- 12 minutes ago
Discover what it takes to make motorcycle engines, glass enamel sculptures, hand-made paper and vaulting poles....
探索摩托车发动机、玻璃、珐琅雕塑、手工纸以及撑杆跳高杆的制作过程。
探索摩托车发动机、玻璃、珐琅雕塑、手工纸以及撑杆跳高杆的制作过程。
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:21today on how it's made motorcycle engines
00:30glass enamel sculptures handmade paper and vaulting poles
00:52the v-twin motorcycle engine actually dates back more than a century
00:56talk about staying power central to the design are two cylinders that form a V
01:02around the crankshaft this configuration is more compact than a
01:06straight-line engine and its appeal is timeless
01:15with its throttle cranked the v-twin can take you on an exciting ride and leave
01:20sedans in its dust to make one a robot loads a cylinder into a machine
01:28equipped with cutting tools the tools mill the cylinders metal slants to
01:33highlight them the slats are called cooling fins they allow the engines heat
01:38to dissipate this cutting tool bores into the center of the cylinder carving it to
01:45precise dimensions to allow engine components a perfect fit next an
01:51operator assembles to the crankshaft he aligns connecting rods and slides them
01:57over bearings
01:59he then assembles the rods and bearings to the crankshaft
02:07a machine press fits everything together
02:14next a lift scoops up the crankshaft assembly and transfers it to the lower
02:19half of the crankcase
02:28at the next station an automated dispenser precisely applies sealant to the inner edge
02:33of the crankcase
02:37they then arrange the upper half of the crankcase on the lower assembly and bolt the two together
02:49it's now time to link the crankcase and shaft assembly to the transmission
02:56this chrome plated cover is the finishing touch
03:04next they fit the camshaft into the crankcase its job is to maintain valve timing
03:15they position the pistons on the connecting rods now installed in the crankcase
03:23remember those highlighted cylinders made earlier workers now slide them over the pistons
03:31these are the cylinder head castings technicians paint them and then machine them to fit on the
03:38cylinders
03:43a robot bolts them together with just the right amount of torque
03:48the operator then installs tubing that will house push rods
03:55he snaps them into the cylinder heads
04:00then he clips on metal covers to secure them
04:04he now inserts the push rods in the tubing
04:08up next is the electronic fuel injection system
04:11which controls the flow of fuel to the engine
04:16they install it between the two cylinders
04:22a special bracket
04:23a special bracket holds the injection system in place
04:29he bolts the rocker boxes to the cylinder heads
04:33then tops off the assembly
04:35with more gleaming chrome covers
04:41the operator now screws the oil filter onto the engine case
04:45and secures it with a special wrench
04:48this is the electrical charging system
04:51it goes on the crankshaft
04:57now it's time to pump oil into this v-twin engine and put it through its paces
05:04computerized testing equipment moves in and mates to the engine
05:09the engine rotates and they shift the transmission through all the gears
05:15this allows the testing equipment to analyze every aspect of its performance
05:26next they insert spark plugs into the cylinder heads
05:31and these 1584 cc motorcycle engines are now revved and ready for their wheels
05:51and now link is the process of using colored glass to metal with intense heat
05:56this decorative art developed more than three thousand years ago
06:00the earliest enameled objects archaeologists have found
06:03are pieces of jewelry made in ancient greece
06:06today artisans most often produce glass enamel on copper
06:14artisans handcraft these magnificent sculptures by fusing vibrant colors of
06:19finely ground glass to solid copper
06:23first the artist draws the design then chooses the glass colors from a palette
06:28of hundreds of shades
06:30she takes one element at a time and makes multiple copies of it on a sheet of
06:35paper
06:36she has a lab produce a film negative which she lays in an exposure machine
06:41on top she lays a silk screen coated with a light sensitive chemical
06:48then it exposes them to halogen light for 90 seconds
06:53the film negative works like a stencil it's dark parts block the light from
06:57hitting the screen while it's clear parts allow light through
07:01where light penetrates the light sensitive chemical reacts and hardens
07:07the unhardened chemical rinses away leaving just the image behind
07:16in the next department they lay the screen in a silk screen printer
07:21apply chemical resistant ink
07:23then load a sheet of solid copper about half a millimeter thick
07:29the machine automatically prints the images onto the copper
07:37they cure the ink in an oven for 20 minutes then repeat the entire exposure
07:42process for the backside of the sheet
07:47next they feed the sheet into a two-step milling machine
07:51it applies chemicals that eat away any copper that isn't coated with the
07:55chemical resistant ink
07:57this cuts out the shapes
07:59then it strips off the ink which by this point has served its purpose
08:07now they have a blank shape but it's completely flat
08:13to give it dimension they stamp it with a forming die
08:17now the enameling process can finally begin
08:21for each color grouping of the design there's an aluminum stencil
08:25they lay down the first one and sprinkle glass powder in the first base coat color
08:30which looks white now but comes out clear
08:34then a second stencil for the second base coat color white
08:43the shape then goes into a kiln for about a minute to liquefy the glass powder and fuse it to
08:48the copper
08:53once the base coat cools they create the detail work with additional stencils and colors
09:01this is where the true artistry comes in
09:04each shake of powdered glass is like a painter's brush stroke
09:08too much and the color will come out too dark
09:10too little and it'll come out too light
09:13it takes an experienced enameler to get it just right
09:25they craft dimension by blending colors
09:28and by combining different types of glass in the design
09:32some transparent some opaque some opalescent
09:39and by blending colors in the design of the glass
09:39after every few powder applications they return the piece to the kiln
09:43where the intense heat 1600 degrees fahrenheit liquefies and fuses the glass to the copper
09:50slowly but surely they turn what was a blank copper shape into a vibrant work of art
09:57meanwhile an artistic welder skillfully creates the sculpture's metal framework
10:02in this case branches on which copper enameled birds will perch
10:07he's using steel but frameworks can also be made of copper bronze or brass
10:13besides birds this sculpture features copper enameled leaves and flowers
10:17their stems are bronze because bronze fuses easily to steel
10:22with the framework and background elements in place it's just a matter of attaching the main design
10:28elements some industrial strength hot glue does the trick a modern twist on an ancient craft
10:35these glass enamel sculptures make a glistening impression
10:51today most commercially made paper is made from wood pulp treated with chemicals and mechanically processed
10:58making paper by hand is a craft that involves techniques and materials that go back over 2000 years in china
11:04these techniques have evolved over time but the main ingredient remains the same imagination
11:15handmade paper is a distinctive choice for a variety of uses from fine stationery to limited edition prints
11:23natural fibers like linen or these cotton remnants are the raw materials for handmade paper
11:31workers place the cotton rag and put it on a conveyor which leads into a machine that chops it up
11:37into small pieces
11:45it collects in a bin ready for the next step called beating the rag
11:53workers pour out the chopped up rag into a tub called a hollander that is filling with water
12:01this machine beats the material into a pulp
12:04it's only moving part a large roll weighing several tons equipped with metal blades
12:10workers fill the hollander with up to 800 pounds of brag
12:15once all the rag is in the giant roll descends to begin the beating
12:20water pours down to soak the fabric as workers push it toward the roll
12:29they sometimes take paper from previous batches known as broke and add it to the mix
12:43they may also add a little dye to adjust the color depending on the desired effect
12:52after eight hours of beating workers feel the pulp's consistency they will then take samples
12:58from this batch to make sure it doesn't contain any unbeaten rag or knots next they add colorful
13:05scraps of paper to the pulp to create a decorative pattern
13:15to make a sheet of paper the vat man plunges a wooden mold into the pulp
13:20as he lifts out the mold he shakes it to even out the pulp
13:24water pours out leaving only fibers caught on the mold surface
13:29he removes the mold's frame known as the deckle and lowers the corner of the mold to drain away more
13:35water
13:42he places the mold face down on a wet felt then carefully lifts it away
13:48a sheet of paper now lies on the felt which he then covers with another wet felt
13:54when paul pours through the mold's metal screen it traps the fiber and lets the water through
14:00the vat man plunges the mold once again into the pulp and couches another sheet of this distinctive paper
14:08at this point the paper is 99 percent water workers bring a stack over to a hydraulic press
14:16to draw the water from the paper and link the fibers together
14:20they press the papers with care so they don't burst right out of the felts
14:29they brush any leftover pulp from the felts leaving them clean and ready for the next batch of sheets
14:38now workers can handle the paper without it falling apart they take the sheets from the felts and hang them
14:44to dry on plastic tubes
14:51once dry they collect the sheets according to type and stack them for a final finishing press
14:57before they go on for shipment to customers around the world
15:03the molds frame leaves a feathery edge a distinctive feature of handmade paper
15:11these papers are available in more than 30 colors and various finishes from smooth to rugged
15:28there's a paper for every project whether it's etching watercolor drawing or even folding
15:53pole vaulting
15:54pole vaulting began as a mode of transportation not a sport
15:57in europe men would use poles to propel themselves across bridgeless canals in the late 1800s pole vaulting
16:04caught on as a college sport the athletes used bamboo poles to vault themselves over a horizontal bar
16:19today's poles are incredibly lightweight yet strong enough to absorb the vaulter's energy
16:24then throw it back to propel him over the bar some poles are made of carbon fiber others out of
16:30this
16:30material resin impregnated fiberglass the first step is to spread out the material and cut out the pole pattern
16:39meanwhile a slitter machine cuts the same material into strips of a specific width
16:45then it winds each strip into its own roll
16:50the spiral wrap machine automatically unravels the strip and wraps it around a hollow steel tube called a mandrel
17:02this first layer of fiberglass this first layer of fiberglass gives the pole its flexibility
17:07they wrap a second layer in the opposite direction employing a crisscross pattern to increase durability
17:14this second layer fortifies the pole's circumference
17:23for the next layers they remove the mandrel and lay it on the table now it's time for those fiberglass
17:30patterns they cut earlier
17:33they heat the edge of the first one with an iron melting the resin in the fiberglass until it's tacky
17:39they stick this edge to the mandrel then slide the other end between heated rollers
17:47the rollers wrap the rest of the material around the mandrel the heat activating the resin in the
17:53process the same procedure now with a second pattern this piece is critical because the way it's cut
18:00controls the way the pole bends
18:09the mandrel and its multi-layer fiberglass coat now go into an oven the heat generated by steam starts at
18:17175
18:18degrees fahrenheit this liquefies the resin so that it re-saturates the fiberglass then the temperature
18:25gradually rises to nearly 300 degrees solidifying the resin again curing it this entire process takes
18:35about 45 minutes from start to finish and when it finishes a pole extractor slides the mandrel out of
18:48what's now a fiberglass pole the pole moves onto a flex machine in part this is a stress test if
19:10there's
19:10any type of defect the pole will crack or break but the flexor also permanently puts a specific degree
19:17of curve in the pole which helps the athlete vault higher now they make what's called the soft side mark
19:27this helps the pole vaulter locate the bend in order to know where to grip the pole
19:39next they apply a maximum weight label indicating how heavy the vaulter can be
19:47to finish the surface now they mount the pole on a spindle then run a polishing pad over it
19:54then using the solvent they clean off the debris
20:01now that the surface is pristine they wrap it in thin lightweight tape
20:06different colored tapes designate different pole styles
20:13they cap the top of the pole with plastic
20:16then at the bottom mallet on a molded tip made of hard rubber
20:22the finishing touch is the manufacturer's decal
20:29the pole vaulting poles come in various lengths between 10 and 16 feet
20:34a pole designed for a heavier vaulter has to be stiffer than one designed for a lighter vaulter
20:39because the pole has to propel more weight with the same degree of bending
20:53if you have any comments about the show or if you'd like to suggest topics for future shows drop us
20:59a line
20:59at sciencechannel.com forward slash how it's made
21:03you
Comments