Manufacturing: Wooden Pencil Input, Output, Process, Feedback

input People: Conrad Gessner Invented In. Information: Materials: Wood, graphite, clay, brass or aluminum for ferrules, lacquer components. Tools & Machines: Machines create

Energy: Electrical Capital: About 50 cents Time: About 3 minutes

Process: Step by step how the pencil is made 1) cut into “Pencil Blocks” longer than the normal length of a pencil 2) Pencil Blocks are cut into “Pencil Slats” using circular saws 3)Pencil Slats are treated with wax and stain to obtain uniform color and improve the machining and sharpening characteristics of the wood 4) A “Groover machine” cuts grooves into the slats 5) Writing cores are placed into the grooves. 6) A second grooved slat is glued onto the first – making a “sandwich” – by a machine called a “lead layer”. The sandwiches are then “clamped” and held together tightly while the glue dries. 7) A “Shaper” is used to assure that the sandwich is square and that all the pencils will be the proper length. 8) Individual pencils cut from the sandwich are ready for further processing 9) Each pencil is painted in a machine receiving from 4-10 coats of 10) On a “tipping” machine, an eraser and a ferrule (the metal ring that holds the eraser to the pencil) are crimped into place on each pencil.

output Your finished product: A pencil

feedback The feedback is how well the product is and how much people like it, in this case as long as the pencil writes and erases properly people wont have much to complain about.