There are two main types of pencils - simple and colored. A simple pencil has a graphite lead and writes, depending on the hardness of the graphite, gray– from light to almost black shade. Simple pencils differ in the hardness of the lead, which is designated by the letters M (or B in the English version) - soft and T (or H) - hard. An ordinary - hard-soft pencil is marked with the letters TM or NI (sometimes it is also designated with the letter F). This marking is applied to the body of the pencil. If the pencil is not marked in any way, this means that it is hard-soft. Colored pencils also come in several types: classic colored (single-sided and double-sided), wax, pastel, watercolor, etc.
Although graphite pencil Popularly called “simple”, the technology for its production turns out to be much more complex than the technology for making colored pencils, since, unlike the latter, it requires additional firing.
Stylus simple pencils is made from white clay - kaolin and graphite, and the core of colored pencils consists of kaolin with colored pigments. Moreover, the pigments themselves can be both synthetic and natural. The lead, which contains natural ingredients, is more convenient to use, provides a soft application, and produces bright, saturated colors that do not fade even under direct influence. sun rays. To the stylus watercolor pencils special emulsions are added, which dissolve upon contact with water, creating a uniform layer of paint on paper - the so-called watercolor effect.
Pastel pencil leads are produced by pressing natural pigments and linseed oil. And the composition of the stylus wax pencils As the name implies, wax is included as a binder. It creates a strong grip on the lead, leaves a wide oily mark and provides better glide on the paper.
The production process of wood-cased pencils is fully automated and consists of several stages: production of lead, tablets, connection of components and processing of blanks. First of all, the lead of future pencils is made from a mixture of clay and graphite. The proportions of the components at the stage of mixing graphite and clay determine the hardness of the future lead. The more graphite added to the lead, the softer its structure will be. If kaolin predominates in the lead, the pencil will be harder.
The clay undergoes preliminary cleaning. To do this, the raw materials are first crushed in crushers, then mixed with warm water in special mills. Clay diluted in water is poured with liquid glass to get rid of foreign impurities - sand, etc. Then graphite is added to the clay, according to the recipe, and a binder, which is cooked from starch.
The core mass must be of a certain temperature and humidity. The slightest deviation from the norm will lead to damage to the raw materials. For example, if the mixture dries out, it will become too hard, which can cause equipment failure. The thoroughly kneaded “dough” of graphite and clay goes into a screw press. There it is formed through rollers with three different gaps. As a result of this procedure, the mass is crushed, becomes homogeneous, and air bubbles and excess moisture are removed from it. The thickness of the dough gradually decreases with each repeated processing - from 1 mm to 0.25 mm.
Then the mass is passed through a die with holes, after which it turns into the so-called “noodles”. It is formed into cylinders, from which a rod of the required length and diameter is extruded using a press. The rods need to be dried. This is carried out in drying cabinets with continuous rotation for 15-16 hours. The moisture content of the finished rod should not exceed 0.5%. After drying, the rods are calcined in special crucibles in an oven. During the firing process, the binder is burned out in the core, and the sintered clay forms the frame of the lead.
In addition to the clay ratio, the degree of hardness of the finished pencil is also affected by the temperature and duration of firing, as well as the components that are part of the so-called fatliquor bath. The firing of the lead, depending on the desired gradation, is carried out at a temperature of 800 to 1200 degrees Celsius. After firing, the rods are placed in a special greasing bath. As a result of this operation, the pores that formed in the graphite after burning out the binder are filled with fat, stearin or wax under pressure at a certain temperature.
Sometimes edible and confectionery fats, as well as additional binders (for example, based on starch), can be used as raw materials. The choice of substance used for greasing depends on the hardness of the rod. For example, for pencils with a soft lead, confectionery fat is used, and for hard ones, wax is used. Fat stearin is used to make leads of intermediate hardness (for example, hard-soft). Large diameter rods are produced on vertical masonry presses.
Cores for colored pencils are made somewhat differently. They contain pigments, fillers, binders and fatliquoring substances. Clay (kaolin) is the main raw material. Pigments, binders and, in some cases, fatty additives are added to it. Each manufacturer has its own recipe for making leads, which is kept in big secret. Many factories also use other additional additives, including dyes, natural fillers, waxes, and cellulose-based binders.
After mixing all the components, the mixture is extruded using a press, and the output is rods of the desired diameter. They are cut into pieces given length and then dried at room temperature. As we mentioned above, only graphite rods are subject to hardening. Cores for colored pencils do not undergo heat treatment, since the color pigments are destroyed under the influence of high temperatures (if we're talking about about components of natural origin) or significantly change color (this applies, first of all, to inorganic components).
At the stage of adding fat, which gives a color mark and holds the colored particles on the paper, two different technologies can be used: the so-called cold or hot “preparation”. In cold preparation, fat is added to the mixture while mixing the components. As a rule, this technology is used in the production of inexpensive pencils of average quality, the lead of which consists of organic pigments, which, in turn, are contraindicated at high temperatures.
Hot preparation is carried out immediately after drying the rods. As a result of this procedure, the leads are soaked in hot fat. This method is used in the production of quality art (especially watercolor) pencils. The composition of such a bath is one of the main trade secrets of the factory, but, in any case, it contains high-quality organic fats (for example, coconut or sunflower oil).
All colored pencils are conventionally divided into school (high-quality, inexpensive and cheap) and art. The latter differ the most high quality and good coloring properties. But, in any case, regardless of the price category, the leads of both pencils and colored pencils must undergo several stages of quality control, if, of course, the manufacturing company cares about its reputation.
Simultaneously with the production of rods, pencil cases are manufactured. The pencil body is made from various types of wood, which determines the quality of the finished product. For example, alder and poplar wood is considered low quality. In order to achieve satisfactory cabinet quality, this material requires expensive processing, which cannot be afforded by the small manufacturers who choose this wood. Linden wood is considered to be of satisfactory quality. It is most often used for the production of inexpensive school pencils. The wood of pine, jelutong and cedar (Siberian and Californian) is considered high quality, expensive and is used for the production of special artistic pencils.
The process of making a wooden pencil case consists of several operations. First of all, you will need ready-made blocks of wood. They are cut along the length of future pencils with allowances for machining and drying. Wooden blanks are sawn into individual planks on a multi-rip machine and impregnated with paraffin in autoclaves to improve the mechanical properties of the finished product. The thickness of each plank is half the thickness of the finished product. When steamed, the resins are removed from the boards, and the wood becomes light brown with a pink tint.
After which the boards are dried in “wells”, where they are folded using a machine. The installation method used allows you to increase the area of the board that comes into contact with hot steam. On the one hand, this optimizes the production process, and on the other, it allows maximum removal of moisture from the raw materials. The “wells” are moved to drying rooms, where they remain for 72 hours. Then the planks are removed and sorted. During sorting, defects are removed (split workpieces, incorrectly sawn boards, etc.). The boards, impregnated with various compounds and dried, are sorted and calibrated by size.
Grooves or grooves for the stylus are made on each board, and then PVA glue is applied to it in an even layer. After which the pencil is assembled: a lead is inserted into one of the two boards, and then it is covered with the second board. In this case, the rod itself is not glued to the board, but is held in place by the tension of the “shell.”
Since the diameter of the rod is slightly larger than the diameter of the groove, proper compression of the board in a special device - a clamp, where pencils are glued - is of great importance. According to production technology, pencils of a certain size and type use their own pressing pressure. Deviation from the recommended indicators leads to a large number of defects: pencils simply break under pressure.
The resulting blocks enter the milling and throughput line, where they are separated into pencils using knives. The type of knife determines the shape of the future pencil - faceted, oval or round. Then almost ready-made pencils sent for sorting on a conveyor belt. Sorters check each pencil, identifying and removing defective products.
The blanks obtained as a result of crimping are sawn along the length of the pencil, leveled, sanded, primed and coated with paint and varnish. The surface of the pencil is opened with paint and varnish using the drawing (extrusion) method, and its ends - by dipping. In the first case, the pencil is passed through a priming apparatus. First, it moves in one direction while simultaneously applying varnish or paint, and then at the other end of the conveyor it turns over and returns back. This helps create an even and uniform coating.
Pencils dark colors covered with paint in at least five layers, and varnish in four. IN light colors the pencil is painted with at least seven layers of paint and four varnishes. But ideally, in order for the surface of the pencil to be smooth, without smudges and “burrs,” the total number of layers of varnish should be at least seven to eight (the more layers, the more expensive the finished product). Maximum amount layers – 18.
A so-called dipping machine is used to color the ends of pencils. With its help, the frame with pencils is carefully lowered into the paint tank. But in some cases, paint and varnish are not required. For example, pencils with cedar bodies go on sale without additional wood processing. It is believed that the texture of the wood itself is quite beautiful and does not require painting or varnishing. The indication of lead hardness is applied to the pencil by impact hot stamping using colored foil tape.
Pencils go on sale in two forms - sharpened and unsharpened. Products of the first type are packed into boxes exclusively by hand, while the second type is packed manually and using special automatic and semi-automatic equipment. A semi-automatic machine can pack about 15 thousand pencils per shift; an automatic machine can pack more than ten times that amount. The machines pack boxes of six or twelve pencils each. The productivity of pencil packaging equipment is, on average, 350-550 packages per hour.
So, the quality and, therefore, the cost of the finished product is influenced by strict adherence to the technological process during the production of the lead and body and during assembly. The pencil core should be located strictly in the center of the body. If the centering of the lead is not correct, then when sharpening it will be cut unevenly and it will be impossible to draw with such a pencil.
When sharpening a pencil, the type of wood you use is also important. Material Bad quality crumbles, and linden, pine or cedar wood produces smooth, neat chips when sharpening the product. Great importance has a high-quality double sizing of the lead. It protects the rod from deformation inside the housing. This pencil is not afraid of falling even from a great height. The “rule of eight layers” ensures not only the aesthetic appearance of a product made of alder, linden or poplar, but also protects against splinters. And, of course, the safety of the materials used in production – from wood to paint and varnish – is of particular importance. In particular, only safe water-based varnish is used to produce pencils.
The total cost of the necessary equipment for the production of pencils and colored pencils starts from 2.5 million rubles. This is how much the cheapest used line (most likely incomplete) will cost. Add to this the cost of rent production premises(minimum 50 sq. meters for small production), payment of utility costs, wages employees.
To work in the production of pencils, the following specialists will be needed: a board calibrator, a sharpener of pencils, rods and sticks, a pencil and rod assembler, a pencil inker, a printing machine operator, an operator of an automatic white pencil production line, a graphite rod burner, an operator of automatic pencil assembly machines, a rolling line operator , operator of dispersion mixers for the preparation of core mass, automatic pencil finisher, pencil block presser, rod presser, pencil board impregnator, rod impregnator, pencil mass grinder, rod roller, rod thread cutter, mixer, sorter in pencil production, rod dryer, batcher , lead grinder, pencil stamper. Of course, the exact number and types of specialists that will be required to work in a factory depend on the size of production, product range, technology used and budget.
Finished products are sold, as a rule, through wholesale companies. The produced batches of pencils are too large, so it is not practical for manufacturers to work with retail chains directly.
It is difficult to name the exact payback period for a pencil production business. First of all, they depend on the volume of production and the initial starting capital. In addition, during the first time, all profits will most likely be invested in promoting their products on the market, since competition among manufacturers of simple and colored pencils is very high (especially among Western manufacturers, with whom domestic factories cannot yet compete in the quality of their products). their products). The minimum payback period, according to some sources, ranges from 2-3 years (for a small enterprise).
Liliya Sysoeva
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Back in 1912, by decree of the tsarist government, a factory was created in Tomsk where cedar planks were cut for pencils produced throughout the country.
And today the Siberian Pencil Factory is the only one on the territory of the former Soviet Union manufacturer of pencils and pencil boards made from Siberian cedar, the wood of which is used to produce pencils of the highest price category. Last fall, 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 All-Russian competition"100 best goods of Russia".
How are pencils produced that have received such widespread and well-deserved recognition?
PREPARATION
The production of pencils 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 regional authorities greatly helped the factory in providing materials, and 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 vast majority of cases, this is sanitary cutting of over-aged cedar, which no longer produces nuts. Cedar grows up to 500 years, but cones appear on it somewhere up to 250 years of age, after which it begins to die and is attacked by various insects. If you cut it down during this period, a new cedar will grow faster.
Before cutting, the logs undergo mandatory preparation: each log must be washed so that stuck pieces of earth or clay and stones do not accidentally damage the saws. To do this, a tree from a timber exchange is placed and kept in a special pool with warm water. In the summer it is kept here for a short time, up to twenty minutes, but in winter the log is kept in the pool until it thaws - this can take up to three hours. And after 369 hours or 16.5 days and 26 different technological operations, finished pencils will be obtained from the log.
At a sawmill they make this kind of beam from a log:
The production of wooden pencils is extremely demanding on the quality of the material; only pure straight wood is used. And if the presence of such defects as, for example, knots in carpentry products is not catastrophic, then a pencil cannot be made from such wood. Therefore, it is very difficult to say in advance how many pencils will come out of one piece of wood.
To reduce the amount of waste, the company is looking for different ways increasing 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 my own way 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 it is not the simplest, but one of the most effective ways improve important properties material and protect the wood from harmful environmental influences.
After being processed in an autoclave, the “ennobled” pencil boards can be dried thoroughly and then sent directly to pencil production. At this point, the process of making the tablet can be considered complete.
This is what the boards look like after autoclaving
“The basic principle and production technology have not changed since pencils began to be made in Tomsk,” says Anatoly Lunin. – All processes at our factory 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.
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 is on at this stage not yet painted). The boards are fed from one side of the machine, along the way their surface is polished for gluing, and recesses are cut out in it with a special cutter. At the near edge of the machine, the boards are automatically stacked. The thickness of the polished board with cut grooves is 5 mm, 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. 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 an oven 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 just 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 a temperature of about 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 makes 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 fingers on the edges, which certainly makes it easier for children to learn to write.
Next to the machine is the sorter's desk. Her task is to sort through the made pencils, select the “good” ones and separate the defective ones. Defects include chips of the rod at the end, roughness, wood burns, and the like. Above the table hangs a notice with marriage norms. Each tray on the table holds 1,440 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. The painting itself 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 where they are sent back to the next coating.
On average, each pencil is coated with three layers of paint and two layers of varnish - it all 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 reach the consumer. Pencils are stamped, erased and sharpened.
There are quite a few ways to apply stamps, but at the Siberian Pencil Factory they do this 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 it will not peel off and stain your hands. 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. Pencils are sharpened using sandpaper placed on a drum and moving at high speed. This happens very quickly, literally in a matter of seconds.
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 for packaging and they are sent to the next room. There, the pencils are collected into a set, placed in a box and sent to the consumer.
Packaging for the required number of pencils is printed in Novosibirsk. It arrives flat, so it is first given volume. Then, through the picking machines, the required number of pencils are laid out in the given color scheme. A special machine allows you to assemble a set of twelve colors. At the end, the pencils are placed in boxes.
When asked if the factory, following the example of Chinese enterprises, plans to switch to producing pencils from cheaper types of wood or plastic, Anatoly Lunin admits:
– 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 age of global computerization there would be a place for a simple wooden pencil.
Each of us with early years, while doing creative work, or in school lessons, I came across such an object as a pencil. Most often, people treat it as something ordinary, as a simple and useful thing. But few people thought about how complex the technological process of its production is.
By the way, during production, a 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 full cycle production. 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, it is necessary to make writing rods. Let's move on to the workshop for making pencil rods. 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. 
Special packaging 
And dry in the closet for 16 hours. 
After this, the rods are carefully sorted by hand. 
This is what it looks like workplace for sorting rods. It's very complex 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 a pencil, which has 17 gradations - from 7H to 8B, depends on 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 in 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. 
Next, the final mechanical operation is carried out on a special machine - processing of the ends. 
Surface finishing technological line. 
Next, on a special machine, markings are applied to the pencil using a special stamp, which is applied to each pencil through a foil strip. 
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 the personal unsuccessful attempts sharpen pencils. From these memories this machine began to inspire even more respect. 
The factory produces these: interesting pencils oval-shaped, used in construction and repair. 
Arrays of stacked pencils look very unusual and attractive. You won't see this anywhere else. 
At the packaging area, pencils are sorted and packed by hand. There is a special atmosphere here. People work quietly and silently. Many workers have continuous experience working at the factory for more than 40 years. 
The factory has its own equipped laboratory, in which products are tested throughout the entire production cycle and new production technologies are developed. The picture shows an Amsler device for determining the fracture resistance of writing rods. 
Before leaving, I went into a room with demonstration stands for the factory's products. The factory logo evokes some kind of nostalgia. After all, these pencils are familiar to each of us since childhood.
The factory produces several product lines. Professional series of pencils for artists, decorators and designers. 
Samples of pencils supplied to the government of the Russian Federation. For the design of the pencils, a design was chosen to match the color of the standard malachite desktop instruments of Russian government workers. But besides this, they have other differences from ordinary pencils: firstly, their shape is made with maximum consideration for the ergonomics of an adult’s hand, and in addition, they use a special “lumograph” type rod for making notes in the margins and in a diary; it does not smear with the hand , but can be easily erased with an eraser without damaging the paper. 
Pencils for engineering drawing: 
Original factory souvenir products. 
(b) As a bonus, and for comparison, I offer you a couple of stories from the Discovery TV channel about the production of pencils there. (/b)
Wrote in March 25th, 2013
Each of us, from an early age, while engaged in creativity, or in school lessons, came across such an object as a pencil. Most often, people treat it as something ordinary, as a simple and useful thing. But few people thought about how complex the technological process of its production is.
By the way, during production, a 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 the support of the government. The main task of the government 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 a pencil, which has 17 gradations - from 7H to 8B, depends on 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 in 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.
At the packaging area, pencils are sorted and packed by hand. There is a special atmosphere here. People work quietly and silently. Many employees have continuous work experience at the factory for more than 40 years.
The factory has its own equipped laboratory, in which products are tested throughout the entire production cycle and new production technologies are developed. The picture shows an Amsler device for determining the fracture resistance of writing rods.
Before leaving, I went into a room with demonstration stands for the factory's products. The factory logo evokes some kind of nostalgia. After all, these pencils are familiar to each of us since childhood.
The factory produces several product lines. Professional series of pencils for artists, decorators and designers.
Samples of pencils supplied to the government of the Russian Federation. For the design of the pencils, a design was chosen to match the color of the standard malachite desktop instruments of Russian government workers. But besides this, they have other differences from ordinary pencils: firstly, their shape is made with maximum consideration for the ergonomics of an adult’s hand, and in addition, they use a special “lumograph” type rod for making notes in the margins and in a diary; it does not smear with the hand , but can be easily erased with an eraser without damaging the paper.
Pencils for engineering drawing:
Original factory souvenir products.
The visit to the factory was very exciting and educational. I was very interested to see how much original technology and labor goes into making such a seemingly simple object as a pencil.
I want to express my deep gratitude to the chief production technologist Marina for her help and clarification of technological processes in production. At the end of the visit to the factory, its management presented the editorial office with their branded pencils, including those supplied to the government of the Russian Federation.
A short video about how pencils are made.
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. Finding out what type of wood this or that pencil is made of is not easy: the seller in the store does not know about this, but on the pencil itself identification mark is not available, 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 in pink color to give more nobility) 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.
Quite fast growing deciduous tree, most widespread 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.
