Old Pencil Making Factory

Everybody knows how to use a pencil. People treat it as something very usual and useful. But only few have ever thought of how complex the manufacturing process of pencils can be. A Moscow factory has been dealing with the process of pencil production since 1926.

Meanwhile, a pencil goes through 83 technological operations with a manufacturing cycle being equal to 11 days. 107 types of raw material are used in its production. This is actually a well-planned production process with careful control.

Government supported the project and its main task at that time was elimination of illiteracy in the country. For this office accessories had to be made available. After the fall of the USSR the Moscow factory remained the only producer of pencils in the ex-USSR countries with a complete production cycle.

Specially processed lime plates are delivered to the factory. But before they can be used, pencil tubes had to be made.

Pencil tubes are made of clay and graphite. First, clay is granulated. Then granulated clay is sent to the next manufacturing site. There clay is turned into finer powder and mixed with water. Later on mixture for future tubes is freed from impurities and gets ready for further processing.

Tubes are obtained at the site. However, the tubes undergo a number of other technological operations before they are used in pencils.

Now it it time to get the tubes.

Then the tubes are put into special containers.

They are dried for 16 hours.

Then the tubes are sorted out manually.

Then the tubes are heated in a special furnace. The temperature constitutes 800-1200 degrees Celsius.

The tubes are filled with fat under pressure and certain temperature. That will make the process of drawing more comfortable and easy.

The machine cuts canals in wooden plates.

After two halves of the plates are joined together, they are stuck with glue and left under the pressing machine. The diameter of tubes is larger than that of the canals and the press helps the parts to adjust.

As soon as the die gets dried it is cut into separate pencils.

The pencils are ready but not colored yet.

While coloring the pencils they use special enamels that are safe for people.

These pencils are made for the Russian government. They symbolize the state flag.

Thousands of pencils colored using the unique technology of the factory look cool.

Surface of the pencils is processed here.

After that pencils are marked with special stamps.

The stamps.

And these oval pencils are used in repairing and construction.

Pencils are divided into groups manually.

‘Government of the Russian Federation’.

Pencils for engineers.

Souvenirs.

Graphite pencils.

Pencil production is environmentally friendly. No wastes are available as all the materials are used for the second time. The journey to the factory helps to pay attention to simple things and understand how much labor is invested into manufacturing of such a simple object as a pencil.

Source ; www.englishrussia.com