Today we visited two companies. The first company we visited was a machine builder. They made custom high-pressure cookers, high-pressure painting systems and cleaners, and other custom machines. When we first walked into their office, we intrigued by this beautiful fish in a tank, swimming lazily back and forth. The tank appeared MUCH too small for a fish of that size, so we investigated. It turns out that the fish isn't real! It's actually a TV screen behind about an inch of water with bubbles in it. The screen has a special coating that gives it the impression of depth. The fish itself is a 45 minute loop of a fish swimming around. Most people never notice it repeating. We got to go into the machine builder's workshop area, see the tradeshow dummy in a box they have, and check out all of the cool machine tools, including some absolutely enormous ones. The building itself looks like an apartment complex with a sealed bottom floor where small trucks go in and out of.
The second company we visited was a needle making factory. The needle plant used all of these ancient machines, some predating World War II. They turned out hundreds of thousands needles, hand packing each set. We also got a lesson in needle economics. This factory was way more fun than the other, as I got to chat with the tour guide who brought up the rear and the machines were really cool.
This knackered most of the class. However, we still had work to do when we got back! It was a late night in the lab, so I headed out to dinner with my lab group, and then went home right before curfew.
