Awesome Factories

The letters floating in your alphabet soup had to get made somehow, and now we know how. This brief, but immensely satisfying video shows how letter-shaped tubes are extruded from pasta dough, then a spinning blade slices off each letter and drops them into a tray below. The same technique is used to make other pasta shapes.

In order to harden steel, it must first be heat treated; then, it must be quenched rapidly in a bath of oil. This brief but satisfying factory video shows red hot steel gears being dipped into warm oil, resulting in a massive flareup before the hardening process is complete. Here’s another video of a different large part being quenched.

Ever wonder how food factories can crank out so many burritos? Well, they use a machine like this one. Watch as the Solbern BF2 SS uses its rolling, spinning plates to transport tortillas down the assembly line while gently folding their sides to wrap around ingredients. Is anyone else hungry for Mexican food now?

The Microlino is an ultra-compact car that’s designed for quick jaunts around the tight streets of European cities. This video offers a brief look at how these unique 2-seaters are assembled at a factory in Turin, Italy. The tiny electric cars can hold two adults (and three crates of beer) and can recharge in 4 hours using a standard household outlet.

Every workshop or garage needs a good toolbox, and Craftsman makes some of the best in the business. Auto vlogger ChrisFix was granted access to the company’s Sedalia, Missouri factory for an in-depth look at every step in the fabrication process. Making each drawer and cabinet involves cutting, stamping, bending, and welding sheet metal from coils.

You know the saying that you can’t put toothpaste back in the tube? Well, this is the part where toothpaste gets there in the first place. Factory Monster takes us on a tour of a highly automated Korean factory to show how machines blend ingredients and squirt the mixture into plastic tubes, which are then sealed and packaged.

This custom build from Brick Machines combines two of our favorite pastimes – LEGO and candy. Built primarily from LEGO Technic and Mindstorms parts, the tabletop factory includes a mechanical candy hopper, an optical color sorter, a conveyor belt, color-matched lights, and an elevator to keep the sweet treats flowing in an endless loop.

Soy sauce is made from soybeans, wheat, salt, and water. Food Kingdom visited a Korean factory that makes a more complex condiment. There, they combine 15 ingredients, including vinegar, pears, mushrooms, kelp, garlic, and pepper. After cooking and straining, the liquid sits in urns and is finished with more fruit, sugar, and wine. Strangely, we saw no soybeans.

With timers built into phones, the need for hourglasses has declined. Kaneko Glass Craft is home to one of only two craftsmen who make hourglasses in Japan. ProcessX shows us how Isao Kaneko makes each hourglass, blowing the glass forms and filling them with the right amount of fine, hand-sifted sand. Turn on captions for an explanation of each step.

This upcoming PC game from developer Happy Volcano puts players in charge of sprawling factories to meet the demands of an AI that expects greater productivity and output. The voxel art modules your factories produce are used to construct larger and more complex facilities. Add it to your Steam wish list now.

Film company British Pathé dug into its archives for another series of footage from factories in the mid-20th century. Among the random assortment of wares you’ll see being made are medical skeleton replicas, miniature town models, papier-mache party hats, and boats made from concrete. We love the way those old newsreel narrators used to speak.

This factory video from All Process of World takes us inside Hyundai Sungwoo Casting for a look at the machinery used to produce wheels. The process starts by melting aluminum bars, pouring the molten metal into molds, then quenching the wheels for strength before grinding away excess metal and finishing them.

While we prefer fresh-made pizza, a frozen pizza can satisfy hunger in a pinch. Wondastic Tech takes us inside a factory that mass-produces frozen pizzas. First, huge quantities of dough are flattened and cut. One machine squirts out tomato sauce, while others shred mozzarella and drop on toppings. Stick around for a look at a factory that makes honey candies.

There aren’t many products that can be made by the millions, but hardware like screws are one such item. This video from SatisFactory Process takes us inside a facility in China that cranks out mass quantities of screws every day. Machines straighten coils of steel wire, cut, shape, then thread the screws before they’re heat-treated for strength and washed.

Since college, instant noodles have been a go-to for a cheap and easy meal. ProcessX visited the Sanpo Foods factory to see how they make Japan’s most popular Yakibuta (braised pork) cup noodles. The highly automated factory uses an army of machines to produce countless noodle strands, package ingredients, and visually inspect each bowl for quality.

We have one of those Swiss Army Knives with dozens of functions, and we use it all of the time. Popular Mechanics takes us inside the Victorinox factory to see how they make these versatile EDC tools. The process includes stamping and polishing blades, molding handle scales, and then hand-assembling the parts.