Originally published as [Fun Physics] How do you make a tape measure that you can "whoosh" away with a click? Previously, in "Disposable tea bags, how to wrap tea with filter paper?"? In Funny Made, the cutie asks, "How is a tape measure made?"? Vaguely felt as if it had been written.. At the beginning of the year, I was asked again, "What happened to the tape measure?" This time, I completed another piece of my memory puzzle. Recently, I finally remembered it completely. It's a collection of mechanical principles published by Guoku- "How do tape measures, ATMs and toilets work?"? A set of gifs to solve your years of doubts! ！ Last time, I only introduced the principle, but not the production process. Today, I will introduce this spring retractable tape measure which is used to measure furniture and head in many cute homes! Make a ruler strip Many tape measures use a steel rule, which is first primed using a series of rollers. In order to make the contrast between the red and black scale and the background color more obvious, the ruler will be dyed yellow. Expand the full text The painted steel bar will be rewound and waiting for the scale to be printed. The cylinder printing machine will spray ink on the ruler to make a scale. In order to protect the scale from wear, the tape measure is heated and thermoplastically attached with a protective plastic film. Press and bend the ruler strip A continuous roller is then used to press the tape into a concave profile. After the two sides of the tape measure are bent, the tape measure can be kept straight when being stretched,bespoken tape measure, and is not easy to bend. What can I say? It may be "rather bend than break"! Looking at the slow close-up below, there is a gap in the middle of the bottom wheel, and the upper wheel presses down the ruler, thus forming a concave shape. Cut the ruler strip Now we need to cut the ruler into individual pieces. Let the passing ruler slow down somewhere and then cut. When the laser senses this part, it cuts off, which is exactly the length of the tape measure of 5 meters. At the same time, the end is perforated to facilitate the installation of the ruler hook. The ruler hook is the fixed thing in the picture below. When I was a child,personalized tape measure, I stepped on this part with my big toe and measured my height. Of course, the palm on the top of the head must be turned up, so that the measured height will be slightly higher than the actual height. 😀 Principle of tape measure Done the part of the ruler, we still have the most important link, the reason why the tape measure is a tape measure, in the end who rolled who, who was rolled by who? Uncover the truth-take apart the inside of the tape measure, and we find that inside the tape, there are rolls of things, which are very inward. That's the spiral clockwork spring in the picture below. When we pull the ruler, it is to apply force to the spring, once the length is measured, printed tape measure ,seamstress measuring tape, the spring will automatically contract, driving the ruler to tighten, so the tape is rolled back. Do you remember the tin frog when you were a child? It's also because there's a clockwork spring inside that retracts the force. Make the spring First, a certain length of steel bar is rolled up to make a spring. The length of the spring needs to be slightly longer than that of the ruler, so that after the ruler is zeroed every time, the spring still has the remaining force to tighten the ruler, and when the ruler is stretched to 5 meters, the spring will not exceed the deformation limit and can not be retracted. If the length of the spring is shorter than the ruler, the spring has reached its limit, and the ruler is still exposed, it will be embarrassing. Assemble the tape measure Connect the clockwork spring to the automatic winder. Place the wound spring in the middle of the fixed tape measure housing. Continuing to assemble the shell, the orange one mounted on the right hand is a brake, which is equivalent to the "brake" of a tape measure. We just press it to stop the tape so we can read the scale. Connect the end of the ruler to the front end of the spring, hand in hand, heart to heart, and build a tape village together. As soon as I let go, the spring whooshed up the ruler. Flexible, good performance, finished ~! Wait! Cast has something else to say.. In the process of looking for information, I also found a tape measure repair method. When you use the tape measure, you always feel that the pull is not smooth, and the connection between the ruler and the spring is not tight and there are cracks, you can consider cutting off part of the end of the ruler, digging out a groove again, and then putting in the spring. Think of the long "CAUTION!" When you cut the ruler. Originally, I thought it was a waste of steel bar material, but now I have a new understanding, which is the room for maintenance, repair and repair for three years, frugality! Proofreading: Cast + Jiang Xiaomu Screenshot: Brother Yang The Gif in this article is extracted from Discovery's "How it's Made" S09E10, YouTube blogger Science Channel's "Inside the Humble Tape Measure", Quality Logo Products' "How to Fix Your Broken Tape Measure" and 1688 Tin Frog Product Introduction Video The article originates from the interesting manufacture, reprints for the purpose of sharing, if has the right infringement please to contact deletes. Disclaimer: The content provided by We Media is from We Media, and the copyright belongs to the original author. Please contact the original author for reprinting and obtain permission. The opinions of the article only represent the author himself, and do not represent the position of global physics. 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