Aerospace Fasteners Cactus Pear Puree Lab Reactors
today on "how it's made"-- aerospace fasteners. Cactus pear puree. And lab reactors  an aircraft must be able to withstand extreme conditions and stress, so it's critical that the fasteners holding the parts of the aircraft together are made to precise technical specifications from high-strength corrosion-resistant materials. This company manufactures fasteners for all types of aircraft. These screws and bolts are made of aerospace-grade stainless steel. It arrives from the steel mill as coil. Certain fasteners are coated with copper, which acts as a lubricant, and the company further lubricates them with powdered soaps and other chemicals. This prevents the coil from catching as this drawing machine pulls it through a round die. Wire from the drawing machine enters this bolt-forming machine. First, it heats the wire and cuts pieces called blanks. Each blank then passes through five different dies, each of which progressively shapes it into a bolt. This t-bolt is made from a different type of high-grade stainless steel that doesn't require extra copper lubrication. The coil goes through the same process as the smaller bolt we just saw. However, this bolt-forming machine is much larger and uses four dies rather than five to shape the t-bolt. All fasteners must pass several quality-control checks throughout the manufacturing process. In this particular test, the factory measures the bolt's head length and diameter and checks the results against the technical specifications. When the fasteners come off the forming machines, they have sharp edges called burrs, so they have to go for a spin in a deburring machine. This one is pretty low-tech but highly effective. Fasteners made of certain types of stainless steel are sent to an outside plant for heat treatment, which strengthens them. Fasteners made from copper-lubricated stainless steel soak in a bath of nitric acid for about 20 minutes to dissolve the copper without harming the stainless steel. Workers thoroughly rinse the fasteners with water, then dry them off by spinning them at high speed. The final step is to form threads on the body of the fasteners. Forming threads adds even more strength. That's because this factory does that using a process called thread rolling. Rather than use machining equipment, which cuts threads into the shank, a process that removes steel and can weaken the bolt, this thread-rolling machine rolls one bolt at a time between two dies, which forms the thread pattern. This process doesn't remove any material, and compressing the steel to form threads actually increases its strength and ability to handle stress during flight. The threads undergo a thorough quality-control inspection. A technician uses a precision gauge to measure them. Next, he uses ring gauges. If the fastener screws into the no-go gauge, the dimensions are wrong. If it screws into the go gauge, they're correct. This optical imagining system measures the fastener, analyzes the form, spacing and ankles of the threads, then sends the data to the company's computer system. That system can trace every single fastener back to the batch of steel from which it was made. Another quality-control test measures tensile strength, how much pull force the fastener can withstand before breaking. In yet another test, technicians cut the fasteners into pieces, mount them onto a bake-like puck and polish them, then examine them under a digital microscope. Among other characteristics, they analyze the steel's grain size and structure. This type of stainless steel has a high nickel and chromium content, making it resistant to extreme temperatures and corrosion. Another test assesses how hard the steel is according to an international standard known as the rockwell hardness scale. Such rigorous testing is imperative for safety as these fasteners are what hold aircraft together. It's a fruit known by many names-- cactus pear, cactus fruit and prickly pear. It grows on several species of cacti, which are native to parts of north, central and south america. Some growers, in addition to selling the fruit, produce a puree, which they sell as a flavoring. Prickly pear martini, anyone? Cactus pear fruit is high in fiber and rich in vitamins and minerals. It's sweet and delicious eaten as-is or as a natural flavoring in foods and beverages. In the salinas valley in california, the cactus pear harvest begins around late august and continues through early april. The fruit is ripe when its skin begins turning red. The harvesters wear thick leather gloves to protect their hands from the thorns and safety glasses to shield their eyes from loose thorns that blow through the air. Tractors haul the cactus pears to the processing plant. The fruit first passes over brushes and into a vacuum that removes loose dirt, then through a shower of chlorinated water, which kills off bacteria. The fruit enters a cold-air dryer for about 5 seconds, then passes through a hot-air dryer for 20 seconds. The fruit exits completely dry. A quality-control team removes any with bruises or other cosmetic defects and transfers those cactus pears to the puree line. The fruit that passes inspection falls into what's called a singulator, a machine that lines them up in single file. The singulator deposits each cactus pear into a cup on a computer-guided weigh-and-sort machine, which classifies each fruit by size, then applies the grower's price code sticker. The fruit then travels on the conveyor belt that leads to the padded tub designated for its weight classification. A worker stationed at the tub packs the cactus pears into a lined shipping box. Another worker removes any less-than-perfect fruit that managed to slip through the previous checks. Those also go to the puree line. On the puree line, the dumper drops the cactus pears onto a conveyor-belt system, which transports them to the crusher. The machine crushes the fruit, separating the skins and flesh, mashing the flesh into puree and extracting the sweet magenta-colored juice. From the crusher, the pressed skins drop onto the vibrating shaker while the puree and juice flow through it into a tank below. The shaker separates any puree still caught in the skins. The skins drop into a bin and are hauled off to be used as compost or sold as animal feed. Once the tank is filled to capacity with about 400 pounds of puree, a pump transfers it to a large hopper. A worker releases puree from the hopper to the finisher. The finisher's fine screens trap the seeds while letting the puree pass through to a holding tank below. The seeds are sold to businesses that press them into oil for cosmetic and hair products. From the holding tank, the deseeded puree passes through a second finisher with even finer filters. Then it flows into a tank for pasteurization, which kills off any remaining bacteria. The puree is finally ready. A worker fills a drum, which is double-lined with plastic bags. She draws four 1-cup samples from each drum for quality-control tracking. Once a drum contains 400 pounds of puree, the worker zip-ties each bag separately, closes the drum with a lid, safety-seals the lid with a lock, then puts the drum in the freezer. The cactus pear puree is sold frozen to the food and beverage industry, which uses it to flavor many products, from ice cream, sorbet, and gelato to flavored water, wine, tequila, and brandy. Lab reactors are vessels of discovery. Inside these enclosed glass systems, chemical and biological reactions happen. Useful for developing many products, including medications like cancer drugs, they can also be used to produce these products on a small scale. A lab reactor is basically a sophisticated blender. During mixing, it also heats or cools ingredients to start a chemical reaction, and there are ports for attachments like a condenser. Making lab reactors starts with solid glass rods. The rods are sometimes a bit crooked, so a worker heats and moves them across rollers to straighten them. Grinding wheels round their shape to more precise contours, and a wet sanding smooths the surface. The operator measures the outer diameter of each rod. A worker heats one end of the rod and forms a rim using a special tool. He applies dabs of liquid glass just below the rim. This creates nubs for properly situating the blade hub on the main shaft. To make the reactor's inner wall, he scores a wide glass tube and exposes the score line to a flame and then water. Another worker heats the top end. He supports the glass with a wide paddle until it's malleable enough to shape. A forming tool gives it a wide lip that will serve as the opening of the reactor. He aims a flame at the newly formed flange to smooth out any imperfections. He slides a larger glass vessel over the flask, then fuses them at both ends. This creates a hollow jacket through which liquids will be pumped to heat or cool the contents of the flask. A different worker cuts another glass tube to length. He scores it lightly and again exposes it to fire and water to break it along the etched line. He shapes the tube into a port for the outside of the reactor jacket. He'll make two of these ports. They'll be used to circulate heating and cooling liquids. Using the torch, a worker softens a spot on the reactor jacket. With tweezers, he pulls away the softened glass, creating a hole for the port to be installed. After inserting a ceramic holder in the port, he fuses it to the hole on an angle. Once the seam solidifies, the port will be an intrinsic part of the lab-reactor vessel. Abrasive wheels grind another glass tube to make it perfectly round. This tube will be part of a drainage valve. An employee then begins work on the rest of the drainage valve assembly. He forms an internal thread for a plug. And after cutting it shorter, another worker creates a flange on the other end. He burns a hole in the side of the valve tube. The drainage tubing, now also cut shorter, is ready to be attached to the rest of the valve. He heats the connecting points, and they melt and meld together. Since we last saw it, the reactor vessel has received a base. A worker burns a hole in that base and fuses the drainage valve onto it. Another employee then places the reactor vessel in a special fixture and checks that it sits level. She adds specific amounts of water incrementally, beginning with 2 cups. She draws a line on the outside of the reactor vessel to indicate the amount inside. This will provide a reference for affixing a scale. Using the markings as a guide, she applies the ceramic scale. They'll become part of the glass when the vessel is baked and slowly cooled. Stay tuned for a lot more, as this lab reactor comes together to create a stir. Making a lab reactor is done for science. Precision is important because these reactors will be used to develop new drugs, cosmetics and a range of chemical materials. They can also serve as little factories, producing small batches of products. A lab reactor needs sturdy impeller blades to generate an effective chemical reaction. An automated milling tool cuts a notch in a disk made from strong chemically resistant plastic. Another system carves screw threads into a hub made of the same material. A tool bores a hole in the center for the insertion of what's called the agitator shaft. The operator smooths the threads with fine sandpaper and then assembles the blades to the hub. Next is the condenser. It's an attachment through which vapor will travel to be transformed into a liquid. The worker twists the softened glass tube around a rod to form the coil. Another worker inserts a linear glass tube in the center of the coil. She melts glass near the bottom to seal the center tube to the coil. Moving to the top, she heats the glass and, with tweezers, pulls a bit from the end of the coil to pry it open. With a pick, she opens it up a little more. She uses a graphite reaming tool to shape the glass opening into a more flared profile. The condenser body takes shape, and the worker forms a joint on the end. He inserts a standard joint to test the fit. The coil can now be inserted into the condenser body. Another worker fuses the condenser wall to the coil and burns holes in the glass wall to connect hose attachments. She exposes the seam to a less focused flame to bring down the temperature slowly. The next worker creates a joint for the lower end of the condenser. This joint will be used to connect the condenser to the reactor. Once the basic taper profile has been achieved, grinding tools size it more precisely. When the connector joint has been cut to length, the worker attaches it to the base of the condenser. Another glass fabricator makes more joints, one of which will connect the condenser to the reactor lid, or head, as it's known in the industry. He keeps the glass tube long for easy handling and then cuts it to the correct length. The worker now seals the center joint to a hole in the reactor lid. He burns holes in the reactor head for other connectors. As the glass balloons up, he pulls it away to fully open the hole. With all the connectors fused to the reactor head, a worker grinds the base of its flange against an abrasive wheel to make it perfectly even. An employee then applies decals to the head. These indicate the brand and the connector size. The decals will be baked into the glass during its final heating. He places all the parts in the annealing oven. The temperature gradually ramps up to 1,040 degrees fahrenheit and slowly cools. This final annealing removes internal stresses and strengthens the glass. An inspector scrutinizes the head with a tool to confirm that the connector joints are in proper alignment and positioned at the correct angle. Workers install the vessel on a stand, insert the shaft and blades, attach the head and connect the condenser. To simulate how it works, a technician pours liquid into the reactor. He adds colorful plastic solids that will show up better for this demonstration. He activates the impeller blades. These blades are designed to lift solids to the top, and they do that effectively. He also runs cooling liquids through the condenser. In practice, the cool coil will cause vapors from the vessel to convert back to a liquid. This lab reactor is now ready to be a lifesaver.