This series is going to be extremely cool... and there will be opportunities to physically hold things that are manufactured during the series. The purpose of making these things is to make jobs in America. I would appreciate it if you would consider signing up for the email list. I promise not to spam you. www.smartereveryday.com/email-list

As a manufacturing engineer, I am very excited about this series

One thing that I love about Destin and smartereveryday is that he shows the exact same amount of interest and respect in everything and to everyone. He treats everyone from ceos down to low level works with the same respect, and give the same amount of attention and interest to stuff as big as rockets to stuff as small as single parts

My favourite thing about this video was seeing Destin's unfailingly polite manner with everyone he encountered, introducing himself and speaking to the people working while this filming is going on around them. I've sat working while someone brought a film crew past me and it was kinda awkward not being engaged fully, but talked about within earshot, feeling like a zoo animal. That and Destin always seems to have the right question to ask next, to distil this person's decades of experience into something the lay person can understand. Great video.

As a mechanical engineering student from Germany it is really interesting to see the production and manufacturing technics of another country. I`m really stoked to see all the kinds of production systems from 3d laserprinting and all the other additive methods to CNC. Really happy about this upcoming deep dive. This already amazing channel got even better :) Greetings from Germany!

Dear Destin, I just finished my apprenticeship as a toolmaker a month ago. My profession is to build such tools that you showed us in the very beginning of the video. I am so honored that You shed some light on this field of work! It is incredibly fun and challenging to manufacture pieces in such tight tolerances out of hardened materials that are difficult to machine - there are parts for tools like this that have a tolerance window of just a few 10000s of an inch (0.001mm in metric), and they are to be expected to be perfectly right-angled at the same time.

As a retired technical instructor, I wish I'd had a video of this quality to introduce students to die design and stamping processes. Very well done.

Hey Destin, I’m a Canadian high school student and I have had the opportunity to take many manufacturing classes, our school shop is fortunate to be one of the best outfitted school shops, and I have an amazing teacher who shows the importance of precision machining and being prepared for the future of machining, we learn full CNC, CAD and Plasmacutting operations through immersive projects. Our school also runs a electric race car completely designed and fabricated in house that helps to show the importance of precision and quality in large scale projects. So it’s really interesting to see just how applicable these skills are in industrial manufacturing

My father was a T/D machinist for 35+ years and this brought a tear to my eye, I was in the Navy and the career I found when I got out I have to use a series 1 Bridgeport and a Monarch 10ee lathe, and I can almost hear his voice or hand on my shoulder as I operate those machines. I LOVE THIS SERIES!

Cody the programmer is an inspiration. Overcoming obstacles, investing in his future, and making a big change after taking a chance.

I'm a CNC programmer, I assign toolpaths to machine parts used in progressive dies such as the ones shown in this video. The average age of our shop is finally going down. We have a lot of old timers reaching retirement. The youngest toolmaker (the guys that put together and test the dies) was 55 until a year ago. Now we have 3 guys under 30. The age gap is crazy.

This is so cool. Building real-world products seems the height of prestige to me. I never understood why, as a kid 25 years ago, we were discouraged from going into trades like these. Schools encouraged more hands-off fields, but surely you need be just as smart and creative (if not more) to work in a practical field than to do a desk job. My dad and grandfather worked in shops like this, I think, and they always seemed embarrassed for some reason, never wanting to talk about their work. I sure wish they'd have let me shadow them as part of a bring-your-son-to-work experience or whatnot.

Thank you for not just showing the process, but spending time with the people behind it, especially discussing how they got there and how they developed their skills. The machines are cool, but It’s the people that make this amazing!

As a Machinist, CNC programmer, and welder, I am extremely excited for this series

One wonderful thing about Destin's videos, is that he makes a point of actually trying to meet, introduce himself to- and learn the names of every person in the assembly-line - WHILE simultaneously respecting the workers' time and work. I've seen too many documentaries that uses a voice-over while looming over some nameless, faceless worker. Watching these videos I actually get a feeling of how I feels working there. Plus - having Destin asking the "obvious" questions actually allows the workers to show their expertise as both skilled workers but also conveyors of information.

It's so nice to see people making stuff that has a clear purpose, all of the workers seemed cool, down to earth and polite people. How different from a typical office culture these days. Another classic from Destin, thank you for sharing your passion for knowledge!

This is a brilliant video! I'm a toolmaker myself and work on transfer dies producing parts for dual-clutches. We also had a few progressive dies when I started my job and regularly see them in storage, so all of this is quite familiar to me. It's actually a bit emotional. Just like Weston, I also always struggle to explain to others what it is that my colleagues and I are doing 😅 You absolutely have to see and experience it to get an idea what kind of work goes into making even a seemingly ordinary part. I love the combination of engineering, manual labor, analytical work and that touch of artistry 😊 It totally changed the way I look at all the everyday objects around us. Just knowing why so many things in our lives look and/or work the way they do gives you a deeper appreciation for what we as humans are able to make from basically nothing. Just to add to the answer for the question at 12:11 about why that part isn't bent into two 90s in one step instead of two; it's absolutely true that oftentimes you can see an engineer's "handwriting", so to speak, so someone else would use a different methodology. But depending on your desired geometry, oftentimes it'll be impossible to form it in one step. In this case you'd go from pretty much simply bending into drawing. And with those radii, depending on the ductility, the required holding and drawing forces would probably exceed the material's tensile strength. So another way would be form both finished angles but with larger radii and then sharpen them in a second step. Please keep these kinds of videos coming, I absolutely enjoy them! 🙂

Seeing Destin treat all the operators like people is my favorite part of this video!

I love the way you show up with enthusiasm to people who don't necessarily consider their job interesting. I see it alot in your videos where people seem hesitant to get into the details because they assume it's not that interesting to an audience, but your enthusiasm and engaged questions prompt them in a way that always reveals their depth of passion and knowledge.

I'm not American, but there is something really special about US manufacturing. I like the people and culture, the tools, all of it. Thanks for this series, looking forward to more.

The electric discharge machining is so cool. As a student I struggle to get within 5 thousandths of an inch on even precision equipment. It’s stunning how far beyond that trained experts can go.

As someone who’s main engineering interest is manufacturing, I’m so excited for this series 😊

I spent years as an industrial electrician. The tool and die guys were in a league of their own. Mad respect for them.

During this metal stamping process you walked past many of the most used items in the world. You should do a episode on the corrugated box process. You have many corrugated plants within just hours of Huntsville.

I'm really glad to see a series like this. UKposts has a lot of edutainment content about the sciences, the arts, humanities, engineering... but the skilled trades are something I don't get to learn about. You really do get smarter every day.

I've been a science teacher for 18 years and I'm beginning to see the movement of students pursuing trades rather than college degrees. This will help educate me, hopefully inform & encourage them, and change mindsets about the value of each kind of education.

I would love to see more of Destin doing the "dirty jobs" thing but with skilled trades and focusing on how great these people are rather than the undesirable parts

I'm a quality engineer in a stamping department for an appliance manufacturer. This was a great video to watch and very well explained! I can't tell you how much I appreciate tool makers. They are some of the most intelligent people IMO. Not only to understand how dies work and the progression station to station but also their machining knowledge. We do both progressive and transfer stamping here, if you are ever in Wisconsin I could probably show you our transfer press. We have two 1500 ton transfer press and a 1000 ton transfer press that make parts that are as big as 27"x34" from 14k lb coils of steel.

The greatest thing about these videos is watching these workers that could be fairly described as rather hardened and grizzly, just ABSOLUTELY light up when they realize how much you know and care about what they have to say. It’s really wonderful. You show you have a real appreciation and understanding of what they do and it really shows and drives these videos. Loved you for years Destin!!

As a CNC machinist, I’m extremely interested to see the rest of the series. You do such a good job with your videos.

I am a CNC machinist that has returned to school for my mechanical engineering undergrad. This series is extremely exciting. I can’t wait to get back into manufacturing!

During my first six years of life in France in the '80s, I remember all of my toys and clothes came from everywhere in the world-stickers and tags that read, "Made in," and followed by "France," "USA," "Taiwan," "Indonesia," "Yugoslavia," "Peru," etc. When I moved to the States in '89, I can't recall ever seeing anything of the sort; and now, we can predict with near certainty what some sticker or tag will say. I doubt that we'll ever return to the days where countries use their natural resources to make, and be the primary sources of, widget X, Y or Z, but kudos to T&C for playing its part in potentially reinvigorating national pride (in a lowercase, apolitical way)-in the US and on a global level-for manufacturing and export of all kinds!

Watched this with my 5 year old son, and weeks later he was looking at a joist hanger I was installing and said "Dad, this was made on a press" Super proud as a Dad of course, but great job Destin making content that is understandable and memorable!

The importance of this video and the coming series cannot be understated! You're doing some great work here, Destin!

When I first saw the length of the video I thought - there’s no way I’m going to be interested in the stamping process for an hour……..and I was dead wrong. This was super fascinating, thanks for another banger, Destin!

Local manufacturing, including the shops and she-sheds, are the KEY to surviving any kind of disaster.

This made me so happy seeing this. I worked in a plant just like this. I ran the department with 6 Sodick Wire EDMs just like these 0:27:07. What a great explanation of the whole process of how the progressive dies work. I cant wait to see a full video on the EDM Machines. While nowadays people are herded into college these manufacturing skills are still needed and require a lot of training and knowhow to create these sheet-metal parts. I completed a 4 year apprenticeship in Switzerland before plying my trade in the USA. Thanks for this series.

As an engineer who previously worked as a tool design engineer for sheet metal stamping in the aerospace industry, I absolutely love this video. This is a video that engineering students should watch in college to learn about manufacturing.

That's amazing how willing the stamping manufacturer to show all the details in the process. I also really appreciate the attitude that Destin holds to a new field which is so enthusiastic and getting to know it step by step. I'm excited about this series!

As someone going into computing at uni, the start to this video felt very pointed, however I find there's a really interesting relationship between computing and this. When a programmer writes a program, it's to exacute a certain task in a certain way, with certain efficiencies, bounderies etc. Making tools and dies is almost the exact same process, but in the physical. You could think of the part as what the program has to do, and the die is the program. Even having replaceable tools for ease of maintanence has parallels in programming, seperating tasks into different functions and processes for ease of debugging or monitoring. This subject inspires a similar interest in me. Fascinating video Destin, and I'm eagerly awaiting the rest of this series! Manufacturing is something way too played down for how important it is, this almost feels like the companion series to Practical Engineering's one on infrastructure.

Semi-retired engi-nerd here: exciting series! Right now, I work half time on developing automated inspection of additive parts - while the powder is still being welded. Because of how this stuff works nowadays, this is a US-Germany-India collaboration, but several of the end customers it's going to are right here in the US, from printing components of dies to make other things, to turning out custom-fit medical implants, to some mmm-hmmm projects for the Air Force. The comparator I'm using has been years in development. My boss thinks I'm a software guy, but I work on the software that's inside the machine that makes the part - so I still need to be out on the floor a lot of the time to do my job. I'd love to see you interviewing a millwright some time. Those guys look like grunt labor, but seeing one of them align a turbine rotor or install an optical table - they're amazing.

I think my favourite thing about your videos is how you portray everything and especially the people doing the job. You are so respectful of their skillset and whether they are just learning, or a seasoned pro, you treat them with the utmost respect.

I work as a senior automated press operator for a short to mid run stamping company in Minnesota. We also make our own tooling in house! I love that you are shedding light on our industry as there really isn’t much out there. Loved the video!

I worked in a paintbrush factory for a short time, and what I learned there is that sometimes the real magic isn't in how something is made, but how the machines that make something are made. Those progressive dies are amazing.

I want to thank the manufacturer for allowing SmarterEveryDay into their facility and explaining, then showing us all how those parts are made. I buy something off a shelf as a completed item, like a blender. But never did I ask myself where did those blades actually come from? They come from plants all over the world, everyone adding their pieces to produce things that I just took for granted. I need a new toaster, I now wonder how many people and companies it will take to produce said toaster, when I purchase one? Excellent Series, Thanks to you, I am, if not smarter. I'm definitely more knowledgeable then I was yesterday.

I've worked in a steel stamping press plant for twelve years, and seeing the accurate information here gives me even more appreciation for everything else on this channel.

Thank you so much. My father, who died about a year ago at 89 years old, was a machinist and a millwright over a career of more than 50 years first in the US Navy and then in the private sector and you have given me an idea of what it is he really did. I couldn't be prouder of him today. Now I want to encourage my own children to consider a career in the skilled trades.

My dad was a machinist for almost 50 years, mostly running cnc lathes after they came to the forefront, it's so wild all the things that machining makes possible.

36:15 I love that he demonstrated the "light curtain". Sometimes we can make the mistake of not exercising our failure modes, and he demonstrated that safety feature with absolute confidence that the machine would stop immediately. Incredible. 👏

Growing up in the 70's, my dad owned a manufacturing plant. His company had a few presses. When that part of the building was being built, they figured out where the presses would be and added concrete to support the weight and movement of the machines. There were switches that had to be engaged to use the machines for safety reasons. Very interesting, I'm sending this to my brother who worked there more than I did. My brother did vacuum molding of plastic sheets.

I work in the printing industry and we use die-cutting, stamping, embossing/debossing so frequently but no one outside of manufacturing understands the process. Thanks for covering this!

I work at Stamping facility and I can’t even tell you how excited I am to see this video! I’m going to share it with everyone! I love your videos and can not wait to see the rest of this series! Thank you for the awesome work you do!

I swear Destin always makes the most boring stuff really cool to learn about. Really goes to show having a good teacher makes a world of difference.

That's pretty cool. I used to work as a manufacturing engineer at the Briggs & Stratton plant in Statesboro, GA where we cast the parts for our plant and the Auburn plant. We had complex machining centers to machine our single cylinder engine blocks, heads, sumps, and so forth. A couple of really cool automatic assembly machines to assemble the heads and sumps. My favorite thing to watch, though was the die cast department. Even though I programmed the robots to remove the parts from the die cast machine, place it in the trim press, then on the outbound conveyor, I was still amazed to watch them work.

My father is a Tool and Dye maker and has been doing it since I was born, I am 33 years old. He was able to provide for his family, be there after work to spend time with my brother and I when we were young (family time), was the greatest role model and made me the man I am today. I never really knew a ton about his day to day activities but knew he was mechanically and over all intelligent and a great problem solver. I remember telling kids when I was young he was a tool maker and people just were confused. This video made me emotional which I never expected. Made me appreciate him even more. Thank you for putting on display your genuine curiosity and kind hearted nature to everyone you come across.

I've worked in an automotive steel stamping plant for 22 years now in Canada. That servo press was super cool to see as I had never seen one perform before. If you ever make a transfer die video, I'll definitely check that out. Most of the progressive parts I make are left and right versions so they are mirror image of each other for driver side and passenger side. Our smallest press is 250 tons going up to a 1600 ton press. The sheer size of the large presses are living room sized area's of operation which is mind blowing as well

As someone who always gets sucked into "How it's made" episodes when they come up on tv, I am filled with great anticipation of this series. Like seriously, I LOVE this stuff SO MUCH. Edit: I just finished the video and it was even more amazing than I was expecting and I'm just so excited to see what else you'll cover with this series. Please keep it up. This video was amazing I need to see more!!!

That Bridgeport is gorgeous! ! The smell of cutting oil and steel is just as good as a cup of coffee in the morning.

This was awesome. I spent nearly 20 years in the steel industry with some customers doing exactly what your friend does. PS - the device you/he called a "straightener" in the video is actually a type of anti-coil set and anti-crossbow. It's cool to see such a small one and I had no idea they were used at stamping facilities since this is part of the cold rolling process by default. However, it does make sense that they would have one even if it's tiny.

It's important for people to appreciate the complexity of many everyday objects. All the years and old guys teaching young guys stuff that lays behind things we take for granted. Great series Destin!

Hey Destin! Would you like a tour of a Roll Forming Equipment manufacturer? Its the sister/competitive process to progressive stamping and its very interesting. I have an in at several, including other metal processing manufacturers.

Thank you so much for doing this series. I worked in a factory for a few years and I was amazed by all the diecast machines, and the tooling department who maintained them, and all of that. People would do good to appreciate the amount of careful innovation that goes into making everything they purchase. Manufacturing is insane.

I hope that one day we can have as much manufacturing here as we did in the 1940s-1950s

As an Engineering student turning 20 today, this series is an incredible birthday gift! Thank you Destin 🎂🎂🎂

Less than five minutes into this video and I just wanted to say I'll forever be a fan of this channel because you bring things to light that I always wonder about but never have the resources to explore. Been a patron for a few years now and constantly looking forward to your next adventure. Edit: Also, I know Destin puts a lot of effort into choosing sponsors for videos and I just wanted to say thanks for this one. AnyDesk completely just solved a big problem I’ve been having with needing to render intense 3D models and scenes in Blender while away from my home computer setup. Absolutely awesome!

This was a lot of fun and interesting for me. I'm completely ignorant when it comes to manufacturing and, like you alluded to, understand only additive manufacturing. This is a brilliant display of easily digestible information that helped me understand manufacturing stamped materials and the capabilities and facets of the trade. Fantastic job, Destin, thank you! Cheers 🍻

This is really excellent. Engineers/machinists don't often get the credit they deserve for figuring all this out efficiently. You can tell, it's almost so complicated it can't be explained in a video. Keep it up and nice job on asking questions and getting them to explain all the cool details.

I'm a CNC programmer, my father was a tool and die maker so were both my grandfathers. I'm so happy to see you cover this side of manufacturing.😊

I don't know how to express my thanks for showing these things. My father was a 30 year machinist and engineer. Getting to see this kind of work again, is truly heart warming I heckin miss that guy. Thanks Destin.

I used to work at a disc spring production and engineering company as a summer job and I was allowed to measure the dimensions and the strength of the parts after they came out of the press using simple hand tools and complex measurement technology (laser measurements, etc...). Whenever some defined metric was out of bounds I had to talk to the press operator and he'd then decide whether to disassemble the tooling and the die or give it to the tool and die makers for a complete/ partial overdo. All the metal manufacturing was done at the company from raw steel coils to heat treatment. It was really awesome to have had the opportunity to work with such amazing, kind and talented people at their craft and to see the entire process for myself. It's definitely the best job I've ever had to date.

I'm from Australia and use to work in the Automotive industry but the Australia government got rid of manufacturing. All the stamping brings back memories. Keeping jobs is important thank God America is keeping manufacturing going. I will support my American friends.

As someone in the manufacturing industry, I’m so happy he’s covering this so people can see how cool it is!

I’m an industrial automation electrician. I like watching the processes of machines, especially older ones. Watching the process of a palletizer for example is just amazing to see how some genius years ago took a few simple motions and managed to arrange how the boxes stack on a pallet. Most of the new ones have robot arms which are amazing things in themselves, but they don’t have the same wonder as watching the old machines work.

Another Manufacturing Engineer here! I’m going to love this series! Thanks for covering the often hidden side of making things.

I didn't think I would watch an hour of people working in a factory. But here I am, and learning new things.

I am a college educated engineer, who has worked almost exclusively doing calculations behind a desk as well as lecturing, but have always tried to instill in the younger guys I have mentored / taught, respect for the art and skills artisanal engineers. While we cant have one without the other, these guys are in many many ways the heart and soul of many engineering enterprises. Always love seeing these guys lifted up.

I come from the aviation industry and often times the engineers would ask us the people doing the work how we want it done (engineered) and they would write the documents to match how the work was done. As usual a great video Justin.

This is absolutely one of my favourite videos you have done, the whole manufacturing process is fascinating to me.

I started my career in a factory (in India) who does metal forming and casting. These technologies are universal across the globe and not much has changed over the past 2 decades. All the presses are similar, they have a huge flywheel which stores the energy (from a fixed speed induction motor). The mechanical arrangement frequently uses the energy from flywheel and it uses to generate the 100 Tons or 200 Tons force needed to stamp the metal sheets. These presses have needs proper foundation to dampen the vibration. There had been cases where buildings developed cracks due to these presses (with improper foundation).

Love how you make everyone in the factory feel seen and worthy. Awesome series Destin!

I love how this is an hour long video and has 3/4 of a million views in one day. I'm very excited to see the rest of this series!

I used to be a tool maker 40 years ago. Here in Austria one had to go through a three and a half year apprenticeship. Later I changed job life completely , went to university and became a Manager in electronic business. Watching this video, I still can smell metal and grease. The things I learned in these early years helped me throughout my whole career. This was the foundation of my whole understanding of technology. Enjoyed this video a lot.

I liked how relaxed a workplace it seemed to be.

Love the idea of a deep dive series! I find youtube 'documentaries' are always more fun when they're in depth, because after you get past the basic surface level understanding is where all the fun and interesting information lies

Absolutely thrilled to see you bring attention to manufacturing and skilled trades. I have an associate's in manufacturing processes, currently a CNC machinist, with experience in sheetmetal fabrication, welding and 3d modeling, seeing my bread and butter on your channel is a real treat. And yes, its the great engineers who spend time on the floor, learning and understanding how their decisions affect the process.

I've been running progression, linear transfer and on occasions tandem line metal stamping presses. Tandem line presses use robotic arms to move large metal pieces through the line. Linear transfer presses use pneumatic fingers to grab the pieces and transfer them through the tooling die. It is a VERY fascinating process indeed. Shuler link drive presses (German made) work similar to the servo presses do. The ram slows down before it hits bottom and then quickly rises back up. Those presses were made for deep draw metal stampings.

This brings back memories. I did some transfer work when I was in college making parts for complete custom conveyor systems. We did much lower volume than a lot of what this video shows and I often moved from shear to C frame to brake in the same day. Our entire shop would fit inside a single one of those rooms. Amazing.

As someone who works in manufacturing i’m thrilled for this series and i would be thrilled if you do a true deep dive into how much really goes into everything

As myself being an Engineer I love being in the shop with the technicians and the like. These guys are very smart and have so much knowledge to share. I have a lot of respect for them.

Looking at these beasts working quite literally like a well oiled machine is just satisfying.

been a cnc machinist for many years now. i'm basically solo programming and running 2 lathes and a 4-axis horizontal mill. i make all my own fixtures and everything. very satisfying work :) how do you learn feeds and speeds? most every tool/insert will give some basic starting params, it can also greatly depend on the operation, like slotting full width vs profiling a contour with chip thinning, it's all about chip thickness, surface footage and how rigid your machine/work is. there's a good bit to be determined from inspecting the chips as well as listening to how they are cutting. sparks are another feedback, can indicate too high of a surface footage or worn tooling. when doing stuff like turning hard materials with ceramic inserts. it's all about reducing chatter and not having any sudden impacts. just having a bad lead-in to a piece of stock with a crooked cut is enough to shatter those inserts. there's 2 cents... i could talk for hours about this stuff! This will be a wonderful series i cant wait to tell everyone i know about it! and to watch all the videos myself ofc!

Started out as a plumber, landed in a tool room as an apprentice for injection molds, worked through my BSMET and now I work on industrial equipment all over the country. Cannot wait for this whole series.

I work in a forge and I can confirm just how amazing the manufacturing process is. Super excieted for this series!

Wow. Love it! I think you're performing a great service with this series by showing the knowledge and technology that goes into a factory product. The progressive process looks like a sort of physical program, each stamp cycle is a line of code or a function, taking input from the previous index and feeding it to the next. It would take skill to design the stamping order so that the part can be formed in a way that allows the tool to get in, do the work, clear, and then move to the next index without getting hung up.

This was a nice reminder as someone who worked a press and was a manufacturing engineer for an automotive supplier for a bit. We had a big ol 1000 ton press and you could feel every stroke when that boy hit

I've worked in manufacturing my whole career. Seeing you so excited about it and sharing it for the world is great, I'll definitely be sharing these videos with all my family members who have questions.

Oh, this is nearly an hour long? I hadn't noticed! Thanks for the video, Destin! I'm really excited for this series! :D Thanks to T&C Stamping as well for allowing you (and us) in!

I so agree with you that local manufacturing has to be a very high priority for our country. I keep hearing stories of things that can't be made in our country because we don't have the manufacturing know-how. We need to turn that around.

I am retired, worked in Injection Molding Maintenance, making everything from old type computer reels, to 3480 cartridges, then got into making preforms for bottles. We were first to make the 20 oz coke bottle and the dasani water bottle. Interesting career to see the refinements in the equipment to make such items. This was very interesting to see the metal stamping part of manufacturing. Better than How It's MaDE!

As an estimator for a sheet metal manufacturer, and someone who has fallen in love with manufacturing, this series is going to be AWESOME!!! THANK YOU!