Manufacturing
126 episodes · Page 3 of 6
#4506: The Forty-Year Storage Bin
Industrial HDPE containers built for decades of reuse, and the real environmental math behind plastic vs. metal.
#4478: Digikey, Mouser, and the Hidden Supply Chain of Components
How Digikey and Mouser quietly keep the global electronics industry running with impossibly large catalogs and same-day shipping.
#4440: Before Denim: The Terrible Trousers That Rivets Killed
Before 1873, workers wore trousers that rotted, unraveled, or sandpapered their legs. Then a Nevada tailor fixed it with a copper rivet.
#4437: How Toyota and Motorola Cracked Process Innovation
The real story behind Toyota Production System and Six Sigma — born from crisis, not philosophy.
#4436: What Print-on-Demand Teaches Us About JIT Logistics
How Toyota's four-hour inventory system connects to books printed only when you order them.
#4430: Why Your IKEA Bins Keep Breaking (And What to Use Instead)
Industrial storage is cheaper, tougher, and modular. So why isn't everyone using it?
#4322: Storrs Secrets: Turbines, Duckpin, and Puppets
A working 1860s turbine, duckpin bowling’s impossible perfect game, and a world-class puppet museum in one small town.
#4308: Inside the Secret World of Pyrotechnicians
Only 4,000 licensed pyrotechnicians exist in the US. What do they actually do the other 300 days a year?
#4295: Custom Storage Inserts Without Injection Molding
How to make HDPE grid inserts for Euro boxes without injection molding — 3D printing, CNC, or waterjet cutting?
#4227: Why Air, Sea, and Truck Freight Use Different Boxes
Air cargo ULDs, sea containers, and inland pallets don't mix. Could one standardized unit ever work across all three?
#4197: The Hidden Cost of Moving Boxes Six Feet
Why the most expensive part of shipping is a person with a box cutter in a warehouse.
#4193: How to Source Custom Furniture from China (Without Getting Burned)
A practical guide to the professional process Israeli designers use to save 40-60% on custom furniture from Chinese factories.
#4176: Pallet Puzzle: Picking the Right Freight Tool
Three tools, three algorithms, three different answers for the same boxes. Here's how to choose.
#4171: What a $30 Box Teaches Us About Supply Chains
Why a plastic tote costs $0.50 at the factory but $30 at the store — and no one is ripping you off.
#4143: How Screwdrivers Became a Museum of Bad Decisions
Why are there so many incompatible screw types? The surprising history of Phillips, Robertson, and the design that won by failing.
#4020: Euroboxes on the Wrong Pallet: 19mm of Trouble
What happens when your German-engineered storage boxes meet a US or Chinese pallet? 19mm of overhang changes everything.
#3963: The Eurobox Dilemma: Best Available vs. Good
Is durable plastic a genuine sustainability win or just slower waste? A deep dive into Euroboxes, supply chains, and material lock-in.
#3958: Cracking the Code on Drop-Resistant Plastic
Why your plastic parts arrive shattered — and how to specify them so they don't.
#3955: The Hidden World of Highway Signs
What goes into making a road sign? Aluminum, reflective sheeting, and a global treaty most drivers have never heard of.
#3954: The Surprising Chemistry of Road Paint
Road markings are optical devices engineered to survive 10,000 trucks a day. Here's how they actually work.
#3936: Tow Lines & Ratchet Straps: Two Worlds, Same Physics
From highway trailers to hand-pulled trolleys — the same three engineering problems, wildly different solutions.
#3924: Can You Make a Hi-Vis Vest for a One-Year-Old?
A dad with a toy forklift discovers why ANSI safety standards make toddler hi-vis vests mathematically impossible.
#3869: How a Bendy Stick Transmits Torque
The surprising engineering inside flexible screwdriver extensions and how they transmit torque around obstacles.
#3866: What's Actually Inside Your Plastic Storage Bin?
Two bins can both say "polypropylene" — one lasts two years, the other two decades. Here's why.