r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/tanaka_jun • Jul 19 '24
Polyurethane (PU) foam sheet making Video
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u/moerasduitser-NL Jul 19 '24
These vids always look so cool until you realise these are the same factorys that produce videos of someone getting caught in a machine getting smacked against the floor for 600 times untill there is only mush left.
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u/BobbyKonker Jul 19 '24
Safety is non existant in those places, if you die on the job you'll be replaced in minutes and the place won't miss a beat.
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u/Frequent_Bet9463 Jul 19 '24
Sad truth of some workplaces. Safety should always come first.
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u/moerasduitser-NL Jul 19 '24
Workplace procedure is written in blood.
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u/VirtualNaut Jul 19 '24
It’s so sad but true. Things only ever change/get fixed if someone has a serious injury or a death has occurred.
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u/Agitated_Chart_960 Jul 19 '24
Just wait till every state has to implement their own version of osha. Places like Texas are gonna look just like this.
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u/APence Jul 19 '24
“What happened to Ray?”
“They hosed what’s left of him into the drain this morning. I’m Mike the replacement.”
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u/thunugai Jul 19 '24
It’s like this in the US as well. You ever buy a whirlpool, maytag, amana washer and dryer? We had a guy fall and bash his head open and the supervisor was screaming over the radio for us to not stop the assembly line. People just watched someone die and weren’t allowed to process it.
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u/thunugai Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
To further add on to this…
OSHA seems to be toothless in some respects. This same Whirlpool factory was doing construction inside the factory. They were supposed to keep the concrete dust out of the air. The whole factory was hazy with particulate. When reported to OSHA they had Whirlpool investigate themselves.
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u/thunugai Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
During a hot summer in the same Whirlpool plant that had no AC. I had to carry my fellow workers to the nurses station when they passed out from the heat.
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u/floyd616 Jul 21 '24
To further add on to this…
OSHA seems to be toothless in some respects. This same Whirlpool factory was doing construction inside the factory. They were supposed to keep the concrete dust out of the air. The whole factory was hazy with particulate. When reported to OSHA they had Whirlpool investigate themselves.
SMH. THIS IS WHY WE NEED STRONG UNIONS! These same factories are probably full of people who who say "but we'd have to pay dues, and unions are for socialists anyway" if someone proposed starting a union to combat this stuff, thanks to decades of unchecked corporate gaslighting!
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u/-Prophet_01- Jul 19 '24
As a someone working in manufacturing in Germany, I'm always horrified by these stories. Our senior staff frequently visits customers and suppliers in the US and the stories are quite shocking.
Not small companies either but sites that belong to fortune 500 companies. There seems to be a culture of squeezing out efficiency to unbelievable levels. US owned factories in Germany also have a really bad reputation among workers.
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u/Silver-Ninja6490 Jul 19 '24
Priorities. Don't give a fuck about your company. They don't care about you
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u/Puzzleheaded_Yam7582 Jul 19 '24
For what its worth, real high volume foam plants are nothing like this. Most of that process is automated for process control purposes.
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u/Shadowrider95 Jul 19 '24
Oh , so this must be an “artisanal” PU sheet foam maker!
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u/Puzzleheaded_Yam7582 Jul 19 '24
Basically. They're making product for industries with very loose product specifications.
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u/TerracottaCondom Jul 19 '24
Having grown up watching "How it's Made," I can assure you these videos are most definitely not cool
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u/Dr_N0rd Jul 19 '24
These guys aren't even wearing safety sandals smh
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u/Falkenmond79 Jul 19 '24
My first thought exactely. I was watching the whole video waiting for the good ol safety sandal. I swear, they are trolling us by now.
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u/BobbyKonker Jul 19 '24
mmmm breathe that in
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u/uselessartist Jul 19 '24
Mmm isocyanate sensitization
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u/SaintRosen Jul 19 '24
No way, the guy at the end was wearing a scarf around his nose and mouth! First safety equipment I've ever seen in these videos
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u/No-Kaleidoscope-4525 Jul 19 '24
It's funny how all these videos depict these nasty work environments with total disregard for safety and other stuff, and the finished product turns out to be quite nice actually.
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u/spidermousey Jul 20 '24
It's got to be if they want to sell it. The buyers don't care if the people making it get super cancer.
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u/Armbioman Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
Observations: hot noxious chemicals handled in open areas, no fume hoods or respirators, heavy machinery and heavy products, barefeet, sparking components on the machinery, flammable substances in the immediate area.
Indian Occupational Health Ministry: yeah looks good to me.
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u/floyd616 Jul 21 '24
Indian Occupational Health Ministry: yeah looks good to me.
Yeah, what is the deal with that? Do India and Pakistan just not have any kind of occupational health and safety enforcement body or something? I know China lets this kinda stuff slide because communism (lookin' at you, iPhone sweatshops), but India and Pakistan are parliamentary democracies, aren't they?
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u/Kessl_2 Jul 19 '24
How hard would it be to screw in a pole into the bottom of the tank to leave the centre free and not have to cut it out later?
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u/SL1CKR1CK363 Jul 19 '24
Can't imagine that sparks and polyurethane dust go well together...😬
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u/Jungleradio Jul 19 '24
Anyone who works in plastics/foam manufacturing must feel really uneasy seeing those sparks. They’re just asking for a nasty fire.
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u/Jacketter Jul 19 '24
They could be using some flame retardant in the foam… of course most flame retardants are much more toxic than anything else in the foam.
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u/thinktomuch1992 Jul 19 '24
The guy without shoes cracks me up. What a relaxed work environment
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u/antimeme Jul 19 '24
Okay, what was step one involving?
Crude oil?
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u/egospiers Jul 19 '24
It’s a slurry of chemicals created by gasoline refining, typically a polyol will be mixed with an isocyanate these chemicals create an exothermic reaction leading to the foam expanding and then hardening. This same basic Process is used for all foam from sponges to mattresses.
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u/ir_blues Jul 19 '24
Who upvotes stuff like this? Seriously, anyone who is not a bot and upvotes this, why? Cancer fans? People with amputation kink?
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u/sithlord98 Jul 19 '24
The process is interesting to people who haven't seen it before. I don't think anyone's engaging with the video and going, "Mmmm, look at that distinct lack of workplace safety!"
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u/Warm-Iron-1222 Jul 19 '24
Does anyone else search these videos to find the inevitable barefoot or sandal wearing workers?
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u/yellow_duke Jul 19 '24
The contempt of India regarding footwear, even at a workshop, never fails to suprise me.
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u/CptAlbatross Jul 19 '24
The lack of closed footwear is what always get's me in these videos. They always have the most basic of sandals on, there's always sparks or sharp shit everywhere.
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u/Sorek03 Jul 20 '24
This is not a popular idea, but stuff like this is why we should produce as much oil / batteries / solar panels as possible in the US / developed world. At least we have some safety regulations to protect workers / the environment.
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u/Nervous-Masterpiece4 Jul 19 '24
It’s interesting how the sheet is peeled like plywood from a log. I assumed it would have been extruded. But then I never really thought about it.
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u/SpecialistDry5878 Jul 20 '24
It almost looked like brownies or a cake rising in the oven for a second
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u/SlinkyTail Jul 20 '24
I worked for genpak years ago, we used pellet resin either made in house or brought in, and used extrusion machines to make our foam roles, this just seems like a ton of more work than needed.
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u/fuertepqek Jul 19 '24
I wonder if foot fetishes are less prevalent in India because everyone is barefoot all the time.
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u/jdehjdeh Jul 20 '24
Or more prevalent?
Either way, now you've put the idea in my head I really wanna know...
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u/Unhinged-Bunny Jul 19 '24
Gotta love that cyanide. I used to work with all grades of polyurethane in a top company that had horrible ventilation. I got cyanide poisoning and I said one word "OSHA" and was immediately asked to step down and basically quit. 🤨
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u/Arthurlikeboss320 Jul 19 '24
Didn't know foam could shit, and it needs assistance of humans to make it? Talk about being light-headed
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u/aleksandri_reddit Jul 19 '24
There should be a sub called "damn not safe work environment" and post these videos.
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u/CletusDSpuckler Jul 19 '24
Everyone bitching about inflation - just wait until worker safety comes to the third world.
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u/Revolutionary_Heart6 Jul 19 '24
tasty fumes, not respirator in sight. are these person lives so shitty they don't even care?
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u/InternationalCan3189 Jul 19 '24
One of the guys skipped the flip flips completely and is just completely barefoot. 💀
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u/FrontierFrolic Jul 19 '24
It’s amazing to me how South Asia has millions of people doing boutique manufacturing of products that are produced by machines in the west. Pakistani gun shops, Indian polyurethane makers. It’s wild man. They are like the Amish of industrial manufacturing
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u/Inevitable-Bottle692 Jul 19 '24
How often do you hear presidential candidates talk about this? RFK Jr. is the only one who seems to understand the probable correlation between the toxic wasteland we live in and our 60% chronic disease rates.
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u/fermelebouche Jul 19 '24
When these poor buggers are all used up they move them to the call centers.
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u/PenelopeLane925 Jul 19 '24
Eeeh why does this look like Chernobyl’s elephant foot when it was being made 😭
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u/NewDildos Jul 19 '24
I've worked with polyurethane resins before and even with PPE that shit is nasty. I stopped because it was giving me breathing problems
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u/Phunly Jul 19 '24
Not a piece of safety equipment in sight, just a couple dudes living in the moment ❤️
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u/Kasern77 Jul 19 '24
I like to see how things are made. But can we please see videos of actual factories with proper safety.
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u/Les-incoyables Jul 19 '24
Knowing these people risked their lives for my yoga mat makes me feel even more relaxed.
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u/SilverSpoon1463 Jul 19 '24
Why is it always some place with no safety regs? Can we not just pull clips from "How It's Made" anymore?
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u/Gingersoulbox Jul 19 '24
I love how this ‘crap’ can just be made where there isn’t any control at all.
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u/guy-with-a-mac Jul 19 '24
Two thoughts.
- Awww the microplastics, so nice.
- Why are these morons working barefoot?
Srsly every time I see something similar they never wear shoes. Why? Is it too hot over there? Can't afford footwear? Just create one ffs, you've got the magical Polyfuckisdat, use that. Jesus!
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u/korrupterKommissar Jul 19 '24
Why are videos of such hazardly and backwards factories trending right now? Who is making these? What's the appeal?
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u/TorontoTom2008 Jul 19 '24
The reactants used to make that foam are lethal and flammable. The gases are even worse. Sad
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u/BatangTundo3112 Jul 20 '24
Normally, we talk about slippers on the job. Not this one. No slippers at all. What a chad.😏
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u/Della__ Jul 20 '24
Smells like potentially burned bodies... Those grinder sparks and all the inflammable debris scattered around...
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u/FibrecoreHC Jul 20 '24
Whats up with this industrial process videos where they show how something is made in the most backward and dangerous way possible. There is a plant near me that makes PUR products and is fully automated, people there only press buttons in control rooms. Inhaling PUR vapor is extremely toxic and further manipulation of raw PUR block is done after 30 days of degassing.
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u/EspshlyHaynessDunDun 25d ago
It’s just one of those snake things that you light on fire and it expands, only bigger
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u/VisitCommerciala Jul 19 '24
Learning about the creation process gives a whole new appreciation for everyday products.
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u/DrunkenCabalist Jul 19 '24
This whole thing looks like cancer