Indy Car Seats Paper Flowers Stand
Indycars are open-cockpit race cars that compete in the annual indianapolis 500 race in the u.s. the cars are entirely custom-built. Even the driver's seat is specially contoured to the driver's body shape and position in which he or she sits most comfortably in the car. The custom-made driver's seat in an indycar is made of fire-resistant fabric over impact-absorbing foam. It has openings at the shoulder, lap, and legs for the safety harness. To make the seat, they first have to produce a template, which is, in itself, a two-day process. Technicians prepare, then pour an adhesive into a bag full of foam beads. The adhesive contains resin and a hardener. Once the adhesive seeps in, they squeeze out the air and tie the bag closed. They knead the bag to spread the adhesive over all the foam beads inside. Next, laying the bag flat, they spread the adhesive-saturated beads in an even layer. Then they install a valve... Attach it to a vacuum pump, and suction out most of the remaining air. They shape a cavity in the middle to fit the driver's body. Once they vacuumed out enough air to make the bag tight enough to hold the shape of this cavity... They place it in the race car's cockpit, pressing the foam beads as snugly as possible into all the nooks and crannies. This ensures the car seat will fit properly and not shift under the driver. The driver now has to sit in the car so they can custom-contour the template to his body in the driving position. Once he's settled comfortably with hips and shoulders square and wearing his helmet, they begin taking measurements, starting with the height of his head, critical for aerodynamics, and of his sight line over the hood, critical for safety. Both measurements must conform with the racing association's strict regulations. They also measure the distance between his chest and the steering wheel and ensure there's adequate leg clearance to enter and exit the cockpit. The driver sits down, gets out, gets back in several times as the technicians measure and make adjustments. The entire process takes about 40 minutes. When it's all done, they run the vacuum for another four hours and let the foam cure overnight. The next morning, they use a hot knife to melt a line through the foam and dislodge the template from the cockpit. The driver returns for a final two- to three-hour sitting, during which the techs trim the foam as closely as possible to his body contour. The shape now finalized, they cover the entire surface with cloth adhesive tape and a matte finish. This creates a non-reflective background suitable for laser scanning. Onto this dull surface, they adhere positioning targets-- reflective dots spaced four inches apart that create a grid pattern over the entire template. The 3-d laser scanner reads these reflective dots... That a computer translates into a 3-d image. Specialized software then converts this image into a technical drawing, which guides an automated router to cut the seat parts out of polypropylene foam. This precision-cutting process takes four to six hours. The router cuts out six to eight sections, which technicians then carefully glue together into the full seat. They cover the finished seat in fire-retardant material, first applying the fabric with spray adhesive, then trimming it to the shape of the seat. This foam is quite elastic, so it absorbs impact and protects the driver. At the same time, it has memory, so after a blow, it regains its driver-customized shape. People have always been enchanted by the beauty of flowers. It's not surprising that these jewels of nature, often in artificial form, are used in decorative objects and arts and crafts projects. Paper flowers last forever, and you don't have to remember to water them. These flowers are made of saa paper. The saa tree is a variety of mulberry that grows abundantly across southeast asia. For more than 700 years, villagers in northern thailand have been using saa bark to make paper. The paper is used for crafting items such as umbrellas, fans, and flowers. They soak the dried bark in water overnight to begin softening it up, boil it over a wood fire for four hours, then soak it again overnight. All of this softens the bark into fibrous pulp. Next, they soak the pulp overnight in hydrogen peroxide to whiten it, then they rinse off the bleach, which would interfere with the dying process later on. Workers discard any discolored pieces. The goal is to make each sheet of paper evenly white so that it absorbs colored dye uniformly. Now they load the pulp into a mill, which grinds it up and mixes it with water. This process, which takes about half an hour, transforms the pieces into soft, fluffy, and very soggy fibers. What was once tree bark is now ready to be processed into paper. Every single sheet is handcrafted on fine mesh screens. They submerge a screen in water, then drop in roughly 15 ounces of fibers. They manually stir the water to spread the fibers in a thin layer across the screen. They slowly lift the screen out of the water and press the surface by hand to smooth it out. The screen then stands in the sun for three to four hours, flipped a few times until the fiber's dry into a solid sheet of paper. To color the paper, they fill a basin with hot water and add a chemical dye. They test the color, and if it's just right, they submerge the sheet. The sheet absorbs the dye instantly in a consistent shade thanks to the uniformly white base color. They hang the sheet outside to dry in the sun. In three to four hours, the paper is ready to bloom. They cut out flower shapes with a hand-operated press that stamps a sharp metal dye through the sheet of paper. Each shape will be a layer of petals in a flower. There are dyes in various shapes and sizes. However, the petals they produce are flat-- not very lifelike-- so workers place one petal at a time on a flower-shaped mold and stamp it with a hot press. This permanently shapes the petals to the contour of the mold almost the same way a hot iron presses clothes. Then it's assembly time. To make a rose, they mount a white ball made of foam, or flower and glue, onto the end of a three-inch-long wire. They fold the inner petals over the ball and pinch them together to create the center of the rose. Then they thread four to five petal layers of the same size on the wire, bending and pinching those, as well, to form the rose shape. Once the petals are complete, they finish off with a green paper leaf at the base. To make a daisy, they take a flat flower and glue a brown paper dot in the middle. Then they glue another flat flower beneath it and a leaf base beneath that. To make another type of rose, they gently twist the tips of the petals. Even though they're made from trees, these artificial flowers are environmentally friendly. The saa's severed branches and stripped bark grow back quickly, providing a renewable supply of raw material for crafting blooming paper bouquets. Weather-wise, these are turbulent times. There are more storms and heat waves, and that means an increased likelihood of power outages. A standby generator supplies emergency electricity within seconds of an outage so a homeowner can ride out the storm in comfort. In today's high-tech world, staying plugged in has never been more important. Wired to a home's electrical system, a standby generator automatically powers up in the event of an outage. It assumes the electrical load until the public-utilities system comes back online. With your own standby generator, a power outage is never a crisis. Production starts with a stator. It's the stationary core of the alternator-- the part that converts energy from the motor to electricity. A press compacts 100 or more laminated steel disks to create the stator core. Machinery unwinds steel banding and wraps it around the stack to hold the core layers together. Machinery lifts the stator core out of the assembly device and transfers it to the next station. Here, an automated system insulates the numerous slots in the core. As the core turns, a machine cuts, forms, and inserts synthetic insulating fabric into each slot. Meanwhile, at another station, an automated system winds copper wire onto a mandrel. The slots in the mandrel are the same size as the insulated slots in the core. This configures the copper windings to fit the core slots. But first, a technician slides the copper coils onto a threading tool. This tool maintains the configuration of the coils to prepare them for installation in the stator core. They wind more bundles of copper wire. Once all the windings have been correctly arranged on the threading tool, the technician is ready to transfer them to the stator core. He places the stator on top of the threading tool and activates a hydraulic device that pushes the wires up through the tool and into the slots of the stator core. The device retracts, and he removes the stator. The copper wires transform the stator into an electromagnet, which is critical for electrical generation. He trims the ends of the wires and sets the leftovers aside for recycling. He slides insulating sleeves onto the ends. Then it's into the lacing machine. This machine crochets a string wrap around the bundles to hold the wires together. It also pulls in any loose strands to keep them from snagging on generator components. With the wiring precisely wound and wrapped, this important generator component is ready for the finishing touch-- a clear varnish. The lid closes on the tank, and a vacuum pulls air out. The tank then fills with clear varnish to coat the stators. The varnish fills in any gaps in the windings. They transfer the stators to an oven and bake on the varnish. Once hardened, the varnish insulates the entire assembly. The next technician connects the stator lead wires to a testing machine. The machine applies high-voltage pulses to the wire windings and monitors the output for anything that could cause generator failure. The stator passes the test. A technician now positions an outer casing and an end cap on top of the stator, followed by a steel pressing plate. A hydraulic arm then provides the muscle power needed to fit the casing and cap snugly to the stator. Coming up next, the generator stator joins the rotor and engine, and the result is purely electric. The average home may contain over 100 electrical appliances and devices. When there's a power blackout, everything shuts down. A standby generator restores electricity in seconds to keep the refrigerator running and the heat on. In an extended power outage, a generator can be a life saver. To produce the alternator's rotating part, the rotor, the technician stacks laminated steel disks to the same height as the stator core. He lubricates the opening in the center of the disks. He inserts a shaft, and a press pushes it into the stack to complete the installation. Powered by the generator engine, the shaft will spin the rotor. The technician installs steel rods to maintain the disks' alignment and then removes the rotor from the assembly device. He fits more rods to it on a slight angle. They'll act as conductors and stabilize the rotor's electrical output. He slides aluminum caps onto both ends of the rotor. Then it's over to an automated welder. The machine grips the rotor at both ends and slowly turns it as a robot welds both caps to the rotor body. Welded in place, the caps secure the aluminum rods. The aluminum solder used in the weld is conductive and will create an electrical connection. The technician unclamps the rotor from the welding machine and then tucks insulation into slots on the sides. The rotor then goes for a spin in a machine that winds bands of copper wire around the insulated sections. These wires will act as electromagnets and help produce electrical current. They tie string around the wire, add bearings and a copper collector ring, and bake an insulating varnish onto the entire rotor. They're now ready to assemble the standby generator. Using a lift, the technician lowers the engine into position. He joins the rotor shaft to the engine crankshaft. To secure the assembly, he drives a very long bolt through the rotor to the crankshaft and tightens it to a specific torque. Next up is the stator. It will provide a magnetic field to advance the flow of electrons in the rotor. The technician slides the stator onto the rotor. A steel end bracket is next. It aligns the rotor and the stator. He forces the bracket into place. To secure the alignment, he installs four long bolts from the end bracket to the engine-adapter plate. He anchors the stator and rotor to the generator base and adds special rubber mounts under the supports to buffer vibrations. He attaches a motorized carbon brush to copper rings on the rotor shaft. The brush will collect electricity from the shaft and transfer it to the generator controller. He secures it to the end bracket with screws. He connects the wiring harness that moves electricity from the brush to the controller. He links the other end of the harness to the engine. He plugs in a sensor to monitor oil pressure and makes all the other electrical connections. Next up is a panel through which he runs some of the wiring. It acts as a separator to prevent entanglements and also supports the fuel regulator. Other parts include a muffler to help dampen engine noise and a controller that converts generated power to the correct voltage. The assembly of this standby generator is complete. The technician fuels up and runs it first at partial capacity, then to the max. The test confirms there's no wavering in electrical output. Once encased in a neutral-colored corrosion-resistant shell, the standby generator blends into the background, but in a power outage, its contribution will definitely be noticed.