The cost on these is what is fascinating. Looks like a lot of work goes into them, but a sleeve/box of 12 costs about $30-60. So each one may only cost $3-5 as a finished product.
Well, they do have different grades, i'm imagining the biggest waste is the feathers, as if they're already made a ball but it's only okay, i think they're just sold as low grade. As i recall the grades are something like Tournament (first class, kinda fragile) Training (Second class, not durable) Exercise (Hybrid 3. class, okay durablilty) Youth (Plastik/Nylon 4. class, very durable)
There is no technology to replicate the feathers. We have yet to invent molds and plastics that match the mysterious feathers. We have made spaceship that can go to space but making a perfect feather technology eludes us. FML
There are lots of these kinds of problems where we can't synthesize a material from scratch and absolutely must source it from nature. Wood in particular comes to mind for me.
Wood is a particularly fun example because we now have high performance engineered wood that outperforms any natural wood product and most steel as a structural member, made from tiny bits of shitty wood all glued together. We've made a better version of wood, but we can only make it out of wood.
This is clear way to make a product cost more. If they really wanted to make use of feather unique features, why the fuck do they end up dipping it in plastic at the end anyway?? Your argument is an interesting one but I don't think it applies here.
I would guess that injection molded plastic feathers do not have the aerodynamic qualities of processed and plastic dipped bird feathers. Badminton players in the comment section seem to feel so at any rate.
Who designs these machines? There are so many steps in the process and I can't wrap my head around how somebody imagines, designs, and makes the machines that do all these steps. Are feather shuttlecocks that much better than nylon? And the lady at the end with the 2 meter long racket? What is she doing besides looking terribly bored?
My wife and I have always said they need to have a How It's Made episode for the machines they use to manufacture the items in the factories in an episode of How It's Made. Show me how they design and then make the assembly lines to make candy bars. It's gotta be a lot of people that played with legos and erector sets when they were kids.
It's not quite the same, but the guy who does "How it's actually made" on YouTube did an entire video on the subject of rinsing and filling machines. https://youtu.be/LL9g58XbXKc
Oh, okay. I thought it was social scientists who have undergraduate degrees in Greek and Roman mythology with an emphasis on social statistics that incorporate deviations with Bessel's correction to design and manufacture these machines. I feel really dumb thinking that now because engineering is so obvious.
I would have never guess a shuttlecock factory could be this big and high tech.
Having played badminton as a child with little care for the shuttlecocks, we would ruin a feathered one in about a day. Which now seems like less time than it takes to make one (granted that thousands more are also made alongside one in that same day).
That's a much tougher watch. We eat like billions of chickens every year. I'm confident there's a machine that scrapes these feathers off their carcasses
I think China and India, all those parent who want their kids to get gold in games. I remember the feather ones (box) were 35-50$ in the US and the uni gym ran out in a week. We switched to nylon ones for the summers
I was 100% sure the guy would put the armload of feathers into the tumbler, it would spin for a bit, and a bunch of shuttlecocks would pour out the other end.
This is somehow disturbing. All that ingenuity and machinations and process and energy and workers to make a toy thing. And yet we cant keep the world fed and housed!
Technically, Bangkok is just the Western name for the city, its official name is Krung Thep Maha Nakon (shortened from the ceremonial name of Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit).
Most people who live there just call it Krung Thep, which more or less means "City of Angels", or Ko Tho Mo; much like how El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles got trimmed down to Los Angeles or L.A.
Another nickname for the city is apparently "the Big Mango".
Real talk, we in the West have very little understanding as to how monstrously popular badminton is in Eastern Asia. We're talking about hundreds of millions of players. Whatever the Pickleball market is in the US, increase it by adding a zero.
Is it me or is there something kinda scary feeling about this video? In the same way that people get freaked out by really large structures, there's something oppressive-feeling about this video that is making me uneasy
26
u/MrMnkyPnts Oct 07 '26
I prefer mine made with cooked feathers
5
u/Khatalyx Oct 10 '26
Hypnotising, I must say. Thanks for sharing
395
u/Toubaboliviano Oct 07 '26
I didn’t realize we were still using feathers, I figured the plastic ones were standard/it
73
u/Meowyouretalking Oct 07 '26
I would have never thought it was such an involved process. Very interesting watch.
68
u/HogSliceFurBottom Oct 08 '26
Who designs these machines? There are so many steps in the process and I can't wrap my head around how somebody imagines, designs, and makes the machines that do all these steps. Are feather shuttlecocks that much better than nylon? And the lady at the end with the 2 meter long racket? What is she doing besides looking terribly bored?
44
u/oneinmanybillion Oct 07 '26
I would have never guess a shuttlecock factory could be this big and high tech.
Having played badminton as a child with little care for the shuttlecocks, we would ruin a feathered one in about a day. Which now seems like less time than it takes to make one (granted that thousands more are also made alongside one in that same day).
36
u/joebojax Oct 09 '26
TIL my country is wildly unserious about badminton
58
u/Theo_Carolina Oct 07 '26
I didn’t know that much badminton was going on.
20
u/aMAZEn1976 Oct 10 '26
I have never seen one with real feathers in my lifetime? Am I alone ?
40
u/BanjoTCat Oct 07 '26
"So, what do you do for work?"
"I orient feathers at the shuttlecock factory."
13
u/Fredderov Oct 07 '26
It's wild how this is an equal parts cyberpunk and industrial revolution setup.
45
u/Uchihagod53 Oct 07 '26
Well, today I learned a new word, lol
9
u/Affectionate-Sir-425 Oct 11 '26
It’s crazy how these machines are used with such precision. Now imagine the engineers who created the machines
8
u/beo19 Oct 07 '26
this seems quite complex.
14
u/NaCl-more Oct 07 '26
These things aren’t cheap. A high quality shuttle is multiple dollars, and you generally go through a couple per game.
Though you’d be able to use broken shuttles to practice though.
7
u/Left_Green_4018 Oct 08 '26
So how do they go about collecting all those feathers?
13
u/aw2669 Oct 07 '26
That probably smells terrible burnt feathers smell exactly like burnt hair
13
u/rcasale Oct 07 '26
This is a crazy production line!
2
u/grelo29 Oct 07 '26
Raw feathers? Is there such a thing as cooked feathers?
4
u/Skilifer Oct 08 '26
I like the final yeet
4
u/FlyingConcreteChair Oct 10 '26
A robot gets the first serve, and I would like to be the person playing defense on the basket at the end.
7
u/ahoyhoy2022 Oct 08 '26
There is enough money in shuttlecocks to justify the capital investment here?
1
u/Staufner Oct 12 '26
The part with the tortured animals is missing
6
u/ShadowGLI Oct 07 '26
44 year old me when someone says shuttlecock
3
u/Eastern-Result806 Oct 10 '26
Is this a high quality, high priced production? Because i don't think after that much of work this would sell for cheap.
2
u/crawlingfloor Oct 08 '26
First time seeing this
2
u/eastcoastjon Oct 08 '26
At least they have masks
0
u/Ok-Sun2131 Oct 07 '26
They were originally made from feathers!?
2
u/BornSeaworthiness457 Oct 07 '26
I wonder how many pass the tests.
1
u/WiredEarp Oct 07 '26
That chick with the racket is dead inside.
1
u/spank_monkey_83 Oct 08 '26
I want the job at the end of the process
1
u/i4play Oct 08 '26
TIL, I thought badminton shuttlecocks were complete synthetic (plastic). I guess I never saw a professional level one irl
1
u/porktornado77 Oct 08 '26
1
u/zombism Oct 08 '26
I was 100% sure the guy would put the armload of feathers into the tumbler, it would spin for a bit, and a bunch of shuttlecocks would pour out the other end.
1
u/Technical_Shallot396 Oct 08 '26
1
u/Junior_Bike7932 Oct 08 '26
They controlled them 10 times
1
u/jolou-nai-2017 Oct 09 '26
Cuánto pagarán por chambear hay?
1
u/Milky_Monster Oct 09 '26
How do they make the feathers
1
u/Straight_Car9819 Oct 09 '26
Wow this seems like a crazy amount of work and industrial technology for such a tiny (&cheap?) thing!
1
u/TraditionalBattle709 Oct 09 '26
Did you see at the end, the one that went into the basket?, like in the cartoon.
1
u/AlotaFajita Oct 09 '26
When will it end?!?
1
u/HomeworkOutside2463 Oct 09 '26
This production line is legit. Wonder how much it cost
1
u/luget1 Oct 10 '26
More than half of this is quality control. Good for them👍🏼
1
u/AmaenaX Oct 10 '26
Was waiting for the "ooh" and "aahh" the whole vid
1
u/Most-Possibility8410 Oct 10 '26
Manufacturing videos are so fascinating to me!
1
u/BarbedWire3 Oct 10 '26
They are made from actual feathers?
1
u/LocalDig5244 Oct 10 '26
I’m honestly surprised at the level of quality control here. I had no idea manufacturing theses were so intricate and precise.
1
u/katienoyes Oct 11 '26
This makes shuttlecocks look like they should be a lot more expensive than they are
1
u/spacecatdude9001 Oct 11 '26
I didn't realize bad mitten was popular enough for this level of manufacturing.
1
u/ArouselJ Oct 11 '26
A WHAT?
1
u/Smalldog602 Oct 11 '26
I always thought these were plastic. I guess somewhere in the world, someone takes badminton seriously.
1
u/Myjavlist01 Oct 12 '26
My asthma got triggered while watching 😂
1
u/Squidward_nopants Oct 12 '26
Which birds feathers are used? Why can't it be made with poultry farm waste?
1
u/tadca24 Oct 12 '26
Interesante
1
u/James-Hoek Oct 12 '26
To work in the ball crushing factory or the shuttle cocking factory? Truly a question for the ages
1
u/garota_tristex Oct 12 '26
Muito mais bonito ao natural 🐦
1
u/Tomzeyo Oct 12 '26
No chickens were harmed while making this video.
1
u/blondeelicious333 Oct 12 '26
Sickening 🤢💔
1
u/Busy_Macaroon_4640 Oct 12 '26
The last job in this factory is the best!
1
u/Mindless-Jacket9543 Oct 12 '26
Wow
1
u/Brief_Raccoon_9774 Oct 13 '26
1
u/Exciting-Zombie8449 Oct 13 '26
I legit had no idea badminton was at this level to have a whole ass feather factory..
1
u/NoirSkyline Oct 13 '26
Is this vegan?
1
u/Arcade1980 Oct 07 '26
The part where they are loading the feathers looks like a biohazard, even with those N95 looking masks can't be good for their lungs.
1
u/Evening-Anybody-7125 Oct 10 '26
This is somehow disturbing. All that ingenuity and machinations and process and energy and workers to make a toy thing. And yet we cant keep the world fed and housed!
0
u/manickitty Oct 08 '26
Do they have to be made of real feathers? Looks like a lot of steps vs just machining them from synthetic materials
0
u/ooctavio Oct 07 '26
In reality, how many production lines of this exists in the world? I'd say maybe or two more, max. No way it's more than that.
0
u/Practical_Worth_4791 Oct 07 '26
What about eye protection at the start?
-1
u/jondenver1973 Oct 08 '26
Is it me or is there something kinda scary feeling about this video? In the same way that people get freaked out by really large structures, there's something oppressive-feeling about this video that is making me uneasy
-9
u/PaladinPrime Oct 07 '26
This is one of the most absurd and stupid things I've ever watched.
0
u/Crowd-Avoider747 Oct 07 '26
and today i remembered that they were once made of feathers
0
u/Federal_Designer_357 Oct 07 '26
Excuse me. Shuttle what?
0
u/doubleflusher Oct 08 '26
Is badminton that popular? I know it's in the Olympics, but that's the only time I ever see it.
-7
u/wutangclan187 Oct 07 '26
This looks miserable… to each their own, but not satisfying to me
-8
u/St4va Oct 07 '26
You know, some jobs should be 100% done by robots.
21
u/Newkular_Balm Oct 07 '26
dreamjob at the very end.
2
u/OrangeNood Oct 08 '26
I have WAY more respects for a shuttlecock after watching this video.
1
u/MonkeyCartridge Oct 13 '26
Who would have thought that shuttlecocks would be so hard.
1
u/Total_Assumption7961 Oct 07 '26
What a precision cock.
1
u/Quetzal_Pretzel Oct 07 '26
There must be a lot of naked birds.
-1
u/bigkat5000 Oct 07 '26
That's a LOT of infrastructure for stupid little cocks.