26/02/2007
The smallest product at CERATIZIT
Production of pen balls |
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Almost everybody uses it every day. According to statistics every German citizen owns a 13 of them, each of them writing up to 10 km. We are referring to ball-point pens. Since as early as 1962 CERATIZIT has been producing balls made of tungsten carbide. The pen balls have a diameter of 0.5 mm to 1.1 mm. Today CERATIZIT is the only manufacturer of blanks for pen balls in Western Europe and thus the market leader.
"In the past the carbide balls were produced in stainless steel as carbide was too expensive," explains Pascale Janssens, Business Segment Manager at CERATIZIT Luxembourg. “But in the 90’s there was an enormous decrease in price. The demand for carbide balls increased considerably."
The advantages of carbide
The advantage of carbide balls compared to balls made of stainless steel is their hardness combined with toughness. The extreme hardness of the carbide prevents paper fibres from damaging the ball surface. Thus the surface quality of the carbide ball remains the same over the entire writing distance. On the other hand the toughness of the carbide protects the ball seat against wear. Furthermore toughness avoids the formation of stains during writing.
A problem that had to be solved was the oxidation of the carbide balls, which occurred as a result of the recently manufactured water-based ink. Previously oil-based ink was used where there was no risk of oxidation. Due to the different types of ink which are based on water, oil or gel different types of balls are necessary. “In order to avoid oxidation the CERATIZIT development department (has) optimised the corrosion resistance of our carbide ball grades,” states Janssens.
The seat of the carbide ball
The carbide ball is positioned in a hollow space. This space, which is surrounded by steel, has a smaller diameter than the ball (itself). The ball is maintained in its seat by a spring. The tolerance between the ball and the seat is 0.002 mm. “The future challenge consists in the development of a universal grade for balls which can be applied for all types of ink. Such a grade would enable our customers to distinguish themselves from competitors in the pen market," says Janssens.
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