Cool Stuff Being Made: 5 Looks Behind the Scenes of Manufacturing

Wednesday, we brought you a list of 10 things that are made in the U.S.A. in order to give you a better idea of just how many products are actually manufactured here in America. And today, in an effort to show you what actually happens behind the scenes in modern factories, we’re going to show you a few videos from our friends over at the  (or NAM).

NAM has a series of videos on their website called . From the Boeing 777 to some basic potato chips, the videos give a look at how modern manufacturing actually looks. And for a fun Friday afternoon, we thought we’d gather our five favorite videos about cool stuff being made to give you a closer look inside the world of manufacturing.

1. Boeing 777

We mentioned Boeing in our list of 10 things made in the U.S.A., and we just had to include it here. The 777 is a marvel of modern engineering and manufacturing, and this video is an awesome time-lapse of the plane being made.

2. Cutco Knives

Though maybe not as strictly interesting as the building of a Boeing 777, the behind-the-scenes video of Cutco Knives being made shows some great metalwork and automation, the likes of which you’ll find in many factories today.

3. Crude Oil Refinery

This video is easily the most involved of the five listed here. Crude oil refinery is an incredibly complicated process, and this video gives a pretty good explanation of how the entire process works.

4. Paper Towels

They’re paper towels–how interesting could watching them being made actually be? The truth is, we think they’re pretty interesting. Not many people think about the origins of everyday products like paper towels, and this gives some insight to those processes. This and number five aren’t Cool Stuff Being Made, but rather How It’s Made, but we think they’re pretty good videos regardless.

5. Frozen Pancakes

The last in the list, this video is another one from How It’s Made. This video is also the only food product shown here, and we think it provides some much-needed insight into how everyday objects like frozen food are made.

We hope you’ve found these videos enjoyable, but even more than that, we hope the’ve given you a little more insight into what goes on behind the scenes in the manufacturing world. The more people understand the process behind manufacturing, the more we hope they’ll understand the need for skilled workers to help close the skills gap.

Have something you’d like to know more about, or have a general question about the manufacturing world? We’d love to hear it! Get in touch with us in the comments or on . Happy Friday!