07/11/2016

Howcrayonismadematerial,manufacture,used,product,machine,RawMaterials

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EngineeredCeramics
AdvancedCeramicsfromtheWorld'sLargestSupplier.GetInfoNow.Gotocoorstek.com

Background
Theearliestformofrecordedcommunicationisgraphicart,beginningwithdrawingsscratchedonthewallsofcaves
(/knowledge/Caves.html)byprehistoricpeoples.Cavedwellershadlimiteddrawingtools,perhapsonlypiecesofcarbon
leftoverfromacookingfire.Today'sgraphiccommunicatorcan,ofcourse,purchaseavarietyoffarmoreefficienttools,
includingthecommoncrayon.
Crayonsaremadefromparaffin(/knowledge/Paraffin.html),awaxysubstancederivedfromwood,coal,orpetroleum.
Paraffinwasproducedcommerciallyby1867,andcrayonsappearedaroundtheturnofthecentury.Theearlycrayons
wereblackandsoldmainlytofactoriesandplants,wheretheywereusedaswaterproofmarkers.Coloredcrayonsfor
artisticpurposeswereintroducedinEuropearoundthesametime,butliketheblackcrayons,theycontainedmaterials
thatweretoxic(usuallycharcoalandwax)andthuswerenotappropriateforchildren.TheBinney&SmithCompany,who
stillmakecrayons,hadacannygraspoftheAmericaneducationalmarket,havingpreviouslymarketeddustlesschalkfor
chalkboards.Thiscompanysolditsfirstpackageofeightcoloredcrayons,suitableforuseinschoolsbychildren,in
1903.

RawMaterials
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Crayonsaremadeofparaffinmixedwithvariouschemicalpigments.Paraffinisdeliveredtothecrayonfactoryinliquid
formdeliverytrucksmustmaintainawannenoughtemperaturetokeeptheparaffinfromhardening(paraffinbecomes
liquidatabout135F[57C]).
Becauseparaffinwillnotmixwithwaterorwatermixtures,thepigmentsareinpowderedform,althoughtheymayhave
beenmadefromawatermixandthendried.Pigmentsaremadebysuppliersfollowingformulasdictatedbythecrayon
manufacturer.Individualpigmentsaremadeofchemicalsmixedtogetherinwoodentanksandforcedthroughfiltersto
removeexcesswater,leavingchunksoftheindividualpigments.Thepigmentsarethenkilndriedforseveraldays.After
drying,thechunksofpigmentaremixedaccordingtotheformulaforthedesiredcolor,pulverizedintoapowder,and
blendedforcolorconsistency.Themixesaresenttothecrayonfactory.
Overthepast10years,additionalingredientshavebeenaddedtocrayons.Oneofthemostpopularisglitter,smallpieces
ofreflectivematerialthatmakethecrayonproducedworkshineasitcatchesandreflectsrandombeamsoflight.
Perfumesandotherscentscanalsobeaddedtothemix.

TheManufacturing
Process
Crayonmanufacturingisasimpleprocess,butonewhichisstillrelativelylaborintensive.IntheAmericanmarket,thepredominantmanufactureristhe
Binney&SmithCompanyofPennsylvania,whichmanufacturesmorethantwobillioncrayonsayear.

Mixingthebatch
1Theparaffinispumpedintosupplytanksoutsidethecrayonfactory.Eachtankholdsabout17,000gallons(65,8751)ofliquid.Whenthe
processbegins,theparaffinispipedintosmall,heatedtubswithavolumeofabout6gallons(231)(aboutthesize

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Paraffinispumpedintosupplytanksoutsidethecrayonfactory.Eachtank
holdsabout17,000gallonsofliquid.Whentheprocessbegins,theparaffinis
pipedintosmall,heatedtubswithavolumeofabout6gallons.

ofahomewashingmachine).Atthesametime,orsoonafter,apigment(/knowledge/Pigment.html)ormixtureofpigmentsisaddedtogivea
batchofcrayonsaparticularcolor.

Mixingandmolding
2Theparaffin"wets"thepigmentsastheyaremixed,andthemixingdispersesthepigmentuniformly.Whenthecombinationofparaffinand
colorisfullyblended,thebatchisautomaticallypumpedoutofthetubsintomoldsofthedesiredshape.Rotatingbladesinsidethemoldprevent
theformationofbubblesandlumpsasthemixturecools.Themoldsarecooledaswatercirculatesaroundthem.Thecolorofthecrayon,and
thusthetypeandquantity(/knowledge/Quantity.html)ofpigmentused,canaffectthetimeneededforcooling.Somecolorswillbereadyforthe
nextstepwithinfourminutes,othercolorscantakeasmuchassevenminutes.Themoldsusedforthecrayonsmightholdasmanyas2,400
forms.

Untilrecently,theparaffinpigmentmixtureswerepouredbyhandfromthetubsintoabucketandthenintomolds.Newermachinerynow
automatestheprocessandpumps(/knowledge/Pumps.html)themixturedirectlyintothemolds.Insomelarge,olderfactories,bothprocesses
mightbeused.

Inspectionandqualitycontrol
3Aftercooling,thecrayonsareautomaticallypushedoutofthemoldsandinspected.Inspectorsexamineeachcrayonforbreaksandchips,as
wellassignsofbubblesinthecooledcrayon,aconditionthatoccursifmixinghasnotbeencomplete.Rejected(/knowledge/Rejected.html)
crayonsarereturnedtothetubsforremeltingandrecasting.

Wrappingandboxing
4Crayonsthathavepassedthequalitycontrolinspection(/knowledge/Inspection.html)areautomaticallyplacedintorackswheretheyare
wrappedwithpaperlabelsmostmanufacturersuseadoublewrappingofpapertogivethecrayonsaddedstrength.Crayonsareautomatically
filledintoboxesandsenttowholesalers.
Intheearlydaysofcrayonmanufacture,anentirefactoryfloormightbedevotedtotheproductionofasinglecolorforadayormore.Following
thatcolor'smolding,machineswouldbecleanedandanewcolorwouldbemade.Intoday'sfactory,thedemandforcrayonsissohuge,andthe
numberofdifferentcolorssogreat(easilymorethan100),thatindividualvatsandmoldsarededicatedtoonlyoneoronlyafewcolors,andthe
productionlinesrundayandnight.

EnvironmentalConcerns

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Intheearly1990s,theBinney&SmithCompanyfoundgreatsuccessmarketingcrayonswithfoodscentsthatmatchedthecolorsandnamesofits
crayons.Respondingtoconcernsthatyoungchildrenwouldtrytoeatthecrayons,thecompanydeterminedtoproduceonlycrayonsthatsmelledlike
nonedibleobjectssuchasflowers.AllcrayonssoldintheU.S.arenontoxic.Althoughtheingestionofalargequantityofparaffinmightresultina
stomachache,longtermeffectsarenotlikelytooccur.U.S.lawrequiresthatallartmaterialssoldintheU.S.benontoxic.Mosttoxicology
(/knowledge/Toxicology.html)evaluationsintheU.S.areperformedundertheauspicesoftheArtsandCraftsMaterialsInstituteinBoston,
Massachusetts.EachformulaforanyartproductissubmittedtotheInstituteandevaluatedbyatoxicologist.Inadditiontotheoutandouttoxicity
(/knowledge/Toxicity.html)ofaningredient,abroadrangeofpossibleeffectsarealsoinvestigated.Testingissometimesrequired,forexample,to
evaluatetheinteractionsofindividualingredientswithinasingleproductortodeterminewhetheraproductwillcauseskinirritation.Allmaterialsmust
beevaluatedatleasteveryfiveyears,andanychangeintheformulatriggersanewevaluation.

WhereToLearnMore
Book
Pluckrose,Henry.Crayons.FranklinWatts,1987.

Periodical
Baggerman,Lisa."CreatingCrayons."ArtMaterialsToday,JulyAugust1994,pp.5462.
LawrenceH.Berlow

AlsoreadarticleaboutCrayon(/knowledge/Crayon.html)fromWikipedia

UserContributions:
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Sep4,2006@8:20pm

Rachel

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Thiswebsitehelpedalotwithmyminiscienceproject.Thanksamillion!
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thisreallyhelpsformygreenchemestryinschool!
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Aug15,2014@7:07am

kumar

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Thanksalotreallyitveryusefulwhoarelookingtomanufacturecrayons.Plsuggestusthetotalmachineryrequiredandmorepracticaland
commercialpartofthisproject.Thankucryonforum

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