Awesome Factories

A look inside a factory that makes collectible figurines, as its designs go from sketch, to digital model, to wax model, to silicone mold, to plastic model, to plaster cast, to metal die for creating the final production pieces. Those pieces are then hand-painted and assembled.

“Tentacles above begin to suck out the gore, sending bits of the blood to larger holding tanks…” Kylebrauch redubbed a clip from the Science Channel series How It’s Made, which may very well turn you off of ketchup for good. Stackable potato chips are no better.

Science Channel takes inside a factory that cranks out laptop computers like the one you might be looking at this very minute. The assembly starts out using high speed robots to pick and place parts on its circuit boards, but the rest is a labor-intensive, manual process.

A look inside the P. van der Wegen Gear factory, where they make enormous gears for mining applications. While the process of milling these massive parts is truly fascinating, we can only imagine what they look like when in use in the machinery they’re destined for.

Up until the mid-2000’s, the displays on devices were mainly covered with plastic. Then in 2006, Steve Jobs asked Corning to create a durable and scratch-resistant glass, and Gorilla Glass was born. Here’s how Corning makes its money-making material.

A wonderfully satisfying bit of engineering wizardry. What you’re looking at is a specialized industrial machine which spins a roll of plastic wrap around a freshly-milled steel coil until it’s fully protected for shipment. Here’s a slightly more sleepy look at a similar machine.

We’re currently assembling a 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle here at Awesomer HQ, and it got us thinking, how do they cut all those tiny pieces so perfectly? Well, ask the internet, and ye shall receive. Here’s a cool video that goes inside Italy’s Clementoni jigsaw puzzle factory.

Tesla recently shared this brief time-lapse video shot from the point-of-view of a Model 3 going through the company’s assembly line. The car’s thousands of parts are installed by a combination of human and machine workers. We’d love to see a longer, narrated version.

No this isn’t one of those log flume rides from a waterpark. What you’re about to witness is the point of view of a large piece of wood as it makes its way through the RedStag Timber sawmill. We’re impressed they didn’t cut their camera in half or sand it down along the way.

While we prefer the aroma of a fresh cut Christmas tree, sometimes it’s nice to not have to deal with all of those needles on the floor. The Science Channel and Insider take us inside a factory that makes oversize fake Xmas trees to show us how they come together.

While tires are generally meant to be disposed of once they’ve lost their tread, some kinds of industrial tires are so expensive that it’s worth giving them a second life via retreading. Pete’s Tire Barns shows how they refurbish worn out airless tires. Original video here.

This classic How It’s Made takes us inside the Dubble Bubble factory, where they make mass quantities of chewy, fruity gum meant for blowing bubbles. And if you ever wondered if it was okay to swallow your gum, the “made of plastics and rubbers” bit might dissuade you.

After seeing a series of incredible images of the process of making pencils by photographer Christopher Payne, we decided to hunt down some video footage of the process of turning wood, graphite, and clay into writing instruments at New Jersey’s General Pencil Co.

If you’ve got a nice set of wheels on your car, there’s nothing worse than running them into a curb or hitting a pothole and bending them. But it turns out rims can be made good as new, as the folks at Proformance Industries show us in this video from AMMO NYC.

While most modern warehouses use a balanced blend of human and robotic workers, Japanese retailer UNIQLO’s Ariake warehouse replaced 90% of its human workers with machines. The result is both an engineering marvel, and a haunting glimpse of the future.

A wonderfully satisfying bit of engineering porn showing off a slick modular tooling machine. The Bihler Leantool system is used in factories to form and cut wire and rolled metal into precisely bent shapes, such as chain links, hooks, and other small, high volume parts.

Mesmerizing footage from inside QSC Forge, as a large ring of molten steel is gradually spun, flattened, and widened to form a smooth and perfectly round circle. Combined with a perfectly soothing soundtrack, the clip doubles as your daily 9-minute meditation.

Suitcases can be made from fabric or even metal, but there’s no more satisfying way to produce a bag than to form it out plastic. This brief video shows off the process of shaping a suitcase by molding a thick polycarbonate sheet around a heated form. More here.

A high speed look at the process that goes into removing a foam-filled tire at the Sierra Army Depot. These tires are often used by heavy equipment to reduce the risk of punctures. Got 11 minutes to spare? Watch the original real-time video here.

Go inside a factory where they manufacture polyurethane skateboard wheels. After using CAD tools, metal molds are milled for the liquid plastic, which is baked, polished, and printed with a design. As one commenter suggested, aluminum wheels would look pretty sweet.

Aircraft maker Airbus presents video footage of its funky looking A330-based jumbo jet as the first plane makes its way through the factory. The BelugaXL’s unusual shape is designed to provide cargo capacity for large airplane parts like wings. Watch it take flight here.

LEGO builder Daniele Benedettelli created a working miniature car assembly line. It can pick and place the requested body colors, then snaps the car together. The tiny factory was designed as a test bench for Eclipse Papyrus, a language for automation and industrial processes.

They may not be the most natural or healthy baked goods, but there’s no question that Hostess cakes are popular. In this clip from INSIDER, inside the Emporia, Kansas factory that cranks out hundreds of millions of snack cakes each year. THIS IS WHY WE’RE FAT.