Mortars and Pestles Bowling Lane Conditioners Crematories Wood Playsets
Today on "how it's made"... Together, the mortar and pestle form some of the oldest and most useful of humanity's inventions. Their image adorns many pharmacology symbols because pharmacists have been using them to prepare medicine for centuries. But it's with food that this simple tool is most closely associated. The basic principle is simple enough-- put the object you want to crush in a bowl, then take a stick and grind it down. But not all mortars and pestles are alike. For one thing, the material used can make all the difference. Wooden and ceramics work well. But for many, nothing beats stone. Granite provides a tough, non-porous surface. A craftsman prepares to carve. He starts by using a masonry compass and a liquid called chinese ink to draw the mortar's inner and outer circumference. He can easily remove the ink if there are any errors. He roughs out the shape with a hammer and chisel. He then works with a grinder which is equipped with an extremely hard diamond-tipped blade, making it possible to cut through solid stone. Once's he's defined the outside edge, he begins to work the inner bowl, carving out the perimeter before cutting a grid. He turns again to his hammers and chisels to remove material from the inside of the mortar. He uses the grinder to cut the last chunks and fine-tune the surface, giving it the smooth, consistent shape of a bowl. He uses a square to transfer a mark to the bottom of the stone. He marks the based with his compass. The circumference of the base must be slightly smaller than the top. He quickly roughs out the base with one of his chisels. Then it's back to the grinder, which he uses to clean up the circumference and begin making a series of angle cuts into the sides. With hammer and chisel, he knocks off the pieces left between the angle cuts. Thanks to years of experience, he makes it look easy. With the grinder, he works away at all of the surfaces, smoothing them to a consistent finish. One wrong move with this tool could mean being forced to start over, but this is a highly skilled artisan. More than 10 years of training make it possible for him to work with unhesitating speed and assurance, completing a finished mortar in less than an hour and a half. But, of course, there's something missing. A mortar isn't much good without a pestle. Once again working with the confident swiftness of an expert, the artisan uses his grinder to hone a chunk of granite down to the shape of a well-balanced pestle. Wide and blunt on one end and narrow enough to easily grasp on the other, the stone is perfectly calibrated to do its job. In the days before power tools, it would have taken a craftsman a full day to carve a mortar and pestle. But a carved mortar and pestle isn't necessarily a finished one. Here, a painter adds the final touches. Using a small brush and special varnish, he paints a lotus flower design on the lip of the mortar. He leaves the bowl itself untouched so that no food products will mix with the varnish when crushed. He then varnishes the exterior of the mortar. The varnishing process is purely decorative. Hard stone like granite needs no protective coating to help it endure. After all, some granite has been around for millions of years. It takes just 15 to 20 minutes for the varnish to dry. And with that, the mortar is completely finished. The lotus flower design isn't the only one available. This facility produces a wide range of mortars and pestles. These mortars and pestles may be attractive. But their appearance is secondary to their function. There are few tools in a kitchen more durable or more useful than a good mortar and pestle. In the early days of bowling, shellac-based conditioners were applied to wooden lanes to protect the surface. Today, robotic machines apply conditioners in different patterns to mainly synthetic lanes, easier ones for the average bowler and more challenging ones for tournament players. At most bowling alleys, lane cleaning and condition are done automatically by roaming robots. They apply different conditioners in specific patterns. The pattern selections are made by league organizers. It's all about ensuring consistent scoring. Computerized tools with different bits produce many of the robot's parts. Here, they carve a block of aluminum into a mounting part for a handle. This is the blank before and after. An employee assembles two of the mounting parts to a handle. He secures them with heavy duty bolts, ensuring that these pressure points will hold up to the job of lifting the 370-pound robotic machine. He attaches one handle to each of the two side panels. He installs a sprocket sensor system on one of the side panels. This sprocket sensor will detect where the robot is and communicate that information to is computer. He links it to the front wheel with a second sprocket chain, and closes the loop with a master link. He now lowers the oil buffer brush assembly into the machine. He inserts the main drive more and then secures it to an aluminum partition with the shaft protruding through the other side. He then wraps the drive chain around the sprockets of the shaft. He loops a rubber belt in front of the buffer brush and connects it to the oil applicator. The applicator will slide on the belt, dispensing small amounts of conditioner. He installs whisker sensors to the front on each side. When these whiskers brush the sides of the lane, they'll send a signal to the computer, which will then direct the robot to move more to the center. The conditioning solution tanks have been equipped with metering pumps and pressure gauges. He bolts the assembly to the rear wall of the machine. He pops in the rechargeable battery and connects it to the motor. The machine is ready for the computerized system that runs it. This system includes the control panel. He installs it in the center of the machine, just above the battery. He then runs the hose from the conditioning tank over to the applicator and connects it. Moving to the front, another employee unwinds fabric from one roller and attaches the end to the next. This is part of the cleaning system. The cloth will scrub the bowling lane after the robot sprays a cleaning solution onto it. A suctioning squeegee will vacuum up dirt and leftover cleaner and deposit them in this recovery tank. He then plugs the wiring harness into the computer at the back of the control panel. It's time for a dry run. With no cleaner or conditioner in the system yet, the technician powers up the robot and puts it through its paces. He confirms that every part is in good working order. He adds cleaning solution to the tank, and it's time prepare the lane conditioners. They mix the mineral oil-based conditioners in big blenders. There are nine different recipes, with up to 16 ingredients in each one. They test each mixture extensively. They measure the viscosity because it can affect how the conditioner flows on the lane. And they evaluate the surface tension. That's its ability to bond to the lane. With the conditioners approved, it's time to test the robot in special quality control lanes. During 50 trips down the lanes, a technician evaluates the robot's performance. He inspects its turning radius and the effectiveness of the sensors. He also scrutinizes the cleaning and conditioning job. Satisfied that the conditioning robot works well on its own, he approves it for shipping. This bowling lane conditioner should be a real game changer and ensure that the path to victory is a well-oiled one. A crematory is a machine used to cremate bodies swiftly and safely. Even though the cremated remains are commonly referred to as ashes, they're actually bone fragments. The family may choose to inter them, preserve them in an urn, or scatter them in a meaningful place. This pet crematory has three small chambers. The human version has a single chamber large enough to accommodate a casket. Inside, flames from a gas burner engulf the deceased, and the burning body releases fluids and gases which flow to a secondary chamber in the back, where another burner incinerates them. The crematory's frame is made of ultra-strong tubular steel, because the structure must withstand expansion and contraction, as the chamber heats up to more than 1,800 degrees fahrenheit during cremation, then cools down afterward. Once workers have cut steel tubing to the lengths required, they place the pieces in a jig, which configures them correctly for assembly. After ensuring the tubes are flush, workers clamp them to the jig to prevent them from shifting out of position. Then they weld the tubes together, assembling then connecting the multiple sections of the frame. Next, thick sheets of steel for the crematory's floor and walls. Workers clamp the sheets in position, then fuse them to the frame with just over 5-inch long welds on the outside and full-length welds along the inside seams to completely seal the unit. They weld steel airlines for oxygenating the the fire in the chambers. Now, workers begin insulating the chambers to shield the steel structure from the intense heat. First, they apply adhesive-backed steel pins to the steel walls and affix insulation boards made of heat-resistant ceramic fibers. They secure the boards to the pins with steel disks. Workers nail in a second layer of insulation. These stiffer boards are made of a higher concentration of ceramic fibers, making them even more heat resistant than the first layer. After insulating the top of the machine the same way, they install an exhaust chimney above the secondary chamber, then a motorized fan that blows air through a long shaft. The shaft functions as an air supply highway, with exit pipes going to the airlines and to the gas burners in the chambers. Workers apply two coats of high temperature paint to the machine's steel exterior. And then it's time to line the chambers with a third and final layer of insulation. This insulation material is refractory brick. The term "refractory" means "heat resistant". The bricks are made of a ceramic material called alumina silica, and can withstand temperatures as high as 2,900 degrees, fahrenheit. The three layers of insulation absorb the intense heat of the cremation process, which can take 1 to 2 hours, depending on the weight of the body. They protect the machine's steel structure so that it doesn't degrade and weaken. Once the mortar dries, workers pour the floor and ceiling, then hang the machine's steel door, which operates on a hydraulically powered chain and sprocket. The door is lined with insulated refractory brick, which, unlike the chamber brick, reflects rather than absorbs heat. This prevents the door from getting too hot to handle. The final step is to wire the chamber heat sensors and other electronics to the electrical panel. The cremation is automated. Some machines have gauges and indicator lights which enable the operator to monitor combustion and adjust fuel and airflow as required. Other machines have a computer, which runs, monitors, and regulates the process from start to finish. The crematory incinerates all but 5% of the body. What remains are bone fragments, which are then ground into a powder and returned in a container to the family. Computer game systems may be the rage, but kids still love to play the old fashioned way-- outside, in the fresh air, on a playset. And today's playsets are quite often elaborate, with a slew of apparatuses that provide a lot more exercise than a game controller does. Many playsets are modular systems, which let you choose the components and configuration. This set combines forts, ladders, monkey bars, a climbing wall, swings, rope, and a slide. The wood is redwood, a species that's safe for little hands because it's splinter-free. It's also naturally weather resistant, so it doesn't need to be treated with chemicals to prevent rotting. Workers first cut out any knots and defects. Then they saw the wood to the lengths required for different parts. They load several of the same part onto a computer-guided router. These are the sides for several ladder kits. The router cuts slots for the ladder's wooden steps and drills holes for the bolts that attach the ladders to their respective playset. Worker's manually sand every piece of wood that goes into a playset so that the entire surface is smooth for little hands and knees. When pieces need to be shaped a certain way, workers run them through this machine. It's called a wood molder. Inside, it has four spindles with rotary knives that trim the wood on all sides to specific pre-set dimensions and shape. A wood molder can make relatively complex cuts to make decorative crown moldings. However, for these playsets, the molder primarily curves edges and shapes adjoining components to fit together like puzzle pieces. Here's what a piece looks like before and after it's put through the wood molder for sizing and to round the corners. Several wood components also go through this piece of equipment, called the double-end cut-off machine. As the name implies, it saws off a preset amount of wood on each end to standardize length and smooth the surface. The playset's structure has angled braces in the corners for extra reinforcement. To make these braces, workers notch the wood pieces on this machine. Then they round the edges with a router and sand the surface. Once all the wood parts are shaped and sanded, workers put them on a conveyor belt, which ferries them through a machine called a vacuum coater. It saturates the part with a non-toxic, water-based reddish stain, then suctions off the excess. Workers staple an identification label on every part. Then they bundle together all the parts for the module-- this is the ladder kit-- and put them through a plastic banding machine to tie them together. The bander works by feeding a continuous plastic strap off a spool. When the operator steps on a foot pedal, the machine shoots the strap tightly around the bundle, then cuts and heat seals the ends. Swing, slides, and climbing wall footings are made of molded polyethylene, a flexible and durable type of plastic. To assemble this baby swing, workers bend it to shape and clamp it in an assembly fixture. Then, one side at a time, they position the galvanized steel hardware and insert the rivets that will fasten it. They transfer this assembly to a vice, then drive in the rivets with an air-powered impact gun. The swing hangs on plastic-coated steel chains. This module is what they call the split ladder. It combines a wood step ladder with a more challenging chain ladder. Plastic-coated steel pipes at the top and bottom link the two. The galvanized steel chain ladder is coated with plastic to make it softer to the touch. They complete the unit with a wooden side rail, then place the split ladder on a large vertical press, which forces the parts tightly together. The unit will be further secured with bolts, once assembled to the playset, along with a selection of additional climbing, dangling, sliding, and swinging options for active little monkeys.