Raw to Ready

>>male narrator: A FOREST

ON FIRE IGNITES THE STRENGTH INSIDE A 30-TON,

SOLID STEEL FRAME.

>>Mathis: OUR STEEL HAS TO BE VERY HIGH STRENGTH,

ESSENTIALLY TO ABSORB THE ENERGY

THAT'S MULTIPLIED BY THESE HUGE PAYLOADS.

>>male narrator: THE HUNT FOR WHALES

INSPIRES A VITAL LIQUID THAT COOLS MASSIVE BRAKES.

>>Moore: THIS OILY COAT REDUCES FRICTION,

IT REDUCES ABRASION AND IT REDUCES HEAT

SO THAT THE PARTS LAST LONGER.

>>male narrator: AND THE MILK OF A TROPICAL TREE FORMS

TIRES TALLER THAN TWO MEN.

>>Mathis: THE KEY RAW MATERIAL

IN OUR TIRES IS RUBBER AND LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF IT.

>>male narrator: TOGETHER, THEY CREATE A TRUCK

THAT MOVES MOUNTAINS.

>>male narrator: NATURAL RESOURCES,

CRITICAL MOMENTS IN TIME AND HUMAN INGENUITY

FORGE THE WORLD'S MOST AWE-INSPIRING MACHINES.

>>male narrator:FROM RAW TO READY.

>>male announcer: THIS PROGRAM

WAS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY CONTRIBUTIONS

TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

>>male narrator: FOR CENTURIES,

HUMANS HAVE SEARCHED FOR NEW WAYS TO HARNESS

AND TRANSFORM RAW MATERIALS FOUND IN PLACES LIKE THIS,

THE HYCROFT OPEN PIT MINE IN NORTHERN NEVADA.

HERE BENEATH THE EARTH ARE OVER 30 MILLION POUNDS

OF PRECIOUS METALS.

TO EXTRACT THEM TAKES A MASSIVE 230-TON,

TWO STORY TALL DUMB TRUCK.

WITH A LOAD CAPACITY OF 320 TONS, HEAVIER

THAN A 787 DREAMLINER JET, A GIANT EARTHMOVER,

THE KOMATSU 930E.

>>Mathis: TO GIVE PEOPLE A SENSE

OF THE SCALE OF WHAT WE DO HERE,

MAYBE THE GECKO IS THE PICKUP TRUCK

AND THE TYRANNOSAURUS REX IS

ACTUALLY OUR- OUR MINING TRUCK.

IT'S JUST ON A SCALE THAT'S ALMOST UNIMAGINABLE.

>>male narrator: IT'S AN AMAZING

ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENT,

MADE POSSIBLE BY FIVE UNEXPECTED

ESSENTIAL RAW INGREDIENTS.

CHROMIUM, A MIRROR-LIKE, DECORATIVE PLATING, ALSO

ONE OF THE SMOOTHEST SURFACES ON THE PLANET.

MINERAL OIL, THE SURPRISING

PETROLEUM PRODUCT MADE POSSIBLE BY A 19TH CENTURY LAMP.

LATEX RUBBER, AN AMAZONIAN TREE'S NATURAL DEFENSE,

TURNED INTO POWERFUL TRACTION.

SULFURIC ACID, INSPIRED BY THE REFLEXES OF A FROG.

IT'S AN ELECTRON SUPERHIGHWAY GENERATING MASSIVE POWER.

AND FIRST, A RAW MATERIAL THAT'S THE TRUE SOURCE

OF STRENGTH BEHIND THE TRUCK'S 30-TON FRAME.

>>male narrator: EARTHMOVERS LIKE THIS HAUL UP

TO 640,000 POUNDS PER LOAD.

>>male narrator: STANDING FIRM

UNDER ALL THIS WEIGHT IS A SOLID STEEL CHASSIS.

THE SECRET INGREDIENT THAT MAKES IT THIS STRONG IS COAL.

>>male narrator: 18TH CENTURY ENGLAND

AND THE FORESTS ARE ON FIRE.

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN USING THE WOOD

FROM ENGLAND'S ABUNDANT FORESTS

TO HEAT THEIR HOMES, COOK THEIR FOOD

AND MAKE METALS LIKE IRON.

>>male narrator: THEY HAVE BEEN

CHOPPING DOWN TREES AND BURNING

THE WOOD TO CREATE NOT COAL, BUT A SIMILAR

CARBON-BASED FUEL, CHARCOAL.

>>Moore: CHARCOAL IS MADE BY

BURNING WOOD IN AN ATMOSPHERE WITH LITTLE OXYGEN.

TOO MUCH OXYGEN AND IT TURNS

INTO ASH RENDERING IT USELESS.

WE NEED JUST ENOUGH OXYGEN SO THAT WE GET RID

OF THE IMPURITIES, BUT WE KEEP THE CARBON.

>>male narrator: BUT THE MASSIVE NEED

FOR CHARCOAL IS PUTTING AN ENORMOUS STRAIN

ON THE FORESTS OF 18TH CENTURY BRITAIN.

AND AS THE POPULATION EXPANDS, FARMERS AND RANCHERS ARE

CLEARING MORE AND MORE WOODS FOR AGRICULTURE AND CATTLE.

FORESTS ARE DISAPPEARING AND WOOD-BASED CHARCOAL IS

BECOMING INCREASINGLY RARE AND EXPENSIVE.

THE WORLD NEEDS A CHEAP ALTERNATIVE

AND IRON MAKER ABRAHAM DARBY

BELIEVES HE HAS THE SOLUTION.

IT'S ANOTHER FUEL, NOT MADE FROM TREES,

BUT MINED IN THE EARTH.

IT'S PLENTIFUL AND FOUND EVERYWHERE.

COAL.

>>male narrator: BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM.

CARBON, FOUND IN CHARCOAL,

AND ITS POTENTIAL REPLACEMENT,

COAL, IS MORE THAN JUST A FUEL

TO SEPARATE PURE IRON METAL FROM ROCK ORE.

IT'S ALSO AN ESSENTIAL ADDITIVE

NEEDED TO STRENGTHEN OTHERWISE SOFT IRON.

>>Moore: IF YOU MAKE THINGS OUT OF PURE IRON,

THEY'RE GONNA BE WAY TOO SOFT.

SWORDS WILL BEND, TRAIN TRACKS

WILL SAG UNDER THEIR OWN WEIGHT.

>>male narrator: ZOOMING IN

TWO OVER ONE MILLION TIMES MAGNIFICATION,

IT'S EASY TO SEE WHY IRON HAS TROUBLE HOLDING ITS SHAPE.

ITS ATOMS ARE NATURALLY ALIGNED

IN NEAT, ORGANIZED ROWS AND LAYERS.

>>Moore: WHEN TWO FORCES PUSH

ON DIFFERENT SIDES AND CAUSE

THE ATOMS TO MOVE BY ONE ANOTHER

ESSENTIALLY SKIPPING OVER FROM ONE TO ANOTHER,

IT'S HOW A METAL DEFORMS.

THIS IS WHERE CARBON AND COAL MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE.

ADDING CARBON TO IRON CHANGES

ITS CRYSTAL STRUCTURE AND IT MAKES THE VALLEYS

BETWEEN ATOMS DEEPER, SO THAT WHEN ONE ATOM MOVES OVER

TO THE NEXT, IT'S MORE ENERGY FOR IT TO OVERCOME.

>>male narrator: UNFORTUNATELY,

RAW COAL CONTAINS MORE THAN JUST CARBON.

IT'S PACKED WITH IMPURITIES

AND THESE ADDED IMPURITIES SEEP

IN WITH THE CARBON, UNDERMINE THAT STRENGTHENING PROCESS

AND MAKE THE IRON BRITTLE.

>>Moore: ONE OF THE MAIN PROBLEMS WITH COAL IS

THAT IT CONTAINS SULFUR.

AND SULFUR IN IRON FORMS IRON SULFIDE,

WHICH MAKES IT TOO HARD.

IT IN FACT MAKES IT BRITTLE.

A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THIS IS

THE "TITANIC" WHERE THE RIVETS

HAD TOO MUCH SULFUR AND WHEN

IT IMPACTED AN ICEBERG, BANG, IT FAILED LIKE A GLASS.

>>male narrator: BUT DARBY THINKS HE HAS A SOLUTION.

IT'S A COOKED COAL THAT BAKES OUT THE IMPURITIES

CALLED COKE.

AND IN 1708, HE PURCHASES A BLAST FURNACE

TO TEST HIS METHOD.

DAY AND NIGHT, HE AND HIS MEN

LABOR OVER A SCORCHING FURNACE THAT BLAZES

AT 3500 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

AFTER WEEKS OF GRUELING WORK, THEY SUCCEED

AND OPEN THE DOOR FOR CHEAP, COAL-STRENGTHENED IRON.

>>Moore: CHEAP IRON CHANGED EVERYTHING.

BEFORE IT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE TO BUILD AN IRON BRIDGE.

BUT AFTERWARDS, IT BECAME AFFORDABLE.

>>male narrator: NOW, WITH A CLEAN,

PLENTIFUL, COAL-BASED FUEL SOURCE, IRON PRODUCTION IS

READY FOR HENRY BESSEMER.

IN 1856, HE PERFECTS A REVOLUTIONARY

IRON MAKING PROCESS THAT SIMULTANEOUSLY MELTS

THE IRON, REMOVES IMPURITIES AND PRECISELY ADDS

THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF CARBON, CREATING AN ALLOY

THAT'S BOTH STRONG AND FLEXIBLE,

AN ALLOY WE NOW CALL STEEL.

THE PERFECT METAL FOR THE FRAME OF THE 930E.

>>male narrator: TODAY, TO KEEP UP WITH

GROWING YEARLY DEMANDS, STEEL COMPANIES

WORLDWIDE PRODUCE AS MUCH

AS ONE AND A HALF BILLION METRIC TONS OF STEEL

FOR INDUSTRIAL NEEDS LIKE MINING TRUCKS.

THE MOLTEN STEEL IS FIRST POURED

INTO A CASTING MACHINE THAT SHAPES AND COOLS IT.

IT EMERGES IN ONE CONTINUOUS PIECE.

THEN, A NEARLY 18,000 DEGREE ARGON TORCH, CUTS

THE THICK METAL INTO UNIFORM, RECTANGULAR CHUNKS.

THE RESULT IS A RED HOT SLAB.

NEXT, HOT STRIP MILLS REDUCE THESE MASSIVE SLABS

INTO VARIOUS THICKNESSES.

WORKERS CUT THE FINISHED STEEL

INTO CUSTOMER-DEFINED, INDIVIDUAL SIZED PARTS.

ONCE THE PARTS HAVE BEEN FABRICATED--

--THE NEXT CRUCIAL STEP IS BRINGING THEM TOGETHER

AT THE ASSEMBLY PLANT.

THE FIRST STAGE, BUILDING THE 30-TON FRAME.

>>Smith: THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS AT PEORIA'S

MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS BEGINS WITH THE BACKBONE

OF THE TRUCK.

WE RECEIVE OUR MATERIALS IN,

WHICH MAY BE PLATE STEEL OR CASTINGS, AND WE BEGIN

TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF ASSEMBLING

AND WELDING UP OUR FRAME.

>>male narrator: THE STEEL THEY'RE USING

IS UP TO TWO INCHES THICK.

CREATING WELDS AS STRONG AS THE COAL-STRENGTHENED

STEEL ITSELF, REQUIRES A SUBMERGED

ARC WELDER, A DEVICE CAPABLE

OF GENERATING A 14,000 DEGREE

ELECTRICAL ARC THAT MELTS THE SHEETS TOGETHER.

>>SUBMERGED ARC WELDING, OR SUB ARC WELDING, IS

WHEN YOU TAKE THE TIP OF THE WELDING GUN AND BURY IT

IN A MEDIA CALLED FLUX.

THAT FLUX DOES TWO THINGS.

IT KEEPS THE WELD WARM AND IT ALSO PROTECTS IT

FROM GASES THAT WILL PUT IMPURITIES INTO THE WELD.

WHAT YOU'RE LEFT WITH IS A WELD THAT'S STRONGER

THAN BOTH OF THE PIECES THAT YOU JUST PUT TOGETHER.

>>male narrator: BUT USING THE SUB ARC WELD METHOD

ON SUCH A LARGE FRAME ISN'T EASY.

FOR THE FLUX TO STAY IN PLACE, THE SURFACE MUST BE

FLAT AND LEVEL.