Court Case

tennis is a form of war a violent thing and in the middle of it all the absolute center of attention is this the tennis ball it lives in a hundred mile an hour world contact is extreme either brutal or feather light and repeat it endlessly speed power strategy and fun the little sphere brings them all together two ounces of toughness felt covered two and a half inches through resilient durable it makes tennis happen for beginner and pro young and old impelled by an assortment of clubs the tennis ball survives thrives even in a vicious climate of smashes lobs chops slices and flubs and always it prevails the tennis ball is the embodiment of perfection each one because where it lives there's no room for the undependable for variation for difference the bad bouts uneven where dependability has to be totaled every time over and over and over so how does it all get that way how does such utter reliability come to be when so many are produced how can each one be so perfect the answer comes from machines [Music] and people and a name a big one it all starts at a plant like this one in phoenix whistle clean crisp of design new efficient the phoenix facility with 100 000 plus square feet under roof is one of four such plants each all dedicated to one thing making the best tennis balls possible as perfect as can be millions of them the other plants are at jeanette pennsylvania jonesboro arkansas and in mullingar ireland the tennis ball is many things natural rubber synthetic and natural fibers a half dozen or so chemicals accelerators plasticizers reinforcing pigments measured and tested as they come in the recipes are precise and closely kept secrets now it starts in a mixer two stories high it is called a banbury for the first time the ingredients for a tennis ball come together chewed and whirled in pound bites temperature 250 degrees [Music] five minutes later it's done ready for milling on temperature-controlled rollers the patch is further refined it must be absolutely and thoroughly homogeneous durability and performance start here off the mill the new compound travels untouched to the extruder the extruder does its thing temperature speed and pressure each is controlled to the nth degree [Music] and here they are pellets still warm shaped automatically a chemical bath is the final preparation for molding the first of three separate curing operations each pellet will become half of a tennis ball center constant checking assures guarantees absolute tolerances everything must be perfect pellets each identical are placed in a mold many at a time the mold closes leaving an exact time and preset temperature to do the job minutes later vastly changed the former pellets emerge as sort of a blanket ready for die cutting to separate the perfect half spheres variations in wall thickness weight and overall dimensions are infinitesimal [Music] inline testing is constant and searching [Music] this unique operation buffs the edges of the half balls precisely and carefully applies a natural rubber cement each half is ready for mating ready to be sealed and vulcanized to form the center the heart of the tennis ball another mold different from the first handles the second of the three cures some on the top some on the bottom these molds are pressurized which enables them to trap air inside the ball centers that's how the bounce gets in approximately one atmosphere or about 15 pounds per square inch again time temperature and pressure do the work the seam vulcanizes perfectly [Music] now for the first time two halves make a hole the centers are moved into this unique buffing operation mechanically activated the balls are uniformly roughed up in a device lined with abrasive material the rough surface means a better bond between center and cover a vital factor [Music] at this stage the balls are checked for size sizing is visual electronic and mechanical a three-way proposition oversized and undersized centers are screened and separated to find use as simple play balls or other activities not tennis [Music] from another bin the freshly buffed centers drop into this trough-like conveyor for coating with an adhesive made from natural rubber drying in an oven is continuous pre-cemented the balls are ready to have the covers put on the cover material is a felt made of just the right the longest wearing mixture of natural and synthetic fibers pre-coated on one side with cement cutting is automatic with each cover emerging in a sort of modified dog bone shape [Music] the new covers are stacked in special racks stacks of covers are dipped in an adhesive to make the edges tacky these edges become the tennis ball seams [Music] semi-automatic cover application is handled by these unique machines developed by general mechanical hands assure a perfect mating of cover and center the newly covered balls are put through a third cure in molds like this which ensure a perfect cover fit and uniform seam and a perfect cover to ball bonding next in drums the balls are tumbled steam is introduced mold marks disappear the flat nap is raised and fluffed here for the first time complete tennis balls [Music] yet another inspection [Music] a lineup for printing which adds something important the name pen a final check and the balls are inserted in the distinctive can pen known wherever tennis is played the cans are now hermetically sealed to assure a fresh lively ball when play begins [Music] the can by the way has a patented snap off top designed to prevent cut fingers it was introduced by pen [Music] electronic magic is used to check each can in each case after the balls and the cartons have been allowed to age for several days checking each case this marvelous device detects pressure loss in any single can and marks its location on the carton for removal [Music] we've said little about quality control at phoenix and at the other plants quality control is more than a program it is a way of life foremost and constant from raw materials analysis and inspection to the production line to the final product checking is continuous and thorough nothing is overlooked neither slip shot nor chance is tolerated quality is sought after pursued relentlessly the goal is perfection always so [Music] foreign