presses a strip of chrome molding into place on the top of the vinyl. Workers in the interior department install the back of a leather seat... And the leather bench seat. After reupholstering the original rear seat to match, they return it to its original spot in the back of the limousine. A systems installer connects the electrical systems for the control center, located behind the driver's seat. A panel lists relays and fuses. The original center console is then reinstalled. A worker installs a video monitor in the limousine. Next, he rolls out the floor mats. The acrylic disco bar lighting system is tested. In just 21 days, the original car is transformed into a luxurious limousine. With test drives and quality-control checks complete, enjoy a ride in the lap of luxury. A hammer is one of the most useful tools out there. The only problem is you have to control the rebound. That is, unless you have a dead blow hammer. These tools are accurate and easy to use because this particular type absorbs the bounce. This facility makes a variety of dead blow hammers. Some are soft-faced and some are ball-peens, which are used by machinists. All in all, they come in handy everywhere from nascar racetracks to operating rooms. To first create the internal structure of the hammer, they drill through a short length of welded steel tubing with a drill press. The worker drills straight through the tube, creating a hole on both sides. This tube will become the internal head of the hammer. The head needs a handle. A worker places the tube on a jig and then positions a rod on the hole. A press forces the rod through the tube. At the next station, a worker places the internal hammer assemblage behind a pane of tinted glass to protect her eyes as she welds the head and handle together. She only welds the top of the tube so as not to alter the metal. A machine drills a set of small conical indents in the handle. Fitting a set of pins inside the mold, these indents will be crucial to the process. Because the internal handle is round, the urethane exterior could twist on it when the hammer is being used. To prevent this, a worker welds on a flat tab. The urethane will lock in place around the tab. Next, a worker crimps a metal cap on one end of the tube. This creates an open canister, which the worker partially fills with a crucial ingredient-- hardened steel shot. He then crimps a cap on the open end, sealing in the shot. With the head canister done, the core of the dead blow hammer is now complete. While the basic components are simple, workers must assemble every element with precision. The mold has a set of pins inside it. A worker aligns the indents on the metal handle with these pins. The pins ensure that the internal hammer hangs in a perfectly centered position inside the mold. Workers secure the mold in a support frame before placing it on a conveyor that will take it through a preheating oven. Ball-peen hammers are assembled differently. Instead of crimping a cap on, they screw the face of the hammer onto a threaded tube. The metal core of the ball-peen is placed in a mold that leaves the metal face and ball exposed. After the molds go through the preheater, they arrive at the filling station. A high-speed mix head blends urethane with hardeners and catalysts and pumps the mix through a flexible hose. A worker uses the hose to fill the molds to the brim with the orange fluid. She then sends them into the oven, where they'll spend 30 minutes curing at about 300 degrees fahrenheit. On the other side of the oven, a worker removes the molds from their frames and then releases the newly formed hammers. Thanks to a special release agent that was sprayed inside the mold, the hammers come out easily. At the finishing station, workers use a high-speed circular brush to remove the excess material, or flash, produced by the molding process. This is the most difficult operation in the making of dead blow hammers, and these workers are highly skilled. When molding ball-peen hammers, the front and back of the head are left exposed. For performance reasons, this steel is not stainless. Workers dip the exposed steel in hot wax. The wax coating will protect the hammer from rust until it's taken off the store shelf and put to use. Soft-faced ball-peens and sledges are among the 20 models of dead blow hammers manufactured here. A worker attaches a label which includes all the relevant information and warnings. The labeled hammers then go in a box ready for shipping. Dead blow hammers have many applications, from food processing plants to woodworking shops to the oil industry. Some surgeons even use them to drive artificial hips into place.