All language subtitles for S19E10 - Clay; Pitted Prunes; Spurs; Polyurethane Tires (1080p AMZN WEB-DL x265 Garshasp)_track3_[eng]

Narrator: the origin of so many
Useful things is muddy --

From bricks to tiles
To dinnerware.

Even the kitchen sink
Can be made from clay.

Clay is a component of soil

That, when wet,
Has a certain plasticity

That allows it to be shaped
Into hundreds of things.

There are many shades of clay.

The whitest is the purest
And used to manufacture

Things like dinnerware,
Sinks, and tiles.

Clay isn't just dirt.

It's one of the most valuable
Resources on earth.

To find it,

They excavate topsoil and gravel
At this site in kentucky.

They dig down as far as 80 feet.

The deeper they go,
The whiter the clay.

A loader transfers it to a truck
For transport.

Fresh from the earth,

The moisture content of the clay
Is between 15% and 22%.

The particles of clay
Clump together,

But the clumps
Can be easily broken up.

The clay will now be processed
To a workable form.

It's a short drive from
The clay pit to the factory.

They unload it
In a building without walls

So it will air dry a bit.

They do a visual inspection
Of the color and consistency.

Every few loads,

They also do a chemical analysis
Of the mineral content.

This allows them
To categorize the clay

For specific purposes

And for blending
In different clay recipes.

Next, they transfer the clay
To a revolving tub.

The tub has knives
That protrude up into it.

As it spins,
The knives hit the lumps of clay

To chop them
Into smaller pieces.

These smaller clay chunks
Flow out of the chopper

And ride a conveyor
Into a hopper.

The hopper feeds the clay
To a mill.

En route to the mill,
The clay travels through fire --

A flame generated
By a furnace below.

This is called flash drying,

And it brings the moisture
Content down to 1% to 2% --

The right consistency
To now grind it

Into a fine powder.

The grinding mill is a shaft
With numerous hammers

Sandwiched between steel plates.

As the shaft turns,
The hammers will swing

To grind the clay lumps
Into a powder.

The mill will also blend
Different kinds of clay

To create specific products.

They put the cover on the mill
And set it in motion.

The hammers pulverize the
Different clays into a powder.

Overhead, a machine
Sucks up the ground clay,

Using spinning blades
And a vacuum.

The cyclone effect
Lifts up the clay particles

And leaves heavier impurities
Like sand behind.

The result
Is a purer clay blend.

Here are various clays

Now dried, pulverized,
And purified.

They run numerous tests on clay.

For this one, the technician
Presses the clay powder

Into a cake-like disc,
Using a hydraulic press.

At the same time,
He weighs the clay.

Weight can indicate
The clay's pliability

And the speed
At which it can be cast.

He fires the clay disc
In an oven overnight

And examines the color

To confirm
That it's the desired hue.

Over at the packaging station,

A worker hangs open bags
On spouts,

Which will fill the bags
Full of dry powdered clay.

The customer will add water
And other ingredients

To turn this particular blend
Into a glaze

For things like tiles and sinks.

In powdered form, the clay
Is lighter and cheaper to ship.

Some customers prefer
Wet-processed clay,

Even though it's heavier.

For that, they add water
And chemicals to make a slurry.

They pump the slurry
Through a sieve

To screen out impurities.

The clay slurry now flows
Into big mixing tanks,

Where it remains in
A constant state of agitation.

Continuous mixing
Keeps it fluid.

Without it,
The clay would thicken

To the consistency
Of peanut butter.

On delivery day,
They pump it into tanker trucks.

At another factory,
This particular batch

Will be used
To make sinks or tubs.

The next trucks will likely
Be headed somewhere else.

You never know what will be made
From this product of the earth.

Narrator:
Among dried fruits,

None inspires a gut reaction
Like prunes.

Eating them is one way

To kick-start a lethargic
Gastrointestinal system.

High in fiber, sweet and chewy,
Prunes are actually dried plums,

And they're a delicacy that's
As old as civilization itself.

Prunes have been found
In ancient egyptian tombs,

Placed there to snack on

During the journey
To the next world.

Fast-forward to today,

And people are still snacking
On prunes.

They also add them to salads,
Muffins,

And main-course recipes.

It all starts
With the growing stock.

Not all varieties of plums
Are suitable for drying.

At this california orchard,

They grow the d'agen plum --
A european variety.

Harvesting machines
Shake the trees by the trunks,

And the fruit rains down
Onto a conveyor,

Which delivers it to bins.

They then truck the plums
To the receiving plant...

...And unload them
Directly into a washing system.

Tree leaves float to the surface
Of the water to be removed.

The plums exit onto a table
That vibrates

To distribute them evenly

So they land on trays
In fairly equal amounts.

A paddle overhead
Levels them on the trays.

Machinery stacks
The trays of plums on racks.

The plums are now ready to dry.

They're about 80% water
When they enter the dryer.

16 hours of heat exposure

Brings the moisture content
Down to 19%.

Plums were once sun-dried
As a means of preservation,

But a modern industrial dryer
Produces more uniform results.

The dried plums
Travel under a vacuum

That sucks out sticks or stems.

Then the prunes travel
To a shaking conveyor

With a lot
Of different-sized holes.

The first holes
Are the smallest,

And they become
Progressively larger

To sort the prunes by size.

They fall
Into separate bins below.

The smallest fruit will be used
For breakfast or diced product.

The largest prunes
Will end up as snack food.

Preserved by drying
And now sorted,

They can be stored for months
Until processing.

At the processing plant,

The prunes head into
A super-sized steam cooker.

They spend 18 minutes in there.

The steam cooking
Partially rehydrates them,

Softening the prunes so the pits
Can be removed more easily.

They must now remove the pits

Before the prunes
Start to lose moisture

And become too dry for the job
To be done efficiently.

The prunes speed towards
The pitting operation

And flow into five lanes.

Each one leads
To a separate pitting line.

With five
Different pitting lines,

They'll process
Hundreds of prunes a minute.

Clamps close around the prunes,

Securing them
For knives to push out the pits.

The pits will be ground up
And added to animal feed.

The pitted prunes
Make a soft landing

On a rubber conveyor,

Which takes them
Into a laser-detection center.

The laser finds pits
Or pit fragments

And relays the information
To a computer.

The computer activates air jets

That blast out
The unwanted material.

It happens so fast,
It's all a blur.

On another shaker conveyor now,

The prunes bounce
Towards a big drum.

The drum revolves slowly
To gently toss the prunes

As they pump in a preservative,
Flavorings, and oil.

The prunes absorb
The ingredients

As they tumble around
In the drum.

At this point,

They sample the moisture content
Of the prunes every 15 minutes.

The technician grinds
And compresses some prunes

Into a disc.

She drives an electrode into it
To gauge the moisture.

It should be between
28% and 32% --

Enough to improve the texture,
But a lot less than fresh fruit.

It's time to wrap things up.
Sectioning arms open the bags.

Feeders dispense

A precise amount
Of pitted prunes into them.

A heated device then melts

The ends of the plastic bags
Together to seal them.

They produce 120 bags of prunes
A minute at this factory,

So adding fiber to one's diet
Shouldn't be a problem.

Narrator:
If you ride horses regularly,

Chances are
You own a pair of spurs.

Spurs strap onto the heels
Of riding boots.

Each spur has a small wheel,
Usually spiked,

With which the rider
Prods the horse

To get it to start moving
Or move faster.

The anatomy of a spur
Is elementary.

The wheel, called the rawl,
Is mounted in the shank.

The shank is connected
To the heel band.

The heel band is held
To the boot by a leather strap.

The metal parts are made from

A strong, yet flexible,
Type of steel.

A computer-guided laser

Cuts the starting shape
For the heel bands.

A quick strike of a press

Stamps them
With the company name.

Next, workers smooth
And bevel the edges,

Using a sander outfitted
With a special belt

For grinding metal.

Next, they hammer the piece
Around a steel block,

Cushioning the blows
With a piece of wood

To avoid marring the surface.

The block is shaped exactly like
The heel of the boots

For which the spurs
Have been ordered,

Ensuring a custom fit.

They heat evenly with a torch.

This relaxes the steel
Around the block so that

The heel band permanently
Registers this shape.

Then, some final taps

To lay the band completely flat
Against the block.

This perfects the shape.

They submerge the heel band
In cool water.

This tempers the flexible steel,
Rendering it hard and stiff.

Then, with a fine-grit belt,

They sand away
Any surface imperfections.

A pair of spurs is made up
Of some two dozen steel pieces,

All of which go through
The same prep as the heel band.

Once all the parts are ready,
Workers precision weld the shank

To the mid-point
Of the heel band.

Next,
To each side of the heel band,

They weld a pin,
Which holds a pivoting arm.

These swingarms,
As they're called,

Hold the leather strap that
Retains the spur to the boot.

To make the rawls,
They trace a template on steel,

Then cut along the lines
With a metal band saw.

If the rawl shape is elaborate,

A computer-guided laser
Cuts them out.

After sanding
The rawl thoroughly

To smooth sharp edges
Which could cut the horse,

They mount it to the shank
With a stainless-steel pin.

Then they weld
The back of the pin.

Now the artistry begins.

A craftsman creates decorative
Overlays in sterling silver.

He cuts their shapes
With a jeweler's saw,

Draws a design, then, using
An array of engraving tools,

Meticulously carves it out.

He cleans the back
Of the overlays with flux --

An acidic chemical --
Then coats them with solder.

The trick is to apply
Just enough

To bond the silver to the steel.

Too much would overflow
And ruin the front.

By the time he gently applies
Each overlay to the spur,

The solder has cooled
And solidified,

So he warms the steel
With a torch from underneath.

This reheats and liquefies
The solder,

Which then cools
And resolidifies,

Bonding the silver to the steel.

The heat causes
Some discoloration,

Which he easily removes
With a bit of flux.

Once all the silver overlays
Are soldered to the spur,

Workers polish them
On a cloth buffing wheel.

The finishing touch -- they
Submerge the spurs in a tank

Containing a chemical solution
Called gun bluing.

It turns the shiny steel parts
Black.

To produce an antique brown,
Rather than black finish,

Workers heat the spurs
In an oven,

Then apply a chemical
Which tints the steel.

Now for the leather straps.

An artisan tools the leather
Entirely by hand,

Dyes it, attaches
A stainless-steel buckle,

Then sews tabs on both ends
That hook to the swingarms

On the heel band.

This shiny set of spurs is ready
For some horsing around.

Narrator:
Many low-speed vehicles have
Tires made of polyurethane foam,

Rather than
Air-filled rubber tires.

Polyurethane
Doesn't deteriorate in sunlight,

Nor does it dry out over time.

And if the tire is made entirely
Of the closed-cell type of foam,

The tire won't go flat.

Polyurethane tires are designed
For low-speed vehicles,

Such as baggage carts
And ride-on lawn mowers.

This particular type
Of polyurethane foam

Has a closed-cell structure,

Which prevents a flat,
Even if the tire gets punctured.

Millions of air bubbles
Encapsulated within the foam

Give it
The required bounce factor.

The first step is to take
An aluminum model of the tire

And make a production mold
With it.

This one's for a forklift.

The mold will have two halves --
Each one lined with a tread ring

To prevent the cast tire from
Getting stuck in the cavity.

To make each half of the mold,
They center the model in a base,

Then fill the space around it
With polyurethane elastomer,

Which is a solid type
Of polyurethane,

As opposed to the foam type
They use to cast the tires.

They stir gently to move
Air bubbles to the top...

...Then heat those bubbles
With a small propane torch

To burst them.

With the help of a heated table
To speed things along,

The material solidifies
In approximately 15 minutes,

At which point,
They extract the half-mold...

...And, with the utility knife,
Trim its rough edges

Both inside and out.

Then they mate the two halves,

And the production mold
Is ready.

Whereas most companies
Buy foam mixtures ready-made,

This one blends its own,

In order to have strict control
Over the formulation.

Technicians weigh out
The chemical ingredients

Manually with a high-precision
Industrial scale

That's accurate
To within 1 1/2 ounces.

A propeller-shaped blade
Mixes the ingredients

For half an hour,

Moving everything from top
To bottom more than 300 times

And drawing it out
Of the corners of the container.

This ensures the mixture
Is evenly blended throughout.

Before using this foam
To cast the tires,

A quality-control test.

They take a sample
From the batch

And let it rise and set,
Which takes about a minute.

Then they cut a piece
Of a specific size, weigh it,

And calculate the density.

If the sample
Meets specifications,

The batch is a go.

Just before filling
The two halves of the mold

With polyurethane foam,

They lubricate the cavity
With a release agent.

This prevents the tire
From sticking to the mold

When they extract it.

A press keeps the mold closed
And in place

On the filling machine.

The machine spins the mold

While the foam flows
Into the cavity

Through a hole at the top.

The spinning
Creates centrifugal force

That distributes the foam
Into every nook and cranny.

In less than a minute, the foam,
Although not yet fully cured,

Is solid enough to be extracted.

They open the mold,
Remove the tread ring,

Then dislodge the cast tire

With a short blast
Of an air gun.

They trim the excess foam
From the center.

It can be ground up
To make other products,

Such as floor mats.

Here's what the tire
Looks like before...

And after trimming.

The polyurethane foam takes
24 more hours to fully cure,

Then the tires
Are ready to roll.

This company sells tires with
And without painted steel rims.

Rim installation is simple.

They place the rim on a base,
Followed by a mounting cone,

Then the tire.

A press snaps
The center of the tire

Over the edge of the rim.

Besides making the tire
Flat-resistant,

The closed-cell structure
Of this polyurethane foam

Doesn't absorb water,

Meaning wet conditions
Don't hamper performance.

The tire is also u.V. Resistant
And withstands high abrasion,

So it typically lasts
Two to three times longer

Than an air-filled tire
Used on the same vehicle.

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