Press for the production of wax pencils. About the technology of making pencils. What materials are needed

About pencil manufacturing technology

Pencil (from the Turkic kara - black and tash, -dash - stone), a rod made of coal, lead, graphite, dry paint (often framed in wood or metal), which is used for writing, drawing, drawing.

The first description of a pencil was made by Conrad Gesner of Zurich in 1565 in his Treatise on Fossils. It showed a detailed structure of a pencil, showing a wooden tube into which a piece of graphite was inserted.

Prototypes of the pencil - lead and silver pins inserted into metal clamps (giving a dark gray tone) - were used in the 12th-16th centuries. In the 14th century, artists painted mainly with sticks made of lead and tin, they were called “silver pencils.” From the 16th century. graphite pencils (the stroke of which has low intensity and a slight shine) and pencils made of burnt bone powder, held together with vegetable glue (providing a strong black matte stroke) became widespread.

In the 17th century, graphite was commonly sold on the streets. Buyers, mostly artists, sandwiched these graphite sticks between pieces of wood or twigs and wrapped them in paper or tied them with string. In England, the rod was a stick of soft graphite, suitable for drawing, but not for writing. In Germany, graphite powder was mixed with glue and sulfur, thus obtaining a rod that was not of the highest quality. In 1790, wooden pencils were invented by the French scientist N. Conte. At the same time, the Czech I. Hartmut proposed making writing rods from a mixture of crushed graphite and clay. In principle, this method underlies modern pencil production technology.

Modern production: At first glance, a pencil appears to be a simple object consisting of a writing rod and a wooden shell. But in order to make one pencil, more than 80 production operations are carried out over 11 days. In addition, the range of products manufactured by the factory uses more than 70 types of raw materials. These are mainly natural nutrients and products.

Sheath for pencils Wood for the manufacture of pencil sheaths must have a number of specific properties:

To be light, soft and durable, not to break or crumble during the making of pencils.

Have the same resistance to cutting fibers both along and across, and should not delaminate.

When cutting with a sharp knife, the cut should be smooth and shiny, the chips should curl, not chip or break.

Wood should be low-hygroscopic, i.e. should not absorb moisture. Virginia juniper, which grows in the USA, meets all these qualities.

None of the tree species growing in Russia fully meets all these requirements. The wood that is closest in its properties and structure is cedar and linden, but for use in pencil production it must first be subjected to special treatment - waxing (i.e. refining).

The boards are sawn into bars, the bars are trimmed to the length of a pencil with allowances for machining and drying, and then the bars are sawn into planks on a multi-saw machine. After this, the boards are impregnated with paraffin in special autoclaves. This procedure allows you to improve the mechanical and repair properties of the future pencil. Steam removes all resins from the boards, and the wood legnin, when interacting with steam, changes its color to pinkish-brown. Then the boards are thoroughly dried. To dry, they are placed in special “wells” using a machine. A special method of laying boards for drying allows you to increase the area of ​​the boards in contact with the drying agent - hot steam, and therefore dry them as thoroughly as possible. The wells are placed in drying rooms for 72 hours. After drying, they are sorted - cracked planks, planks sawn along the wrong fiber, etc. are rejected. “Ennobled” with paraffin and dried planks are sorted and calibrated - “grooves” (grooves) for the rods are applied to them. A graphite rod is made from a mixture of clay and graphite. The clay is first cleaned. To do this, it is crushed in special crushers, then mixed with warm water in special mills. During the processing process, clay diluted in water is poured with liquid glass, which, as it settles, removes all impurities from it - pebbles, twigs, sand, etc. And then, according to the recipe, graphite is added to the clay, and each gradation has its own recipe. The mixture is mixed with a binder - aparatin, cooked from starch.

To make rods, a rod mass of a certain temperature and humidity is required. Under no circumstances should the mixture be allowed to dry out, otherwise it will be like a stone and will lead to equipment wear - there will not be enough press pressure. The kneaded dough from clay and graphite is pressed with a screw press for molding through special equipment - rollers with three different gaps. This is done to grind and grind the mass, average moisture content over volume and remove air bubbles. The thickness of the dough layer is initially 1mm, with repeated processing 0.5mm, then 0.25mm. Then the dough is passed through a die with holes, forming the so-called “noodles”. The “noodles” are formed into cylinders, and from them a rod of the required diameter and length is pressed through a diamond die on a press. The rods are finally dried in special drying cabinets in very nice barrels - continuously rotating for 16 hours. After this process, the moisture content of the rod is approximately 0.5%. Then the rods are calcined in a furnace in special crucibles. Instead of a lid, the crucibles with rods are filled with the same “raw materials”. The crucible filling density affects the quality of the rods. Firing is necessary to burn out the binder in the core and bake the clay to form a frame.

The degree of hardness (gradation) of a pencil from 6m to 7t depends on the ratio of clay, temperature and duration of firing and the composition of the fatliquor bath. Depending on the gradation of the rod, firing is carried out at a temperature from 800 to 1200 degrees. After firing, a greasing operation is carried out: the pores formed after burning the binder are filled with fat, wax or stearin under pressure at a certain temperature. Some factories use edible and confectionery fats and binders as raw materials. (for example, aparatine is made from starch). The choice of substance for greasing depends on the gradation (hardness) of the rod. For soft pencils, pastry fat is used, for hard pencils, wax. Intermediate hardness values, for example, TM, are achieved by fattening with stearin. Large diameter rods are produced on vertical masonry presses.

Colored pencil leads are made from a mixture of pigments, fillers, fatliquors and a binder. “Assembly” The rods are placed in the grooves of the prepared board and covered with a second board. The boards are glued together with PVA glue, but the rod itself is not glued to the board, but is held in place by the tension of the board. The diameter of the rod is slightly larger than the diameter of the groove, so it is very important to correctly compress the boards in a special mechanism (clamp), where future pencils are glued. For each pencil size there is a specific pressure indicator for pressing in, so as not to break the rod. Next, the ends of the glued planks are processed - they are trimmed, and any remaining glue is removed.

On the milling and throughput line, the blocks are divided into pencils. The shape of the future pencil depends on the shape of the knives - it will be round, faceted or oval. And the “newborn” pencils are sent along a conveyor belt for sorting. The sorter checks (“rolls”) all the pencils, looking for and eliminating defects. Then the pencils should “get dressed” - go for painting. Painting The finishing of the surface of pencils is carried out by extrusion (broaching), and the finishing of the end is done by dipping. Extrusion is the process of passing a pencil through a priming machine. At the end of the conveyor, the pencil is turned over so that the next layer of paint or varnish is applied from the other end. This ensures uniform coverage. Dark colors are applied 5 times with paint and 4 times with varnish, light colors - 7 times with paint and 4 times with varnish. And to finish the end, a dipping machine is used. With smooth rotational movements, the dipper lowers the frame with pencils into the paint tank. Marking of pencils is carried out using the method of impact hot stamping. Pencil sharpening is done automatically. All pencils are marked. Packaging of sharpened pencils is done manually, unsharpened pencils - manually and automatically: on automatic and semi-automatic machines. With a semi-automatic machine you can pack 15 thousand pencils in one full shift, with an automatic machine – 180 thousand. The machines are capable of placing both 6 and 12 pencils into boxes.

Quality control Incoming control of all raw materials and technological control of the production process and finished products is carried out by the laboratory. Chemists check everything thoroughly! They also formulate soil formulations. By the way, the products of one well-known factory are even tested for contact with the mouth, like baby pacifiers! In the 2nd half of the 19th century. appeared, and in the 20th century. Mechanical or automatic pencils have become widespread. According to their writing properties and production technology, pencils are divided into graphite (black), color, copying, etc., according to their intended purpose - into school, stationery, drawing, drawing, carpentry, makeup, pencils for retouching, marking and marks on various materials. Special types of pencils are sanguine and pastel. In Russia, graphite drawing pencils of several degrees of hardness are produced; The degree of hardness is indicated by the letters M (soft), T (hard) and MT (medium hard), as well as numbers in front of the letters. A large number means a greater degree of hardness or softness. Abroad, instead of the letter M, the letter B is used, and instead of T, N. Automatic pencils are divided by design into: screw pencils - with a writing rod fed by rotating one of the parts; collet - with a writing rod clamped by a split collet sleeve and the rod is fed by pressing a button; multi-colored - with two, four or more rods, alternately extended from the magazine.

It will be impossible to get by. All sketches are made using this stationery, traces of which can always be erased with an eraser. This product is quite simple, but it is produced very complexly, in several stages.

During the manufacture of a pencil, more than a hundred materials are used and several dozen different actions are carried out using specialized equipment, as well as manually. Who would have thought that this small item designed for drawing takes about 11 days to produce.

To understand how complex and at the same time consistent the production process is, you need to look at it from the outside. To do this, you can visit the most famous enterprise in Russia specializing in the production of pencils - the Krasin plant. This factory began its work 90 years ago. By the way, she celebrated her anniversary this year. The enterprise owes its existence to one degree or another to the support provided by the government.

The main task of the authorities of that time was the fight against illiteracy. Therefore, it was important to start producing stationery in sufficient quantities and make them available to the entire population without exception. With the collapse of the USSR, the production of pencils was carried out exclusively at this enterprise. This plant produces all the necessary raw materials, without which it is impossible to make finished products. So, what are the main steps in pencil production?

Main stages of production

Special linden boards are delivered to the factory, which will not even be useful at the beginning of production. You must first make writing rods, without which it is impossible to imagine more than one pencil. This is done in a special workshop. Graphite and clay are used as raw materials for the manufacture of rods. The first step in preparing the mixture is the process of grinding the clay, after which it is moved to the grinding equipment.

Next, in a special installation, the mixture is cleaned of various impurities, pebbles, dirt particles and other foreign elements, and then subjected to several more types of processing in order to obtain a high-quality product. Only natural ingredients are used to make the leads, so you definitely don’t have to worry about safety.

The next stage is pressing. There is no waste in this production because it is recycled. At this site, ready-made rods are made, but they are not yet placed in pencils; they must first be subjected to a number of different manipulations.

The rod production process can be compared to the extrusion procedure for animal feed. The prepared mixture is squeezed out of the hole in a special hose. Next, it is placed in a container specially prepared for this purpose and dried for more than 15 hours. And that is not all. The process of sorting quality rods is carried out manually. This is a long and difficult process that requires special care and perseverance.

After sorting the rods, they are pierced in a special device. Annealing occurs at a temperature of about 1200 degrees Celsius. The quality of the rod and the hardness of the pencil will depend on this. After the annealing procedure is completed, the rods are filled with fat. This is done so that the rod begins to slide easily, display well on paper and be erased with an eraser without much effort. It is worth noting that all produced pencils may differ from each other in the degree of hardness and softness. For this, various components are used: confectionery fat, lard, wax, etc. After completing all the necessary procedures, the rods are sent to assembly, where, using special machines and boards, a groove is made in the pencil through which the rod is inserted.

Using the cutting part of the machine, grooves are turned into the board. The planks are automatically sent to the holder, and on another machine the rods are placed into planks, then glued together, and then they are left to dry under a press. In this case, the rod does not stick to the boards. The rod is located inside the wood and does not go anywhere thanks to the tension of the wooden shell.

When the workpiece is dry, it is sawed using a cutter into several pencils. After completing all the main processes, the output is finished stationery, which, however, is not yet ready for sale, since they are not painted.

Pencils are primed using special equipment. To paint these stationery items, special enamels are used, which are also produced at the factory.

Special coloring and original shape of pencils

On sale you can see pencils that are painted in a very original way, as if with streaks. To do this, they resort to special technology. After painting, stationery is left to dry. In order for everything to turn out as evenly as possible, a procedure for mechanical processing of the edges is carried out. The product is marked. The equipment operates at tremendous speed. Finished products continuously fall into the pallet.

The company produces these products in unusual colors, as well as original shapes, for example, oval. It would seem that this is completely impossible, but it was not so. Such products are widely used during repair and construction work. Before packing pencils, they are manually sorted, checked for integrity, quality characteristics assessed, etc. This is done by plant employees, some of whom have specialized in this all their lives.

After pencils are released, they are necessarily tested for quality in a special laboratory, and new production technologies are mastered in order to reduce time and money costs. The factory produces pencils for professionals and amateurs for various needs.

Back in 1912, by decree of the tsarist government, a factory was created in Tomsk, where they sawed cedar planks for pencils produced throughout the country.

A lot of time has passed since then. This story had its ups and downs. In 1999, the factory was declared bankrupt, and already in 2004, the well-known Czech company KOH-I-NOOR Hardtmuth a.s. became one of its owners. Today, the Siberian Pencil Factory is the only manufacturer in the former Soviet Union of pencils and pencil boards made from Siberian cedar, the wood of which is used to produce pencils of the highest price category.

In the fall of 2012, the products of the Siberian Pencil Factory, having passed the examination of the commission, became a laureate of the competition “Best Goods and Services of the Tomsk Region”, and then a diploma winner of the All-Russian competition “100 Best Products of Russia”.

How are pencils produced that have received such consumer recognition?

PREPARATION

Pencil production begins at the timber exchange, where harvested cedar is stored. Now there are more than three thousand cubic meters of wood here. Last year, the authorities of the Tomsk region greatly helped the factory in providing materials. This year they plan to produce about 85 million pencils.

The wood we purchase does not come to us as a result of barbaric felling,” says Anatoly Lunin, director of the factory. – In the overwhelming majority, this is sanitary cutting of aged cedar, which no longer produces nuts. Cedar grows up to 500 years, but cones appear on it until about 250, after which it begins to die and is affected by various insects. If you cut it down during this period, a new cedar will grow faster.

In the upper right part of the photo you can see a tree trunk prepared for immersion in the pool. After 369 hours or 16.5 days, having gone through 26 different technological operations, it will produce finished pencils.

At the sawmill, logs are made from logs like this.

The production of a wooden pencil is extremely demanding on the quality of the material. Only clean straight wood is used, and if the presence of such defects as, for example, knots is not catastrophic for joinery products, then a pencil cannot be made from such wood, so it is very difficult to say in advance how many pencils will be made from one piece of wood.

To reduce the amount of waste, the company is looking for different ways to increase the depth of wood processing. One of these ways is to expand the range of products. So, from a piece of wood that is not suitable for producing a pencil, by the summer they plan to start producing wooden puzzles, coloring books for children and moth repellents. Some goes to the production of short pencils, like for IKEA stores, and some goes to the production of these wooden skewers.

The timber obtained from the log is sawn into short sections, each of which is then cut into ten planks. In order for all the boards to be the same, they need to be calibrated. To do this, they are driven through a special machine. At the exit from it, the planks have the same size and strictly perpendicular edges.

The calibrated tablets are then placed in an autoclave.

In appearance, it resembles a barrel, to which many pipes of different diameters are connected. Using these pipes, you can create a vacuum in the chamber, build up pressure and supply all kinds of solutions inside. As a result of these processes, the resins contained in it are removed from the board, and the wood is impregnated (soaked) with paraffin.

Today this is not the easiest, but one of the most effective ways to improve the important properties of the material and protect the tree from the harmful effects of the environment.

This is what “ennobled” pencil boards look like after processing in an autoclave.

All that remains is to dry them properly and send them to pencil production. At this point, the process of making the tablet can be considered complete.

PRODUCTION

The finished board arrives at the white pencil workshop, where, first, grooves are cut into it on a machine, where the rods will then be laid. The word “white” in this case means that the pencil here is not yet colored.

The board is fed at the far end on the right side of the photo. Along the way, its surface is ground for gluing, and recesses are cut out in it with a special milling cutter. At the near edge of the machine, the boards are automatically stacked.

This is what a polished board with cut grooves looks like.

Now its thickness is 5 millimeters, which is equal to half the thickness of the future pencil. At the next stage, the boards are glued together in pairs to form one pencil block. This is what it looks like.

The machine smoothly feeds the first plank and places the rods in its grooves.

Following this, a second board, already lubricated with water-soluble glue, “comes out” from another device and carefully lies on top of the first.

The resulting pencil blocks are clamped in a pneumatic press and tightened with clamps.

If the board is made independently at the factory, the rod is mainly purchased from China. There they began to produce it using dry technology, which does not require firing in a kiln at high temperatures. As a result, the cost of the rod turned out to be so low that the lion's share of pencil manufacturers switched to such a rod.

To prevent the pencil lead from breaking inside the body, the factory uses the technology of additional gluing of the lead with a special adhesive system.

After this operation, the glued blocks are kept in a special drying chamber for several hours.

It's quite hot in the cell. Hot air is pumped by a fan, maintaining the temperature around 35-40 degrees. The wood needs to dry well so that in the future the pencil becomes smooth in one pass and obtains the desired geometry. A pencil with a “simple” lead dries here for at least two hours, and a colored pencil – at least four. Due to the fact that colored contains more fatty substances, it takes longer to dry.

After this time, the blocks are disassembled, placed in carts with all further parameters indicated, and sent to the next machine, which will separate them into individual pencils.

The shape of the machine is similar to the one that made grooves in planks, but it also has its own characteristics. The workpieces are placed in a loading hopper. They pass through transport hubs, are trimmed, sawed, and the output is a familiar wooden pencil, only not yet painted.

The double cutter, which separates the blocks, also sets the shape of the future pencil, and this is all done in one pass.

It is the type of profile of the cutting cutter that determines what type of pencil it will be - hexagonal or round.

Most recently, the factory mastered the production of triangular pencils. It turned out that the demand for this form is growing.

Buyers are attracted by the ergonomics and natural placement of the fingers on the edges, which certainly makes it easier for the child to learn to write.

Next to the machine is the sorter's desk.

Her task is to sort through the pencils made, select the “good” ones and separate the defective ones. Defects include chips of the rod at the end, roughness, wood burns, etc. Above the table hangs a notice with marriage norms.

Each tray on the table holds 1440 pencils.

The sorted pencils take a special elevator to the next floor, where they will be colored.

PAINTING AND PACKAGING

The paint is purchased dry and diluted to the desired thickness in a paint laboratory.

Painting happens quite quickly. The device continuously pushes colored pencils onto a conveyor.

The length and speed of the conveyor belt are designed so that the pencil dries while it moves on it.

Reaching the opposite end of the conveyor, the pencils fall into one of three receivers.

From there they are sent back to the next cover.

On average, each pencil is covered with three layers of paint and two layers of varnish. Here everything depends on the wishes of the customer.

You can also paint a pencil in almost any color. The factory produces sets of six, twelve, eighteen and twenty-four colors. Some pencils are coated only with varnish.

After painting, the pencils are sent to the finishing shop. At this point they acquire the final form in which they will reach the consumer. Pencils are stamped, erased and sharpened.

This machine applies a stamp.

There are quite a few ways to apply it, but at the enterprise this is done using foil of different colors. This method is called thermostatting. The working part of the machine heats up, and the stamp is transferred through the foil to the pencil. This way he won’t get around and get his hands dirty.

The stamp itself can be anything; it is specially ordered from the engraver. Depending on the complexity, it takes about five days to make.

If necessary, put an eraser on some of the pencils.

The last operation is sharpening.

In addition to sharpening, the machine can be configured to perform rolling - processing the back end of the pencil at a slight angle.

Now the pencils are ready to be packaged and in order to do this they are sent to the next room.

There they are collected into a set, put in a box and sent to the consumer.

Packaging for the required number of pencils is printed in Novosibirsk. It arrives flat and is first given volume.

Then, through assembly machines, the required number of pencils are laid out in a given color scheme.

This machine allows you to assemble a set of twelve colors.

At the end, the pencils are placed in boxes.

Here at the stand are presented samples of the products produced by the factory.

During the tour, we asked about equipment modernization.

“There are currently twelve factories in the world,” said Anatoly Lunin. – And everyone has similar equipment. Pencils have been made in Tomsk since the 30s. Since then, the basic principle and production technology have not changed. All processes are well established.

Modernization of equipment is expressed in the replacement of some components, or the transition to more economical motors, the use of new cutters. Some new materials arrive, we change something in acceptance and evaluation, but the technology itself remains unchanged.”

When asked if the factory, following the example of Chinese enterprises, plans to switch to the production of pencils from cheaper types of wood or plastic, Anatoly Lunin admitted: “I was thinking about trying to make an economical pencil from low-grade aspen, but this is a different technology, and let the Chinese do it.” . I am more interested in the topic of increasing the useful yield by improving the quality of wood processing. And from an environmental point of view, it is better to produce something from renewable raw materials. A plastic pencil will never rot, but a wooden pencil will completely decompose in a few years.”

One can only wish that in the world of global computerization, there would be a place for a simple wooden pencil.

Text, photo: Evgeny Mytsik Will the lead break or not? Today we will try to understand the technological process of producing pencils and find out what will happen to the lead? Although it is called simple, it is quite a technological product. To make one pencil, over

Briefly, the process of making a pencil is as follows.

1. Receiving a bar
2. The timber is sawn into planks
3. The boards are impregnated with wax (paraffin)
4. Recesses are made in the boards
5. The lead is placed in the recesses
6. Another board is placed on top
7. Pencil department
8. Coloring pencil
9. The pencil has a metal rim
10. An elastic band is inserted into the metal rim

Wood To make a pencil shell, it must have a number of specific properties:

• to be light, soft and durable, not to break or crumble during the making of pencils;
• have the same resistance to cutting fibers both along and across, and should not delaminate;
• the cut when cutting with a sharp knife should be smooth, shiny, the chips should curl, not chip or break;
• the wood must be low-hygroscopic, i.e. should not absorb moisture.

Virginia juniper, which grows in the USA, meets all these qualities. The wood that is closest in its properties and structure is cedar and linden, but for use in pencil production it must first be subjected to special treatment - waxing (i.e. refining). The boards are sawn into bars, the bars are trimmed to the length of a pencil with allowances for machining and drying, and then the bars are sawn into planks on a multi-saw machine. After this, the boards are impregnated with paraffin - this procedure improves the mechanical and repair properties of the future pencil. Steam removes all resins from the boards, and the wood legnin, when interacting with steam, changes its color to pinkish-brown. Then the boards are thoroughly dried. After drying, they are sorted - cracked planks, planks sawn along the wrong grain, etc. are rejected. Paraffin-treated and dried planks are sorted and calibrated - "grooves" (grooves) for the rods are applied to them.

Graphite rod made from a mixture of clay and graphite. The clay is first cleaned. To do this, it is crushed in special crushers, then mixed with warm water in special mills. During the processing process, clay diluted in water is poured with liquid glass, which, as it settles, removes all impurities from it - pebbles, twigs, sand, etc. Next, according to a special recipe, graphite is added to the clay, and each gradation has its own recipe. The mixture is mixed with aparatine binder made from starch. To make rods, a rod mass of a certain temperature and humidity is required. Under no circumstances should the mixture be allowed to dry out, otherwise it will be like a stone.

Kneaded dough from clay and graphite using a screw press pressed for molding through special equipment - rollers with three different gaps. This is done to grind and grind the mass, average moisture content over volume and remove air bubbles. The thickness of the dough layer is initially 1 mm, with repeated processing 0.5 mm, then 0.25 mm. Then the dough is passed through a die with holes, forming the so-called “noodles”. The “noodles” are formed into cylinders, and from them a rod of the required diameter and length is pressed through a diamond die on a press. The rods are finally dried in special drying cabinets - continuously rotating for 16 hours. After this process, the moisture content of the rod is approximately 0.5%.

Then the rods are calcined in a furnace. Firing is necessary to burn out the binder in the core and bake the clay to form a frame. The degree of hardness (gradation) of a pencil from 6M to 7T depends on the ratio of clay, temperature and duration of firing and the composition of the fatliquor bath. Depending on the gradation of the rod, firing is carried out at a temperature from 800 to 1200 degrees.

After firing, it is carried out fattening operation: the pores formed after burning out the binder are filled with fat, wax or stearin under pressure at a certain temperature. The choice of substance for greasing depends on the gradation (hardness) of the rod. Confectionery fat is used for soft pencils, and wax for hard pencils. Intermediate hardness values, for example TM, are achieved by fattening with stearin. Refills for colored pencils are made from a mixture of pigments, fillers, fatliquors and binders.

What happens next assembly process. The rods are placed in the grooves of the prepared plank and covered with a second plank. The boards are glued together with PVA glue, but the rod itself is not glued to the board, but is held in place by the tension of the board. The diameter of the rod is slightly larger than the diameter of the groove, so it is very important to properly compress the boards in a special mechanism, where future pencils are glued. For each pencil size there is a specific pressure indicator for pressing in, so as not to break the rod.

In addition, to prevent the lead from breaking If a pencil falls, many manufacturers use the so-called SV technology for sizing the lead. If a pencil is dropped, the lead may break only at the sharpened tip, and not inside the body.

Further the ends of the glued boards are processed- trim, remove any remaining glue. On the milling and throughput line, the blocks are divided into pencils. The shape of the future pencil depends on the shape of the knives - it will be round, faceted or oval. “Newborn” pencils are sent along a conveyor belt for sorting.

Finishing pencil surfaces is carried out by extrusion (broaching), and finishing of the end is done by dipping. Extrusion is the process of passing a pencil through a priming machine. At the end of the conveyor, the pencil is turned over so that the next layer of paint or varnish is applied from the other end. This ensures uniform coverage.

It is common knowledge that less than 7 layers When painting with pencils, it is not allowed, otherwise the wood will be covered with burrs. Companies that take the quality of their products more seriously usually start with 12 layers. Very expensive products are painted up to 18 times, sometimes up to 20. Then the pencil acquires unsurpassed gloss and an almost mirror-like surface. However, many believe that more than 18 layers are already excessive. Dark colors are applied 5 times with paint and 4 times with varnish, light colors - 7 times with paint and 4 times with varnish. Pencil sharpening is done automatically, and all pencils at the factory are necessarily marked. Packaging of sharpened pencils is done manually; in one full shift, about 15 thousand pencils can be packed.

So, if the pencil was glued using a special SV technology, then rest assured, it will not break.

Drawing is a pleasant and useful activity for any age. And one of the most important artistic materials for any child is pencils. But few of us know how pencils are made, what kind of wood is used for these purposes. It is noteworthy that the creation of these stationery products is carried out differently in each factory. The editors of the site conducted their investigation and will tell the story of the origin of the pencil and the technology for its production.

History of the pencil began approximately 300 years ago, when a new mineral, graphite, began to be used instead of lead. But it is very soft, and therefore they began to add clay to the graphite mass. This made the graphite rod harder and stronger. The more clay, the harder the pencil. That's why there are different types of pencils: hard, medium and soft.

But graphite also gets very dirty, so it has “clothes.” She became wooden. It turns out that not every tree is suitable for making a pencil body. You need wood that is easy to plan and cut, but it should not become shaggy. Siberian cedar turned out to be ideal for this purpose.

More fat and glue are mixed into the graphite mass. This is so that the graphite glides across the paper more easily and leaves a rich mark. So, about two hundred years ago, the pencil became similar to the one we are used to seeing.

How pencils were made

At that time, pencils were made by hand. A mixture of graphite, clay, fat, soot and glue diluted with water was poured into a hole in a wooden stick and evaporated in a special way. One pencil took about five days to make, and it was very expensive. In Russia, pencil production was organized by Mikhail Lomonosov in the Arkhangelsk province.

The pencil was constantly improved. A round pencil rolls off the table, so they came up with the idea of ​​making it hexagonal. Then, for convenience, an eraser was placed at the top of the pencil. Colored pencils appeared in which, instead of graphite, chalk with a special glue (kaolin) and a coloring agent was used in the leads.

People continued to look for material to replace wood. This is how pencils in plastic frames appeared. A mechanical pencil in a metal case was invented. Nowadays wax pencils are also produced.

From the beginning of creation to the finished product, a pencil goes through 83 technological operations; 107 types of raw materials are used in its production, and the production cycle is 11 days.

What wood are pencils made from nowadays?

In most cases, they are made from alder and linden, of which there are a huge number in Russia. Alder is not the most durable material, but it has a uniform structure, which simplifies the processing process and preserves its natural color. As for linden, it meets all operational requirements, and therefore is used in the production of both cheap and expensive pencils. Due to its good viscosity, the material holds the lead firmly. A unique material for creating pencils is cedar, which is widely used in factories in Russia. It is noteworthy that it is not healthy wood that is used, but specimens that no longer produce nuts.

Core: what is the basis

Pencil production is carried out using a special rod. Graphite lead consists of three components - graphite, soot and sludge, to which organic binders are often added. Moreover, graphite, including colored graphite, is a permanent component, since it is the lead that leaves a mark on the paper. The rods are created from a carefully prepared mass, which has a certain temperature and humidity. The kneaded dough is formed using a special press, then passed through equipment with holes, which makes the mass look like noodles. These noodles are formed into cylinders from which rods are extruded. All that remains is to heat them in special crucibles. Then the rods are fired, and after it fattening is performed: the formed pores are filled with fat, stearin or wax under pressure and at a certain temperature.

How are colored pencils made?

Here, the fundamental difference is, again, the rod, which is made from pigments, fillers, fatliquoring components and a binder. The rod production process is as follows:

The manufactured rods are placed in special grooves on the board and covered with a second board;

Both boards are glued together with PVA glue, but the rod should not stick;

The ends of the glued planks are aligned;

Preparation is performed, that is, adding fat to the existing mixture.

It is noteworthy that the production of pencils is carried out taking into account the consumer properties of the products. So, cheap pencils are made from wood that is not of the highest quality, and the shell is exactly the same - not of the highest quality. But pencils that are used for artistic purposes are made from high-quality wood that is double-size. Depending on what the pencil is made of, it will be sharpened. It is believed that neat shavings are obtained if the products are made from pine, linden or cedar wood. In addition, it is important that the lead is properly glued - such a pencil will not break even if dropped.

What should the shell be like?

The simplicity and beauty of the pencil depends on the shell. Since pencils are made from wood, it must meet the following requirements: softness, strength and lightness.

During operation, the shell must

Do not break or crumble, like the entire body;

Do not delaminate under the influence of natural factors;

Have a beautiful cut - smooth and shiny;

Be resistant to moisture.

What equipment is used?

Pencil production is carried out using a variety of equipment. For example, cleaning clay from which a graphite rod will subsequently be created requires special mills and crushers. Processing of the mixed dough is carried out on a screw press, where the core itself is formed from the dough using rollers with three different gaps. For the same purposes, a die with holes is used. Drying of wooden blanks is carried out in drying cabinets, where the products are rotated for 16 hours. When properly dried, the wood acquires a moisture level of a maximum of 0.5%. As for colored pencils, they are not subject to heat treatment due to the presence of fillers, dyes and fattening components. Pencils are trimmed lengthwise on a special machine.

How pencils are made

Drying plays an important role in the production process. . It is carried out in special wells using machines, and the boards are laid so that drying is as efficient as possible. In these wells, drying is carried out for approximately 72 hours, then the boards are sorted: all cracked or unsightly products are rejected. Selected blanks are refined with paraffin and calibrated, that is, special grooves are cut out on them where the rods will be located.

Now a milling-through line is used, on which the blocks are divided into pencils. Depending on what shape the knives are used at this stage, the pencils are either round, or faceted, or oval. An important role is played by fastening the stylus in a wooden case: this should be done firmly and reliably, which reduces the risk of the stylus elements falling out. The elastic glue used for binding makes the lead stronger.

Modern pencils and colored pencils come in a huge variety of designs and colors. Since pencils are made in a factory, close attention is paid to each stage of production.

Painting is one of the important stages, as it must meet a number of requirements. The extrusion method is used to finish the surface, and the end is finished by dipping. In the first case, the pencil passes through a priming machine, where at the end of the conveyor it is turned over to apply the next layer. This way, an even coating is obtained.

There are two large pencil factories in Russia. Pencil Factory named after. Krasina in Moscow― the first state-owned enterprise in Russia to produce pencils in wood casing. The factory was founded in 1926. For more than 72 years, it has been the largest manufacturer of office supplies.

Siberian pencil factory in Tomsk. In 1912, the tsarist government organized a factory in Tomsk that sawed cedar planks for the production of all pencils produced in Russia. In 2003, the factory significantly increased the range of products and introduced new brands of pencils known for their quality to the market. "Siberian cedar" and "Russian pencil"» with good consumer characteristics. Pencils of new brands have taken their rightful place among inexpensive domestically produced pencils made from Russian environmentally friendly materials.

In 2004, the pencil factory was sold to a Czech company KOH-I-NOOR. The factory received investments, and new opportunities arose for the distribution of products not only in the domestic, but also in the global stationery market.