What are modern pencils made of? Main types of wood used to make wooden pencils

The history of the invention of graphite pencils goes back to the distant sixteenth century, when English shepherds found in the ground near their village a strange black mass that was very reminiscent of coal, but for some reason did not want to burn at all. Soon, the new material was finally used - thin sticks began to be made from it, which could be used for drawing, as they left good, clear marks on canvas or paper. However, these sticks were not widely used because they were very impractical: they often broke and got their fingers dirty. Everything changed only when in 1863 the world's first wooden pencil was made in Germany, the shape of which has remained almost unchanged over the past centuries and has survived to this day.

How pencils are made

The production process at a modern pencil factory consists of several dozen separate technological operations. To make one pencil, about a hundred types of different consumables are used, and it takes at least ten days.

What is a pencil made of?

The main materials for the production of pencils are graphite, clay, color pigments and polymers. All of them are used to make the “heart” of a pencil - its writing rod.

The second, no less important component of each pencil is a wooden shell, which reliably protects the rod from mechanical damage, and our hands from graphite dust. Not every wood is suitable for such a responsible task. Pencils are made only from alder, linden, pine and cedar.

How a pencil is made: pencil production

The production of any pencil begins at the sawmill, where the logs are cleared of bark and turned into timber. Next, the timber is cut into short pieces, each of which is then sawn into planks of a given thickness.

The boards are sorted, non-standard ones are rejected, suitable ones are collected into bundles and loaded into an autoclave. There the boards are finally dried and then impregnated with paraffin.

The boards prepared in this way are transferred to the next workshop, where they are passed through a complex machine, which simultaneously grinds their surface and makes parallel thin and long grooves on it on one side. The cores of future pencils will subsequently be placed in these recesses.

Meanwhile, writing rods are already being manufactured in another workshop. They are made from a mixture of graphite and clay, which are ground into the finest powder. The powder is then mixed with water and formed into rods by squeezing the resulting “dough” through thin holes made in a special stamp, much in the same way as spaghetti is made. Then the semi-finished rods are dried, after which they are baked at a temperature of about one thousand degrees in a special electric oven.

After annealing, the rods are impregnated with fat. This is done so that later you can write with the rods.

The finished rods are sent to the assembly shop, where the machine will place them in the grooves already cut out in the board, and then a second board coated with glue will be placed on top so that the edges of the grooves in the upper and lower parts exactly coincide. The resulting pencil “sandwiches” are stacked and tightened with clamps so that the glue “grabs” well and both halves are firmly glued to each other.

The stacks are dried for several hours at a temperature of 40 degrees, then the clamps are removed and the boards are taken to a machine that will separate them into individual pencils. There, the pencils will be given the usual round or hexagonal shape and the ends will be carefully cut off.

The finished “naked” pencils are then sent for painting. To make new pencils smooth and shiny, they are painted not once, but three and sometimes even four times, and then varnished several more times. There, in the paint shop, markings and the company logo are applied to the pencils.

Bright, shiny, smelling of fresh paint, pencils are transported to the packaging department, where they are put into cardboard boxes, which are then packed into large boxes and sent to stores.

You can only learn about how pencils are created in each specific factory from the manufacturers themselves. However, they all have common points that usually do not change for decades.

For a classic wooden pencil, an important component is the wood from which it is made. Not every tree can be cut down and made into a pack of pencils. It is not easy to find out what type of wood a particular pencil is made of: the seller in the store does not know about this, and there is no identification mark on the pencil itself, so you need to pay attention to the cost of the pencil and the authority of the manufacturer.

Wood used to make pencils:

1. Alder

Rice.

Alder is common in the temperate climate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. The wood is not durable, but has a fairly uniform structure. This makes it easier to process and gives it a beautiful reddish color. Smoother and thicker trunks are therefore used for crafts, carpentry and turning.

It is not used actively in the production of pencils due to the fact that the lead does not hold well. More used for making souvenirs, including souvenir pencils.

2. Linden

Rice.

Linden is perhaps the most common tree, which fully satisfies all the requirements for raw materials for inexpensive pencils.

Linden grows almost everywhere; it is a material familiar to everyone, viscous enough to hold the lead tightly.

Linden wood, depending on the type of processing, is divided into several types: linden (from English - “linden”; halves of a pencil made from such wood may differ slightly in color), white linden (more carefully selected material, white wood, pencil color smooth), rose wood (linden tinted pink to make it more noble) and chemical wood (linden also tinted pink, but of higher quality, the wood looks uniform). Depending on the quality of wood processing, the price also varies.

A fairly fast-growing deciduous tree, most widely distributed in European Russia. The lifespan of linden trees is much shorter than that of oak, and only rare individuals live to be 150 years old.

3. Cedar

Rice.

Cedar wood is light, strong and easy to cut in all directions, making it a valuable raw material for pencil production.

4. Jelutong

Rice.

Jelutong belongs to the kutra family (lat. Apocynaceae). It is a tree species in Malaysia. Also found in Borneo, Sumatra and Thailand.

An adult jelutong usually grows up to 60 meters in height, and the diameter of the tree trunk reaches 2 meters. In rare cases, up to 80 meters, with a diameter of up to 3 meters.

Jelutong wood is usually white or straw-colored and straight-grained. Dries easily without splintering, easy to process and finish.

Jelutong is especially suitable for creating artistic products. Excellent for modeling and pencil production.

Few people have thought about the process of producing pencils.
It's time to find out how this happens.
The pencil goes through 83 technological operations, 107 types of raw materials are used in its production, and the production cycle is 11 days.

If you look at all this from the perspective of an entire product line, you see a complex, well-established production with careful planning and control.
In order to see with our own eyes the process of producing pencils, we go to the Moscow factory named after Krasin. This is the oldest pencil production in Russia. The factory was founded in 1926 with government support.
The government's main goal was to eliminate illiteracy in the country, and for this it was necessary to make stationery accessible. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Krasin factory remained the only pencil manufacturer in the CIS with a full production cycle. This means that everything is produced at the factory - from lead to the final product - pencils. Let's take a closer look at the pencil production process.
To produce pencils, the factory receives specially processed and laid linden boards. But before they are used, writing rods must be made.

Let's move on to the pencil lead manufacturing workshop. Writing rods are made from a mixture of clay and graphite. The preparation of the necessary mixture begins with such technological installations, where clay is crushed. The crushed clay is sent along a conveyor to the next production site.

In the next section, special mills are installed, where the clay is ground more finely and mixed with water.

Installations for preparing a mixture of clay and graphite. Here the mixture for future rods gets rid of impurities and is prepared for further processing.

It is worth noting that only natural substances are used in the production of leads, which allows us to consider the production environmentally friendly. Installation for pressing the mixture. Rods are obtained from the resulting semi-finished products. There is virtually no waste from production, since they reuse it.

At this production site, the rods themselves are produced, but in order for them to get into the pencil, a number of technological operations will be carried out on them.

The technology for producing rods itself is reminiscent of extrusion. The carefully prepared and mixed mass is squeezed out through a special stamp with holes.

After this, the blanks for writing rods are placed in a special container.

And dry in the closet for 16 hours.

After this, the rods are carefully sorted by hand.

This is what a workstation for sorting rods looks like. This is a very difficult and painstaking work. Cats sleep behind the table lamp.

After sorting, the rods are calcined in a special cabinet. The annealing temperature ranges from 800 to 1200 degrees Celsius and directly affects the final properties of the rod. The hardness of the pencil, which has 17 gradations - from 7H to 8B, depends on the temperature.

After annealing, the rods are filled with fat under special pressure and temperature. This is necessary to give them the necessary writing properties: intensity of stroke, ease of gliding, quality of sharpening, ease of erasing with an eraser. Depending on the required value of the hardness of the rod, the following can be used: lard, confectionery fat, or even beeswax and carnauba wax.

Output products from the rod production area.

After this, the rods go to the assembly. Pencil boards are prepared on such machines. Grooves are cut into them for installing writing rods.

The cutting part of the machine makes grooves in the boards.

The boards automatically go into such a clip.

After this, on another machine, the rods are laid into pre-prepared planks.

After laying, the halves of the planks are glued together with PVA glue and left to dry under pressure. The essence of this operation is that the rod itself is not glued to the boards. Its diameter is larger than the diameter of the groove, and in order for the structure to close, a press is needed. The rod will be held in the wood not by glue, but by the tension of the wooden shell (prestress specially created in this way in the design of the pencil).

After drying, the workpiece is sawed with special cutters into individual pencils.

The pencils are gradually sawn through several processing cycles.

The output is ready-made, but not colored pencils.

Already at this stage, the shape of the pencil is established due to the type of profile of the cutting cutter.

Next, the surface of the pencil is primed on special lines. When painting pencils, enamels made at the factory are used. These enamels are made from components that are safe for humans.

Pencil painting line.

I think that many times in stores we have seen gift pencils painted with colorful streaks. It turns out that in order to color them this way, a whole specially developed technology is used. Here is a short snippet of the painting process.

When visiting the paint shop, I happened to see a batch of pencils for delivery to the Russian government of a new type. The tip of the pencil symbolizes our national flag. Pencils dry in special technological frames. The regularity of the rows looks very unusual and attractive.

After painting, the pencils are put into batches to be sent to the next sections of the factory.

It is a great pleasure to look at thousands of pencils colored using the factory’s proprietary technology. This is a very unusual sight.

Surface finishing technological line.

Cabinet for storing stamps. Stamps for the entire range of manufactured products are stored here.

If necessary, pencils are sharpened on a special machine before packaging. The photo shows the intermediate stage of sharpening. I was amazed by the speed of the machine. Pencils fell into the tray in a continuous stream. I immediately remembered all my personal unsuccessful attempts to sharpen pencils. From these memories this machine began to inspire even more respect.

The factory also produces these interesting oval-shaped pencils, used in construction and repair.

Arrays of stacked pencils look very unusual and attractive. You won't see this anywhere else.

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 80 production operations within 11 days. The quality and price of the final product largely depend on what material it is made from and how it is made.

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, settling, 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 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.

We have been using pencils since kindergarten. 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. But there are also general points that are fundamental to the production process.

What tree?

A classic wooden pencil has an important component - wood, the quality of which determines the use of this accessory. It is clear that not every tree is suitable for these purposes. In the past, wood from Virginia or red cedar, which belongs to the juniper genus, was used in industry. Long fibers, absence of knots, ease of processing - this is what attracted attention in this material. But due to the high cost, European and American brands producing pencils began to use California cedar wood. Moreover, high-quality products are created on its basis, which are used for graphic and artistic purposes.

In most cases, pencils are made from alder, linden, pine, Californian and Siberian cedar, as well as such rare wood as jelutong. What wood are pencils made from in our country? In most cases, 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 makes the processing process easier 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?

Pencils are produced using a special core. consists of three components - graphite, soot and silt, to which organic binders are often added. Moreover, graphite is a permanent component, including a colored one, 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. It is important that the mixture does not dry out, as this will affect the wear of the equipment. The kneaded dough is shaped using a special press and 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 then fattening is performed: the formed pores are filled with fat, stearin or wax under pressure and at a specific 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. Here 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 ones are made from wood that is not of the highest quality, and the shell is exactly the same - not the highest quality. But pencils that are used for artistic purposes are made from high-quality wood that is double-size.

Wood preparation stage

The production of pencils is carried out from well-selected wood, which is processed to obtain bars. Be sure to trim the bars along the length of the pencil, and allowances must be taken into account, since the material will shrink. A special multi-rip machine is used to cut the bars into planks, which are impregnated with paraffin in special autoclaves. This procedure helps improve the mechanical properties of the future product.

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 shell?

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

1. Softness, strength and lightness: during operation, the shell should not break or crumble, like the entire body.
2. Do not delaminate under the influence of natural factors.
3. Have a beautiful cut - smooth and shiny, while the chips themselves should not break.
4. The wood must be resistant to moisture.

What equipment?

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 a place where the products are subjected to rotation 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.

Drying

How are pencils 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.

How are pencils made in production? 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.

Coating features

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 you get an even coating.

Paint quality: what does it depend on?

The quality of painting depends on how well the paint materials themselves meet the established requirements, whether the priming machine is set up correctly, and whether the drying times for pencils on the tape are met. Any pencil factory uses quick-drying compounds that form a hard, durable and elastic film on the surface that adheres well to the surface of the wood.

Painting is done with special primer paints that have a certain viscosity and contain pigments. If the pigment part is large, this will reduce the shine of the film and require further application of nitro varnish to the surface. Even simple pencils are varnished using nitrocellulose gloss varnish.

If the pencil is dark in color, it must be painted with at least 5 layers and 4 layers of varnish. To achieve light shades, a combination of 7 layers of paint with 4 layers of varnish is used. At the same time, for a uniform and accurate coating, it is important that the surface has a maximum of 18 layers. Coloring the end parts of pencils is done in a dipping machine, into which a frame with pencils placed on it is lowered.

Pencil frame

Depending on how pencils are made and from what materials, their frame may vary. In the traditional version, the lead has a wooden frame, but the modern market offers a wide selection of products in plastic, varnished and even paper casings. On the one hand, this adds beauty and unusualness to them, on the other hand, if they fall, there will be little left of such pencils.

After painting, the pencils undergo finishing. For this, various stamps and foil of different colors are used. This processing process is called thermostatting.

What is the hardness?

All colored and simple pencils are distinguished by the hardness of the lead, which is reflected in their markings. You need to choose them like this: the thicker and harder the paper, the harder the graphite rod should be. But graphite that is too hard can damage the paper. In Russia you can buy pencils of the following markings:

1. M - soft.
2. T - hard.
3. TM - hard-soft.

You should be aware of markings when choosing pencils for creating drawings or drawing using the appropriate technique.

Features of colored pencils

We have already figured out what simple pencils are made of. Now we need to understand when and how they appeared. It is known that the first products with colored lead appeared back in 1820, although who invented them remained a mystery. The basis of colored lead is a combination of a connecting substance, colored pigments and filler. Kaolin glue acts as a connecting substance, due to which the lead form is formed. Well-ground, high-quality colored materials are used as color pigments, and the pigment can be of an organic or inorganic base. The color pigments themselves are created on the basis of materials that are resistant to fading under the influence of sunlight and are environmentally safe. Today pencils are produced in 36 color shades according to the international Pantone shade scale. As for fillers, kaolin and chalk are used, which are thoroughly crushed.