How Ballpoint Pen is Made. - Process - Designing - Selection Of Raw material

1. How Ball Point Pen Is Made
Khawaja Muhammad Nasir.
Creator Of Signature Ball Point
Founder Partner of Aftab Sons Writing Instrument Industries

2. Mechanisam Of Ball Point Pen
A ballpoint pen is a writing instrument which features a
tip that is automatically refreshed with ink. It consists of
a precisely formed metal ball seated in a socket below a
r e s e r v o i r o f i n k .
As the pen is moved along a writing surface, ink is
delivered. Even though ballpoint pens were first patented
in the late nineteenth century, they only started to reach
commercial significance in the early 1950s. Now,
ballpoint pens dominate the writing instrument market,
selling over one hundred million pens each year
w o r l d w i d e .

3. Background
The ballpoint pen was developed as a solution to the problems
related to writing with a fountain pen. Fountain pens require
the user to constantly refresh the pen by dipping its tip in ink.
This is not necessary with a ballpoint pen because it is designed
with its own ink reservoir, which uses capillary action to keep
the ink from leaking out.
At the tip of the pen is a freely rotating ball seated in a socket.
Only part of this ball is exposed; the rest of it is on the inside of
the pen and is constantly being bathed by ink from the
reservoir. Pressing the tip of the pen on the writing surface
causes the ball to roll. This rolling action then transfers ink
from the inside of the pen to the writing surface.

4. Components
While different designs of ballpoint pens are available, many of
the components are the same.
Common components include a ball, a point, ink, an ink reservoir
or cartridge, and an outer housing. Some pens are topped with a
cap to prevent it from leaking or having its point damaged.
Other pens use a retractable point system for the same reason.
Here a small spring is attached to the outside of the ink reservoir,
and when a button is pushed, the point is either exposed or
retracted. Still other varieties of ballpoint pens have multiple ink
cartridges, making it possible to write in different colors using
one pen. Other pens have refillable ink cartridges. One type of
pen has a pressurized cartridge that enables the user to write
underwater, over grease, and in space.

5. Component Drawing

6. Raw Material
A variety of raw materials are used for making the components of
a ballpoint pen, including metals, plastics, and other chemicals.
When ballpoint pens were first developed, an ordinary steel ball
was used. That ball has since been replaced by a textured tungsten
carbide ball.
This material is superior because it is particularly resistant to
deforming. The ball is designed to be a perfect sphere that can
literally grip most any writing surface. Its surface is actually
composed of over 50,000 polished surfaces and pits. The pits are
connected by a series of channels that are continuous throughout
the entire sphere. This design allows the ink to be present on both
the surface and interior of the ball.

7. Raw Material
The points of most ballpoint pens are made out of brass,
which is an alloy of copper and zinc.
This material is used because of its strength, resistance to
corrosion, appealing appearance, and ability to be easily
formed. Other parts, like the ink cartridge, the body, or the
spring can also be made with brass.
Aluminum is also used in some cases to make the pen
body, and stainless steel can be used to make pen
components. Precious metals such as gold, silver, or
platinum are plated onto more expensive pens.

8. Test Writing
The ink can be specially made by the pen manufacturer. To
be useful in a ballpoint pen, the ink must be slightly thick,
slow drying in the reservoir, and free of particles.
These characteristics ensure that the ink continues to flow
to the paper without clogging the ball. When the ink is on
the paper, rapid drying occurs via penetration and some
evaporation. In an ink formulation, various pigments and
dyes are used to provide the color. Other materials, such as
lubricants, surfactants, thickeners, and preservatives, are
also incorporated.
These ingredients are typically dispersed in materials such
as oleic acid, castor oil, or a sulfonamide plasticizer.

9. Plastics have become an important raw material in ballpoint pen
manufacture.
They have the advantage of being easily formed, lightweight, corrosion
resistant, and inexpensive. They are primarily used to form the body of
the pen, but are also used to make the ink cartridge, the push button,
the cap, and part of the tip.
Different kinds of plastics are used, based on their physical
characteristics. Thermosetting plastics, like phenolic resins, which
remain permanently hard after being formed and cooled, are typically
used in constructing the body, cap, and other pieces.
Thermoplastic materials remain flexible. These include materials like
high-density polyethylene (HDPE) , San and General Purpose
Polyestyrene which can be used to make most of the pen components.
Plastics

10. Process Design
Part Part Name Quantity Material Buy Or Make
001 Cap 01 GPPS Make
002 Clip 01 HDPE Make
003 Outter Casing 01 SAN Make
004 Ink Tube 01 PP Make
005 Back Plug 01 PP or HDPE Make
006 Ball Point Tip 01 Tungsten
Carbide
Buy

11. Polymer
Blending
Machine
Batch Quality Check
Injection
Moulding
Cap
Clip
Outer Casing
End Plug
Batch Quality
Check
Component
Store
Ink Tube
Making
Extrusion
Processing
Batch Quality
Check
Hot Stamping
Printing
Automatic Ink
filling & Pen
Assembly
Packing

12. Schedule Design
Schedule design provide answers to questions involving
how much to produce and when to produce. Production
quantity decisions are refered to as lot size decision,
determining when to produce is referred to as production
scheduling. In addition to how much and when, it is
important to know how long production will continue, such
a determination is obtained from market forecasts.
Schedule design decisions impact machine selection,
number of machines, number of shifts, number of
employees, space requirement, storage equipment, material
handling equipment, personnel requirement, storage
policies, unit load design, building size, and so on.

13. Schedule Design
Equipment requirements are a function of the
following factors:
 Number of shifts (the same machine can work in more than one shift)
 Set up times (If machine are not dedicated, the longer the setup, the
more machines needed)
 Degree of flexibility (Customers may require small lot sizes of
different products delivered frequently - extra machine capacity
capacity will be required to handle these requests).
 Layout type (Dedicating manufacturing cells or foused factories to
the production of products families may require more machines).
 Total productive maintainence (Will increase machine up time and
improve quality, thus fewer machines will be needed).

14. Machine Name Machine Picture Operation Name Operation Picture
Injection molding machine Injection molding Process
Extrusion Forward Extrusion Process
Labeling Machine Labeling Process
Filling Machine Filling Ink Process
Assembly Machine Assembly Process
Packaging Machine Packaging Process
Required Machines

15. Facility Area
List Of departments In Production Area
Manufacturing Department Non Manufacturing Department
Injection Molding Department Quality Department
Extrusion Department Inventory Store
Ink Filling & Assembly Department Ink Store
Printing Department Electrical Department
Packaging Department Tool Workshop
Offices

16. Any Questions ?
Contact:
Khawaja Muhammad Nasir
Email: ahmadkhayam@gmail.com
Whatsapp: 03320291970
Cell: 03094878467