Any time I have to tinker with one of these cool guys in the factory I can’t help but sing a few lines from Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Because they’re called Chillers. And hence why I also call them the cool guys. (I know, we factory girls need to get out more). Specifically, what they do is chill fluid down to a certain temperature.
The one on the left chills water down to 50 degrees Fahrenheit before it’s sent to the CNC waterjet saw. The waterjet saw requires that the water being pumped into the high pressure nozzle is cold. If the water weren’t cold, it would melt all the insides of the waterjet saw, which, according to technical support, wouldn’t be good. So we use Mr. Chiller Number One every time we power up the waterjet.
The one on the right chills an oily-watery mix (made from natural, bio-based ingredients, that we could drink, but haven’t yet tried) down to 56 degrees before it’s sent to the injection molding machine where it keeps the hydraulic motors cooled and lubed before returning to the Lowes bucket back into the chiller (sorry, Bernie, the Home Depot is still not close enough that we can buy a Home Depot bucket instead). The same chilled mixture is also used to help maintain our sole molds at a constant temperature. Otherwise, the molds would heat up unevenly and our soles wouldn’t be absolutely perfect, which, according to me, wouldn’t be good. So we use Mr. Chiller Number Two every time we power up the injection molding machine.
Of course before building the factory I had no idea what a chiller was. Now, like all our other factory-accessory-necessities, I can’t imagine OESH life without them.
“Cause this is chiller, thriller night. Girl I can chill you more than any ghoul would ever dare try. Chiller, thriller…”
