29x13 - Petanque ba*ls, Biologic Medicines, Asphalt Pavers, Basque Espadrilles

[bunniefuu]

[ Beeping ]

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Narrator: today on
"how it's made" --

Pétanque ba*ls...

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Biologic medicines...

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Asphalt pavers...

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...and basque espadrilles.

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[ Sign squeaks ]

The french game of pétanque
is somewhat similar

To the italian game of bocce

And the british game
of lawn bowling.

It's played with
hollow steel ba*ls

Called boules
on a dirt or gravel surface.

The object of the game
is to toss the ba*ls

As close as possible
to a small wooden ball.

The first pétanque players
carved their ba*ls from wood.

By the late 1800s,
players hammered in nails

To make their ba*ls heftier

And less likely to crack
when hitting other ba*ls.

Then came brass ba*ls

And later the hollow
steel ba*ls used today.

♪♪

Manufacturing begins
with long bars of carbon

Or stainless steel,

About 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

This is stainless steel.

An automated saw cuts pieces
about 1 3/4 inch long.

Workers place the pieces
on a conveyer,

Which moves them
into an induction oven.

The oven heats them
to between 1,650

And 2,190 degrees fahrenheit,

Softening the steel.

As soon as a piece
comes out of the oven,

The forging press
strikes it three times,

First Fl*ttening it into a disk.

Next, thinning the disk,

Then stamping the disk
into a half sphere.

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Workers mill the forged
half sphere

On a lathe to refine the shape

And to create a gap they later
fill with metal wire

When they weld this half to
another half to form the ball.

A worker drops the milled halves
down two separate chutes

And deliver two halves at a time
to an automated welding machine.

The machine clamps
the halves together

And welds them to each other.

A robot removes the ball
from the welding machine

And transfers it to a
computer-guided milling machine.

As the machine's lathe spins
the ball, a knife shaves off

Thin layers of steel
to smooth the ball

And make the weld invisible.

This also puts the ball
within a specific diameter

And weight range in accordance
with international rules

Governing the sport.

The machine also engraves
a pattern to help identify

Whose ba*ls are whose.

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International pétanque rules
require a ball

To have four items
engraved into its surface --

The brand name,
the pattern name,

The weight of the ball,
and a serial number

For the set to which
it belongs.

Once the brand, pattern
and weight are engraved,

The ba*ls move along a conveyor
toward the tempering station.

Cutting, heating, forging,

And machining steel
makes it brittle and weak.

Tempering is the process
of hardening it

To restore its strength.

After heating the ball
to between 1,470

And 1,830 degrees fahrenheit,

They immediately cool it in
water that's about 104 degrees,

A process known as quenching.

After tempering the steel,
manufacturers polish the ball

With an automated sander.

The finished ba*ls
do vary slightly,

So this last automated machine
weighs each one

And sorts it in rows
of identical weight.

♪♪

Then, equal weight ba*ls
are grouped in sets of three

And are engraved with
the same serial number.

These pétanque ba*ls
are made of carbon steel.

To prevent oxidation
and corrosion,

The factory electroplates
its carbon steel ba*ls

With a protective
layer of chromium.

It submerges the ba*ls
in a series of chemical baths

And water baths
to prep the surface

For the final dip
in an electroplating tank

In which an electrical current
draws chromium particles

Through the water and deposits
them onto the ball's surface.

The chromium treatment
leaves a white film.

This brushing machine removes it
and restores the shiny finish.

International rules require
pétanque ba*ls to be 2 3/4

To just over


And weigh between 1 1/2
to 1 3/4 pounds.

The retail box contains
three identical ba*ls

Engraved with the same
serial number,

Along with
the wood target ball,

A cleaning cloth,
and a warranty card.

The goal of the game
is to toss the ba*ls as close

As possible to the target ball

While knocking the opponents'
ba*ls away from it.

And the player's feet must
remain planted inside

A small circle when tossing.

You can play pétanque indoors
in a venue

Known as a boulodrome
or boule bar,

Or you can play outdoors

Anywhere there's a patch
of relatively flat ground.

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Narrator: biologic medicines
are proteins

Produced inside living cells,

Which are mini factories
generating

The genetically engineered
protein treatments.

It's a different approach
from traditional drugs,

Which are manufactured
using chemical synthesis.

Biologics offer hope where
other therapies have failed.

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To mass-produce
these biologic medicines,

Scientists use the molecular
machinery inside living cells.

The process starts with the
insertion of genetic material

Into chinese hamster
ovarian cells.

They're known as cho cells.

They keep them frozen in liquid
nitrogen until the next step.

In the seed lab, a technician
thaws the cells in warm water.

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He transfers them
to a glass flask

That contains growth media.

The growth media is comprised
of hundreds of nutrients,

Including vitamins and minerals.

It's a recipe to help
the cells multiply.

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A worker transfers the flask
that contains the cells

To the production side
of the plant.

The team injects the mixture

Into a 5-gallon-capacity
bioreactor.

Inside, a propeller agitates
the mixture to stimulate growth.

Over a 3-week period,

The number of cells
increases exponentially.

Each new cell is programmed

To produce the target
biologic protein.

A worker sterilizes this


To prepare it to receive
the cell mixture.

Under precisely controlled
conditions in the bioreactor,

The cells multiply
substantially.

Over several weeks, the team
transfers the cells

To progressively
larger bioreactors.

The cells grow until
there are trillions,

Each producing
the target protein.

Next, a technician measures
salts and other dry ingredients.

He's preparing a recipe
for purifying the protein liquid

Once it's been separated
from the cells.

He labels the bag and records
the information

Separately as required
by government regulations.

He adds the ingredients to
purified water in a mixing tank.

An automated system keeps tabs
on the condition

Of the purification solution.

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After separating
cellular material

From the protein mixture,

The team pumps it through
steel and glass columns.

Here, the purification solution
works with resin beads

To separate the protein
from the impurities.

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The purified protein
is stored in steel tanks

At -4 degrees fahrenheit.

It keeps the biologic medicine
in a stable state.

Meanwhile,
in the quality control lab,

A technician injects a sample
into glass capsules.

She places the capsules into
a robotic analytical instrument.

This sophisticated equipment
measures the potency and purity

Of the biologic medicine.

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Once the biologic medicine
passes the tests,

They prepare glass vials
to receive it.

That means
an intensive cleaning.

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The automated system loads
the vials into individual slots,

And sprayers rinse them.

The system then transports
the vials through a heat tunnel

That sterilizes them to remove
any potentially harmful toxins.

Moving through an isolated
sterile zone,

The vials funnel
into a fill station.

Nozzles dispense a specific
dose of biologic medicine

Into the vials.

Here, plungers insert
stoppers in the vials.

A camera then takes a picture,

And a computer
instantly analyzes it

To confirm that the stoppers
have been correctly installed.

The system then caps the
stoppers to completely seal them

From contaminants.

This machinery hygienically
fills and caps

Over 100 vials per minute.

A worker visually
inspects each vial.

He carefully swirls the contents
as he looks for impurities.

If he sees any, the vial
of medicine will be rejected.

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Finally, this technician takes
a sample and conducts a test

To ensure the medicine
is sterile.

Grown in living cells,

These biologic medicines
are now on their way

To potentially making
a difference in people's lives.

♪♪

Narrator: the development
of the asphalt paver

In the early part
of the 20th century

Changed the way roads
were built.

The paving machine took over
from large crews

Who paved surfaces manually
using picks and shovels.

This invention has made it
a lot easier to pave the way.

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The asphalt paver transforms
rough roads into smooth ones.

This paving machine distributes
asphalt, levels it,

And also provides
the initial compaction.

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Making one starts with
a computerized plasma cutter.

The operator programs it
to cut out all the parts of

The paver structure
from heavy-gauge steel plates.

It also configures the cutting
to minimize waste.

The plasma tooling also cuts
and threads holes

For bolting the parts together.

Once the parts have been cut,

A crane transfers them
to a welding fixture.

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The fixture holds the parts
for the paver frame

In tight alignment

While a welder tacks
them together.

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He also tack welds smaller parts
like engine mounts

To the structure.

Once the tack welds are done,
he does full welds throughout,

Creating strong, thick seams.

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A team loads more steel into
a computerized press break.

It clamps the steel plate

Between
a matching punch and die.

Then, using hydraulic power,

The press break makes
precise bends

To shape the steel into
a section of the paver hopper.

With the first bend done,
one of the workers measures

The angle with a digital level

To confirm that
it's exactly right.

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The team then moves the steel
plate into position

For the next bends.

They make a total of three
in the hopper part.

Those three bends must be
perfectly angled

And positioned to fit
the rest of the hopper.

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It's why precision is critical.

They do a final check of the
three bends using a template.

Next, a welder joins
a side panel to the hopper part

With the three bends.

These two parts form
the left side of the hopper.

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After an acid wash, it's into
the paint booth to coat

The steel with an epoxy primer
and urethane paint.

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The parts then spend time
in an oven

To accelerate the paint cure.

Then it's over to
the assembly line,

Where construction of the paver
tractor is already underway.

A worker bolts gear systems
to the sides.

These gears will drive
the paver wheels.

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With the help of a crane,

The team guides
the engine into position.

The engine's mounting structure
mates to bushings

In four locations.

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They now assemble the hopper to
the front of the paving machine.

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Hinge tubes on the hopper part
intermesh with tubes

On the center
conveyor framework.

They'll run a long pin
through these hinge tubes

To complete the assembly.

With everything in good
working order,

They're ready to build
the screed,

Beginning with the base plate.

The screed is a critical
apparatus.

Its system of vibrating
extenders both levels

And compacts the asphalt
once it's deposited on the road.

They're also equipped
with heating elements

To keep the asphalt workable.

They run a battery of tests
on all these components

To confirm that the screed
is fully operational.

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The screed is now ready to be
mated to the paver tractor.

They put the tractor in reverse
and back it up to the screed

Until brackets on both meet
in perfect alignment.

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Once the brackets have been
bolted together,

The asphalt paver
is ready for work.

The road ahead will be long
and potentially winding,

But it should be pretty smooth,
thanks to this asphalt paver.

♪♪

Narrator: espadrilles
have been a popular style

Of casual footwear
for decades now,

Yet most people
likely don't know

The origin of this
comfortable cloth shoe.

Europeans have been wearing
espadrilles since the 1300s.

The basque region in northern
spain is still famous for them.

Espadrilles are fashion forward
and a step back in time.

The people of the basque region
have been making these cloth

And jute shoes
for hundreds of years.

They began reinforcing the soles
with rubber in the early 1900s.

Jute is a plant fiber that's
spun into strong, coarse twine.

For traditional basque
espadrilles,

They use twine that's about


Large jute spools feed
an automated braiding machine.

Its five bobbins move
in a circular pattern

That produces a neat
braid measuring

Roughly 3/4ths
of an inch wide

By a quarter of an inch thick.

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Right after exiting
the braiding machine,

The braid enters
a calibration machine

Which applies tension
to make the dimensions uniform.

Each espadrille sole
is hand-crafted by an artisan.

He winds the braid on a form
that's more than a century old.

The positioning of the metal
pegs in the holes

Correspond to the size
of the shoe he's making.

The closer the pegs
are to each other,

The smaller the shoe size.

After nine rotations for this
shoe size, he cuts the braid,

Then, using a large needle,
ties off the end.

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He places the wound braid
into a press

Which, as we see here
in slow motion,

Compresses it into
the shape of the sole.

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In real time, this step takes
just a couple of seconds.

Then he picks up the sole
with a comb

And feeds it into
an automated sewing machine.

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Two large needles, one above,
one below, simultaneously stitch

All the way through the sole
with thick jute thread,

Binding the wound jute braid.

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This machine sews more than


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By now, the espadrilles'
signature jute sole

Is formed and sewn,

But it's not quite finished yet.

To prevent it from wearing out,

It needs a protective layer
of rubber.

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The artisan now opens a mold
for the corresponding shoe size

And fills
the sole-shaped cavities

With a pre-measured quantity
of colorless rubber granules.

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Then, he places
the jute soles on top.

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He closes the mold and places it
in a press for 6 minutes.

The press heats the mold
to 300 degrees fahrenheit,

Melting the rubber granules.

The liquid rubber spreads
throughout the cavities,

Penetrates the jute fibers
and vulcanizes,

Meaning it hardens and cures.

This produces
a rubber outer sole

About 1/6th of an inch thick

That protects
the jute inner sole.

The espadrilles' uppers are made
of 100-percent-cotton canvas.

The artisan stacks
about 20 pieces

And cuts them simultaneously

With a razor-like blade.

Each upper is comprised of a
front piece and a back piece.

A seamstress sews the upper
entirely by hand.

She wears a glove that has a
copper cup built into the palm,

Which she uses to force

The giant needle
through the tough jute.

After stitching the front
and back pieces to the sole,

She sews them to each other
along the sides.

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She closes and reinforces the
toe with three rows of stitches.

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All this with strong, thick
thread made of braided cotton.

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This maker of basque espadrilles
prides itself in using

Only natural materials,
even in the paper packaging.

The rubber used for the soles
contains no colorants

But is infused with citronella,

A fragrant plant oil believed
to help repel mosquitoes.

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