Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/06/28/how-ping-pong-balls-are-made.html
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I’m afraid the first thing I thought was “let me loose on that factory, there is so much there that needs fixing!”
It’s wonderful how a really cheap workforce skews perception of how processes could be improved.
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The veer machine is my favorite. Can we turn it into a form of gambling?
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That’s a real exciting job, monotony comes to mind.
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This might make a great pick up line in some bars:
“Hey. You know that ping-pong ball you batted around awhile back and had fun with? THAT WAS ME!!!”
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I love these videos, but the writing! Oof.
“Balls. A fundamental element in many sports. And likewise, without them, table tennis would not exist.”
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File under “Unfortunate Turn of Phrase”.
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File, surely, under “things that are true but tend not to be talked about a lot.”
Though to be precise, the main point of many games has more to do with getting to use the organ that is supplied by the balls.
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I was only commenting on the crappy writing. I wasn’t laughing at the word balls.
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There’s a faster way to get all the ping-pong balls you need, and it involves a certain Mr. Moose…
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Pretty sure that passes as wit and humor in the UK.
I dunno, pretty sure this is how they are born:
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I’m thinking that the awkward English in this video is mostly due to a poor translation. I got the feeling that this video was originally all in Chinese before being translated by some almost native speakers.
Could be. I’m an editor, and I have seen some shitty writing by native English speakers. I know it’s not actually true, but I often think no one can write well.
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It’s a lie! It’s a lie! I know they grow on pingpong bushes!
Instead, enjoy some Shakunetsu no Pingpong Musume!
It has huge gaps in its automation process, no? I can’t believe the two semicircles have to be manually mounted in the joining process. I can’t believe huge swaths of the quality control tests could not be automated.
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It does seem very odd that some processes have automatic feed and others are hand fed. And yes, that manual inspection…
I once worked with a guy who was a fluidics genius. He demonstrated a device that could perform go/nogo dimensional testing on light objects using nothing but air currents and using the components themselves to act as elements in fluidic switches. He would have had a wonderful time with ping-pong balls, I’m sure. Fast, cheap, accurate, choose three out of three for once.
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I can’t tell if I’m being factory-pranked or not. Manufacturing in China is pretty competitive, and if I were in this line of work, this is how I would want all my competitors to think I made ping pong balls.
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